Karl von Witzendorff

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Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Witzendorff (1824-1891)

Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Witzendorff (born April 28, 1824 in Scharnebeck , † March 23, 1891 in Göttingen ) was a Prussian general of the cavalry .

Life

origin

Karl was the sixth of eleven children of the Hanoverian captain and lord of Wiebendorf Peter von Witzendorff (1778-1857) and his wife Charlotte, born von Spörcken (1788-1866) from the house of Lüdersburg . His younger brother Ernst (1828-1896) became Mecklenburg Chamber Director.

Military career

After attending the high school in Salzwedel and the pedagogy in Putbus , Witzendorff joined the 3rd Squadron of the 8th Uhlan Regiment of the Prussian Army in Trier on June 1, 1841 . By the end of October 1842 he was promoted to secondary lieutenant and completed the general war school from October 1846 to September 1851 for further training with interruptions . Accompanied by three Uhlans , he succeeded in ending the revolutionary unrest in Prüm in May 1849 and for this Witzendorff received the Order of the Red Eagle, IV class with swords. After completing his studies, he worked as a regimental adjutant from late July 1852 to late May 1853. This was followed by assignments to the topographical department and to the General Staff and the interim promotion to prime lieutenant . This was followed on October 30, 1855 as a captain, transferred to the General Staff of the 1st Army Corps . From the end of April 1856 he was the surveying director of the topographical department in the General Staff, was aggregated to the General Staff of the Army on March 3, 1859 and appointed personal adjutant to Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia . In mid-July 1859 he was promoted to major and in December 1859 was placed in his position à la suite of the General Staff of the Army. For a short time, Witzendorff was in July 1863 as leader of the 4th Squadron of the 1st Dragioner Guard Regiment and in December 1863 in the headquarters of the Saxon Lieutenant General von Hake . In mid-January 1864 he resigned to the prince's staff and in the same year took part in the battles near Missunde and Wilhoi and the assault on the Düppeler Schanzen during the war against Denmark . The transition to Alsen took place according to his plans with Moltke's approval . For his behavior, Witzendorff received the Order of the Crown and the Order of the Red Eagle III. Class with swords, the Mecklenburg Military Merit Cross II. Class and the Order of the Iron Crown II. Class with war decorations.

Shortly before the armistice, Witzendorff was appointed director of the military riding school in Schwedt / Oder on June 16, 1864 under position à la suite of the 1st Guard Dragoon Regiment . In this position he introduced revolutionary innovations in the field of equestrian training, rose to lieutenant colonel at the end of June 1864 and received the rank and fee of regimental commander in early January 1866. During the mobilization on the occasion of the war against Austria , Witzendorff was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Cavalry Corps of the 1st Army under Albrecht of Prussia in 1866 . He took part in the battles at Münchengrätz and Gitschin , was able to prove himself particularly in the battle at Königgrätz and was awarded the order Pour le Mérite for this.

After the peace treaty , he was appointed commander of the 2nd Westphalian Hussar Regiment No. 11 in Lüneburg on September 17, 1866 and promoted to colonel on December 31, 1866 with a patent from October 30, 1866 . As such, he was commanded in September 1869 for the maneuvers of a combined Bavarian army corps taking place near Schweinfurt . At the end of November 1869 he gave up his regiment and was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the VIII Army Corps in Koblenz . In this position he took part in the battles of Spichern , Vionville , Gravelotte , Amiens , the Hallue , Bapaume and Saint-Quentin as well as the occupations of Metz and Péronne in 1870/71 during the war against France under von Goeben . In recognition of his services, he received both classes of the Iron Cross and the oak leaves for the order Pour le Mérite.

On April 4, 1871, Witzendorff received the rank and duties of brigade commander, was appointed head of the Military Equestrian Institute in Hanover on June 24, 1871 after the Peace of Frankfurt on June 24, 1871 under position à la suite of the General Staff , and was promoted to major general in mid-August 1871 . At his suggestion, the institute was divided into an officer riding school and a cavalry non-commissioned school. Under his direction, cavalry training was organized according to a uniform system. He also worked as a member of a commission which, based on the experience of the campaign against France, worked out proposals to change the regulations for the cavalry. In August / September 1872 Witzendorff stayed at the invitation of the English government for the troop exercises at Salisbury . In 1874/75 he was commanded during the autumn exercises as a leader of cavalry divisions formed for this purpose. On January 2, 1876 Witzendorff was initially with the leadership of the cavalry division of the XV. Army Corps and on November 21, 1876, promoted to lieutenant general and commander of this division. This was followed by a position as commander of the 14th division in Düsseldorf from April 17, 1879 to April 14, 1882 . He was then commissioned to lead the VII Army Corps . At the beginning of May 1882 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the House Order of the Wendish Crown , appointed General in Command on November 23, 1882 and promoted to General of the Cavalry on September 20, 1884. Due to illness, he had to take an eight-week vacation in 1886. In recognition of his many years of service, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Red Eagle Order with Oak Leaves and Swords on the Ring on the occasion of the festival in January 1887. After the accession of Emperor Wilhelm II. , His health deteriorated due to an undiagnosed kidney disease again and Witzendorff felt compelled his farewell submit. He was then at position à la suite of the 2nd Westphalian Hussars. 11 on August 7, 1888 board for disposition made.

He died on March 23, 1891 as a result of an operation in Göttingen.

family

Witzendorff had married Elise von Rehdiger (1829-1892) on November 15, 1859 in Striese . The son Hans (* 1863) and daughters Charlotte (1868-1935), who on June 21, 1888 married the later Prussian Major General Walter Rabe von Pappenheim (1862-1941) and Eleonore (* 1869), emerged from the marriage. The son was a Prussian lieutenant colonel who founded the Witzendorff-Rehdiger line through name association on March 2, 1914, linked to the possession of the Striese manor.

literature
personal data
SURNAME Witzendorff, Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Witzendorff, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the cavalry
DATE OF BIRTH April 28, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Scharnebeck
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1891
Place of death Goettingen