Karl von Hoffmann

Karl Hoffmann , since 1871 Knight von Hoffmann , (born December 2, 1832 in Regensburg , † February 3, 1903 in Munich ) was a Bavarian general of the infantry .

Life

Origin and family

Karl was the son of the regimental doctor Andreas Hoffmann and his wife Anna, née Demling. He had married Marie von der Mark in 1866. The marriage produced a daughter.

Military career

After visiting the Cadet Corps in Munich, Hoffmann was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Regiment "Crown Prince" of the Bavarian Army on September 4, 1851 as a flag junior . After completing a training course at the artillery and engineering school by 1853, Hoffmann was promoted to sub-lieutenant in his regiment in October 1853 . In the following year he was assigned to a two-month training course at the Geniekompanie in Germersheim and from the end of July 1854 to the beginning of April 1855 he was used as a second officer at the city and fortress headquarters in Germersheim. In November 1856 he was assigned to the mathematical section of the topographical office of the quartermaster general . Left in this command, Hoffmann was transferred to the 13th Infantry Regiment "Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria" on November 3, 1861, when he was promoted to first lieutenant .

In the war against Prussia in 1866, Hoffmann took part in the headquarters of the Army High Command under Prince Karl of Bavaria in the battles near Zella , Kissingen , Uettingen as well as Roßbrunn and Hettstadt . In the meantime, at the beginning of July 1866, he was promoted to Captain II. Class in the Infantry Body Regiment . After the war he was released from his position at the topographic office at his own request in mid-September 1866. Hoffmann worked for four months in the establishment of the Landwehr in the Traunstein district and then resigned as a company commander in the troop service.

Hoffmann led his company at the beginning of the war against France in the Battle of Wörth and was awarded the Knight's Cross II Class of the Military Merit Order with Swords. After being wounded by a shot in the left forearm in the Battle of Sedan near Bazeilles , Hoffmann first returned home before returning to his regiment with a transport of replacement troops at the beginning of November 1870 and again taking over his company. On December 8, 1870, he was so badly wounded by a shot in the left shoulder at Beaugency that he had to return to Germany and was not able to work again until mid-March 1871. In mid-December 1870 Hoffmann was promoted to captain 1st class, was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class for his behavior during the battles against the Loire Army and was commended by an army order on April 3, 1871.

After the peace treaty , he was also awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order on July 16, 1871 , because on December 1, 1870 in the battle near Villepion he had prevented the breakthrough of superior French departments through his prudent behavior and the assertion of the already very endangered position until the end of the day. The personal nobility was connected to the loan and after being entered in the Bavarian nobility register, he was allowed to call himself “Ritter von Hoffmann”. On August 24, 1871, he was transferred to the inspection of the military training institutes and worked until the end of February 1875 first as a teacher of tactics at the war school and then as a teacher of military sciences at the pagerie in Munich. In this position, promoted to major on January 1, 1873 , Hoffmann was then First General Staff Officer at the General Command of the II Army Corps in Würzburg . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the end of March 1876, and two years later he was transferred to the central office of the general staff in April. In the autumn of 1878 he was assigned to the maneuvers of the French army at Vesoul and Arras . Mac-Mahon then awarded him the Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor . After his return home, Hoffmann was commissioned on December 1, 1878, initially to lead the 4th Infantry Regiment "King Karl von Württemberg" and on November 30, 1879, he was appointed regiment commander and promoted to colonel . In recognition of his achievements in the command of the troops, his regiment chief King Karl von Württemberg awarded him the command of his order of the crown . As major general , Hoffmann was in command of the Ulm Federal Fortress from November 24, 1885 to November 21, 1886 , then in command of the 6th Infantry Brigade until May 8, 1890, and then promoted to Lieutenant General, commander of the 3rd division in Nuremberg . This was followed on May 21, 1893 by his appointment as Chief of the General Staff of the Army and at the same time Hoffmann acted as inspector of the military training institutions.

Granted the character of general of the infantry, Hoffmann was put up for disposition on January 15, 1895 in approval of his resignation request with a pension .

During his active service Hoffmann published several works in the field of tactics in the Austrian military magazine . He also wrote the regimental history of the Royal Bavarian 4th Infantry Regiment King Karl von Württemberg from its establishment 1706 to 1806 . The Philosophical Faculty of the University of Erlangen awarded Hoffmann an honorary doctorate in 1892 .

He was buried in the Old Southern Cemetery in Munich.

Fonts

• The Royal Bavarian 4th Infantry Regiment King Karl von Württemberg from its establishment 1706 to 1806. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1881.

literature

• Gerhard von Pelet-Narbonne (ed.): V. Löbell's annual reports on changes and advances in the military. XXX. Born: 1903. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1905, p. 524.
• [Baptist] Schrettinger: The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order and its members. R. Oldenbourg, Munich 1882, pp. 408-410.
• Max Spindler (Hrsg.), Walter Schärl: The composition of the Bavarian civil service from 1806 to 1918. (= Munich historical studies, department Bavarian history 1), Verlag Michael Lassleben, Kallmütz / Opf. 1955, p. 256.

Web links

• Literature by and about Karl von Hoffmann in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). Beck, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-10490-8 , pp. 352f.
2. ↑ Werner Ebnet: You lived in Munich. Biographies from eight centuries. Allitera Verlag, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86906-744-5 , p. 285.