Karl von Lewinski (officer)

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Coat of arms of those von Lewinski

Karl Julius Eduard Alfred von Lewinski (born January 14, 1858 in Glogau , † August 13, 1937 in Liegnitz ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

Lewinski joined the Royal Grenadiers in Liegnitz in 1878 as an avantageur and was promoted to second lieutenant the following year . As a prime lieutenant he was adjutant of the 71st Infantry Brigade in Gdansk . After promotion to captain he became company commander in his regiment , as a major battalion commander in the grenadier regiment "Graf Kleist von Nollendorf" (1st West Prussian) No. 6 in Posen . With the advancement to lieutenant colonel he joined the staff of the 7th Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 96 in Gera in 1909 . On March 22, 1912, he was promoted to colonel and as such Lewinski was commander of the 3rd Guards Regiment on foot in Berlin .

With the mobilization at the outbreak of the First World War on August 2, 1914, Lewinski took over the 81st Infantry Brigade in Lübeck and was promoted to major general on August 19, 1914 . The brigade was initially part of the coastal defense, but was then assigned to the security forces in Leuven and Mechelen in Belgium . In France she fought at the Battle of Noyon .

On December 19, 1914, he was transferred to Ypres as commander of the 4th Guard Infantry Brigade . This was moved to the Eastern Front in the spring of 1915 , broke through there on May 2nd near Golice - Tarnów and advanced to the San near Jaroslau by the 19th . Here he was seriously wounded and two days later he was transferred to the army officers. Recovered, Lewinski was given command of the 40th (Grand Ducal Mecklenburg) Infantry Brigade on August 31, 1915 , which shortly afterwards left Russia for the Western Front . It was initially outside Antwerp before taking part in the autumn battle in Champagne . Since the regiments of the brigade - 77 , 79 and 92 - suffered enormous losses within a very short time, the brigade was taken out of the battle again.

On May 26, 1916 Lewinski was commander of the 5th Guard Infantry Brigade in the newly established 4th Guard Infantry Division , which fought at the heights of Vimy , northeast of Arras . In the Battle of the Somme , the division was deployed first south and then north of Péronne . On September 6, the Emperor appointed Lewinski commander of the newly formed 211th Infantry Division . With her he fought first on the Somme , then switched to the 7th Army and fought on the Aisne . The spring battle began on April 16, 1917 , during which he distinguished himself by leading the defense against the French troops. In recognition of his services, his commanding general , Lieutenant General Kühne , submitted an application for the award of the Pour le Mérite with the following reasons :

"Major General v. Lewinski carried out the preliminary battles of his division before the Siegfried line with extraordinary skill and great determination, delayed the enemy for a long time and inflicted great losses on him. Then he victoriously defended the position of Laffaux and Vauxaillon against repeated heavy attacks by the French. The enemy had to deploy a total of six divisions against the 211th Infantry Division without being able to gain any advantages against them. Major General v. Lewinski seems particularly worthy of being awarded the "Pour le mérite" because of his excellent and successful division management. "

- Viktor Kühne

During the spring offensive of 1918, the division was subordinate to the 18th Army until March 1918 , before it was again subordinated to the 7th Army. She was involved in the conquest and defense of the Saint-Gobain forest . On the right wing of the army, she was involved in the Battle of Soissons from late May to early June . As part of the 9th Army , the division was used in the French offensive near and south of Soissons . When the battle was over, the 211th Infantry Division was disbanded.

On June 10 Lewinski was promoted to lieutenant general and briefly took the commander of the north of Reims standing 8th Bavarian Reserve Division . On August 15, 1918 he was given command of the 5th Landwehr Division in Army Division C west of the Moselle . On October 20, 1918, the Kaiser appointed him commander of the 195th Infantry Division . The division, composed of hunter battalions , was at the battle of Vouziers . He led the division through the retreat until the armistice on November 11, 1918.

After the division was returned home and demobilized , he submitted his resignation . This was complied with on January 17, 1919.

Awards

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ from Otto Dziobeks: History of the Infantry Regiment “Lübeck” (3rd Hanseatic) No. 162 : “After the battle, the brigade commander, General v. Lewinski reported to the Lübeck Senate that the regiment received its baptism of fire on September 16 and 17 and that it had excelled in its old Hanseatic glory. The Senate then sent the regiment a cordial congratulatory telegram. "
  2. ↑ Hanns Möller: The history of the knights of the order “pour le merite” in the World War 1914-1918. Volume I: AL. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, p. 669.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 152.
  4. ^ Archives of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck regarding Senate files: Directory of the owners of the Lübeck Hanseatic Cross , signature 1093
personal data
SURNAME Lewinski, Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lewinski, Karl Julius Eduard Alfred von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Glogau
DATE OF DEATH August 13, 1937
Place of death Liegnitz