Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf

Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf

Konstantin Heinrich Robert Karl Schmidt Knobelsdorf (* 13 December 1860 in Frankfurt (Oder) ; † 1. September 1936 in Glücksburg ) was a Prussian general of the infantry in the First World War .

Life

origin

Konstantin was the son of the Prussian major Karl Schmidt von Knobelsdorf (1831–1890) and his first wife Klara, née Ilgner (1831–1863). After her death in 1871, his father married Elisabeth, née von Knobelsdorff (* 1851).

Military career

Schmidt von Knobelsdorf joined the 4th Magdeburg Infantry Regiment No. 67 of the Prussian Army in Metz on April 15, 1878 after his education in the Cadet Corps as a second lieutenant . On March 22, 1881 he was transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 98 , where he served as Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion from July 31, 1881 . From October 1, 1884 to July 20, 1887 he was commanded for further training at the War Academy and then promoted to Prime Lieutenant on August 16, 1887 . As such, Schmidt von Knobelsdorf rose to regimental adjutant on July 12, 1889. From March 24, 1890, he was assigned to the General Staff for the next three years and subsequently worked as a captain (from March 29, 1892) and company commander in the 4th Guards Regiment on foot . On May 20, 1897, Schmidt von Knobelsdorf took over the post of first general staff officer in the general staff of the 2nd division in Königsberg and was promoted to major on April 1, 1898 . He had the same function from July 3, 1899 to April 17, 1901 in the General Staff of the IX. Army Corps , before Schmidt von Knobelsdorf switched back to the troop service and was commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Hanoverian Infantry Regiment No. 74 . He then returned to the staff service and on May 31, 1904 was initially charged with taking on the business as Chief of the General Staff of the X Army Corps and was appointed chief with his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel on November 15, 1904.

In 1908 Schmidt von Knobelsdorf became the commander of the 4th Guards Regiment on foot. In 1911 he was promoted to major general and transferred to the post of chief of staff in the Guard Corps . In 1912 he became senior quartermaster in the General Staff and Deputy Chief of the General Staff , and in 1914 Lieutenant General . At that time he was also a member of the study commission of the War Academy.

At the beginning of the First World War he was Chief of Staff of the 5th Army , which was under the command of the Crown Prince , but which Schmidt von Knobelsdorf led informally in the 1916 Battle of Verdun, which was costly. This led to a dispute with the Crown Prince. Schmidt von Knobelsdorf was awarded on August 21, 1916 for his commitment with the oak leaves to his order Pour le Mérite received on October 17, 1915 . On August 20, 1916 he was appointed commanding general of the X Army Corps on the Eastern Front . At the end of 1916 it was moved to the Western Front and was in use in Upper Alsace until the end of the war. Schmidt von Knobelsdorf was bid farewell on September 30, 1919 and retired.

family

Schmidt von Knobelsdorf married Helene Hoppe (* 1859) on January 3, 1885 in Hanover. The future Rittmeister Günther Schmidt von Knobelsdorf (* 1889) emerged from the marriage, who married Elisabeth Freiin von Hoverbeck called von Schönaich (* 1891) on February 22, 1913 .

Awards

• Order of the Red Eagle II class with oak leaves
• Star for the Order of the Crown, 2nd class
• Prussian service award cross
• Commander 1st class of the Order of Albrecht the Bear
• Commander II class of the Order of Henry the Lion
• Commander of the Order of the Griffin
• Honorary Commander of the Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig
• Commander 1st class of the Albrecht Order
• Grand Cross of the Bulgarian Military Order of Merit
• Officer of the Order of the Sacred Treasure

literature

• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: M-Z. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, Berlin 1935, pp. 276-278.
• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2011, ISBN 3-7648-2586-3 , pp. 234-235.
• Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the noble houses. Old nobility and post office nobility. 1921. Fifteenth year, Justus Perthes , Gotha 1920, p.751
• Rolf Gminder, Peter Sauerwald: Interesting historical realities related to the religious order with a secure personal reference. Award realities of the general of the infantry Konstantin Heinrich Schmidt v. Knobelsdorf . In: Orders and Medals. Das Magazin für Freunde der Phaleristik, Ed .: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde , Issue 80, 14th year, Hof / Saale 2012. ISSN 1438-3772.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Erich Kassing: Battle of Verdun - Schmidt von Knobelsdorf, Konstantin, General.
2. ^ Spencer Tucker: Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf. (English) in Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf. P. 284.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg Army Corps for 1914 , Ed .: War Ministry , Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Son , Berlin 1914, p. 16