Hugo of Abercron

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hugo of Abercron (1900)
Hugo Wilhelm von Abercron (1869–1945)

Hugo Wilhelm von Abercron (born October 24, 1869 in Bosatz , † April 16, 1945 in Berlin ) was a German major general as well as balloonist and non-fiction author . With Robert Petschow , Oskar Erbslöh and Richard Schütze , he was one of the most important German balloonists between the world wars.

Life

Hugo came from the Danish-German noble family von Abercron . He was a son of the officer Christian Friedrich Julius Konrad von Abercron (born July 16, 1830 in Rendsburg , † March 18, 1892 in Kiel), and his wife Maria Theresa, née Hinsch (1826-1898), a daughter of the Consul General of the Two Sicilies in Hamburg Joachim David Hinsch († 1866).

After Abercron graduated from high school, he joined the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment No. 91 of the Prussian Army on March 22, 1888 as a second lieutenant . On September 12, 1895, he was promoted to Prime Lieutenant and as such, Abercron was transferred to Hameln on March 22, 1897 in the 4th Hanoverian Infantry Regiment No. 164 . From October 1, 1899, he was commanded for one year in the airship battalion in Berlin-Lichterfelde . From 1903 to 1910 he was a captain and company commander in the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39 in Düsseldorf. He then worked for a year in the same position in the infantry regiment "Freiherr von Sparr" (3rd Westphalian) No. 16 in Münster , then moved up to the regimental staff with his promotion to major on February 21, 1911 and was given command in 1913 about the III. Battalion.

As early as 1900 he became a free balloon pilot and since 1909 he has also been a pilot of zeppelin , Parseval and military airships . In the years 1906–1927 he was chairman of the free balloon department of the German Aviation Association (DLV) (later the German Aviation Association ). He took part in the Gordon Bennett Cup several times - in 1910 in St. Louis he took third place with a flight distance of 1720 km. For his services as a balloonist, he received from the University of Marburg , the honorary doctorate of Dr. phil.

With the outbreak of World War I , Abercron was appointed commander of the newly established Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 57 in Düsseldorf. This he commanded on the western front a . a. in the fighting that led to the capture of Maubeuge , in the trench warfare in front of Verdun and in the Champagne region and in the battle for Verdun . As a lieutenant colonel, Abercron gave up his regiment on November 18, 1917 and then took over the infantry regiment "Freiherr von Sparr" (3rd Westphalian) No. 16 in Münster. With this regiment, too, Abercron came into action before Verdun and took part in the German offensive in the spring of 1918 . In addition to both classes of the Iron Cross , he had received the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords in 1917 . For his accomplishments in the final weeks of the war, Colonel Abercron was nominated for the Order of Pour le Mérite . However, due to the armistice, it was no longer awarded.

He and his regiment arrived in Coesfeld on December 12, 1918 and was tasked with demobilizing and disbanding. From parts of the regiment as the trained volunteer corps volunteer regiment Abercron active, with whom he in the spring of 1920 Ruhr Red Army fought. Abercron retired from active service in 1920.

After the end of the war he was involved in rebuilding German aviation. With over 500 ascents, he would hold the record for most free balloon trips at the end of the twenties . He published his experiences and impressions in 1932 in the book series Der Luftwanderer . In 1932 Abercron joined the NSDAP and in 1933/38 was employed as head of the URANIA Institute for Folk Natural History in Berlin.

Abercron received the character of Major General on August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day.

In the Soviet zone of occupation came the autobiography Hugo von Abercron. Officer and air pioneer. Act reports and memories 1869–1938 on the list of literature to be sorted out .

Awards

Fonts (selection)

  • me Adolf Mehl: The free balloon in theory and practice. Vol. 1-2, Franckh Verlag, Stuttgart 1911.
  • with Helmut Tschöpe: Out of Night and Need into Dawn. Poems . Stalling, Oldenburg 1923.
  • Free and tethered balloons . In: et al. : German aviation. Verlag Deutscher Wille, Berlin 1925.
  • 500 trips in a free balloon. Experiences and experiences. RC Schmidt & Co., Berlin 1929.
  • The air wanderer. Stilke Verlag, Berlin 1932, 15 publications;
    • 01. Brandenburg with Berlin.
    • 02. Harz, Weserbergland, Teutoburger Land.
    • 03. Franconian cities, Fichtel Mountains.
    • 04. East Prussia.
    • 05. Water edge.
    • 08. Eifel, Moselle, Hunsrück.
    • 10. Saxon Switzerland, Ore Mountains.
    • 12. Black Forest, Oldenwald, Spessart.
    • 13. Westerwald, Middle Rhine, Taunus.
    • 14. Lüneburg Heath, Sauerland.
    • 15. Franconian Forest, Thuringian Forest.
  • Hugo of Abercron. Officer and aviation pioneer. Reports of facts and memories from 1869–1938. Lutz Verlag, Stuttgart 1938.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Military weekly paper . 102 (1917), p. 185.
  2. ^ Jürgen Kraus: Handbook of the units and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part VI: Infantry. Volume 1: Infantry Regiments. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-902526-14-4 , p. 57.
  3. ↑ Myth and Science. 125 years of Urania. (PDF; 5.3 MB) (No longer available online.) Urania Berlin e. V. , 2013, p. 19 , archived from the original on October 23, 2013 ; Retrieved October 9, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / static.urania.de
  4. ^ List A I. Authors whose works are to be removed from the inventory. (PDF; 19.0 MB) p. 7 , accessed on October 9, 2013 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 180.
personal data
SURNAME Abercron, Hugo von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abercron, Hugo Wilhelm von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major general, balloonist and non-fiction author
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Bosatz
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1945
Place of death Berlin