Hugo von Below

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hugo Ludwig von Below (born October 27, 1824 in Neumarkt , Province of Silesia , † July 21, 1905 in Oberstdorf ) was a Prussian lieutenant general and an honorary citizen of the city of Posen .

Life

origin

Hugo came from the von Below noble family . He was the son of the Prussian captain a. D. and senior tax inspector Otto von Below (1765–1846) and his third wife Julie, née von Diericke (1789–1857).

Military career

Below visited the cadet houses in Kulm and Berlin . Subsequently, on August 12, 1841, he was transferred to the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Prussian Army as Portepeefähnrich , and in mid-March 1845 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant . As such, he was from May 1851 to July 1852 as an educator at the Wahlstatt Cadet House and then in the same position until April 3, 1855 at the Berlin Cadet House. Most recently he was adjutant of von Steinmetz there . Below was transferred to the 5th Infantry Regiment on April 26, 1855 and promoted to Prime Lieutenant on October 16, 1855 . He came to Danzig on March 1, 1858 as a company commander in the 1st Battalion of the 5th Landwehr Regiment and then served as a company commander in the III. Battalion in Prussian Stargard . In the meantime, Below had become a captain on May 31, 1859 . As such, he was transferred to the newly established Infantry Regiment No. 45 and appointed company commander there on September 19, 1860 . After almost five years Below was transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 55 and took part in the war against Austria the following year . He fought in association with the Main Army near Dernbach , Kissingen , Lauffach , Aschaffenburg , Tauberbischofsheim and Gerchsheim and took part in the bombardment of Würzburg. It did so well during the campaign that its superior General von Goeben had submitted it to the highest Prussian bravery award, the Order Pour le Mérite , with the following reason :

When, after the capture of Bischofsheim, the enemy made two offensive thrusts against the town of Lisière, which was only occupied by three companies, with columns, Captain von Below led his company out of cover to volleys onto the bridge, which was under rifle and grant fire. The good attitude of the company and the well-aimed volleys not only contributed to the fact that these offensive strikes were repulsed, but also made the later ones unsafe and unsteady .

Below was then awarded the Order Pour le Mérite on September 20, 1866. After the war he was transferred as a major to Infantry Regiment No. 80 and a few months later took over the III. Battalion in Weilburg . As a battalion commander, Below took part with his regiment in the Franco-German War . He fought at Weißenburg and was instrumental in the destruction of a French cuirassier brigade at Wörth . This was followed by the fighting at Sedan , the bombardment of Pfalzburg and the battle of Issy-les-Moulineaux . Before Paris he worked as an outpost commander and briefly led the regiment here. Below received both classes of the Iron Cross for his achievements .

After the end of the war on August 18, 1871, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, commanded his battalion for another two years and on July 12, 1873, under position à la suite, was entrusted with the command of the 2nd Nassau Infantry Regiment No. 88 . On September 2, 1873 he was promoted to colonel and on February 14, 1874 he was appointed regimental commander. Due to increasing hearing loss , Below had to give up his command on October 1, 1876 and was transferred to the army officers in the regiment's uniform. On 19 October 1877 he was appointed commandant of Glogau appointed and received two years later the character as a major general . On the recommendation and request of the Commanding General of the V Army Corps von Pape , Below was appointed Commandant of Posen on March 30, 1881. In addition, he received the patent for his rank at this time . On September 13, 1882, he received the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves, for his services .

Since Below's hearing loss continued to increase and oral communication was extremely difficult, he submitted his departure on April 14, 1885 and was put up for disposition as lieutenant general and pension .

On June 11, 1885, he received permission to take honorary citizenship of the city of Poznan. In addition, the king awarded him the star of the Order of the Crown, 2nd class, on January 18, 1896, in recognition of his many years of service.

From 1892 until his death, Below was editor-in-chief of the German Soldiers' Hort .

family

Below married on April 6, 1856 in Cosel Alexandra von Lupinski (1827-1898), a daughter of the Prussian Lieutenant General Vinzent von Lupinski . The following children were born from the marriage:

literature
personal data
SURNAME Below, Hugo von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Below, Hugo Ludwig von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Neumarkt , Province of Silesia
DATE OF DEATH July 21, 1905
Place of death Oberstdorf