Ludwig Breßler

Ludwig Breßler (born March 7, 1862 in Hanau , † March 19, 1955 in Kassel ) was a German infantry general and knight of the order Pour le Mérite .

Life

Breßler, coming from the Cadet Corps , joined the 7th Rhenish Infantry Regiment No. 69 in Trier on April 17, 1880 as a second lieutenant . There he acted from November 1, 1886 as an adjutant of the 2nd Battalion and was promoted to Prime Lieutenant on May 22, 1889 . As such, he was from January 1, 1890 to October 1, 1892 adjutant of the Andernach district command . He then returned to his main regiment, where he was promoted to captain on March 17, 1894 . On March 27, 1898, he was transferred to Strasbourg , where Breßler served as a company commander in the 4th Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 143 . He was transferred to the General Staff on March 22, 1900 , where he was used in the railway department. After a year he was appointed railway line commander in Berlin and promoted to major on September 15, 1904 . Breßler held this position until his transfer on May 22, 1911 and subsequently acted as commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Hanoverian Infantry Regiment No. 74 . As a lieutenant colonel (since July 17, 1911) he was transferred to the staff of the 8th West Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 175 in Graudenz on October 1, 1912 . He was then commissioned on December 18, 1913 to lead the 3rd West Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 129, which was also stationed in Graudenz, and was appointed its commander at the same time as his promotion to colonel on February 17, 1914.

After the mobilization and outbreak of the First World War , Breßler was deployed with the regiment, initially on the Eastern Front in a series of border protection battles, the battles near Gumbinnen , Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes . On January 25, 1915, he gave up the regiment and took over the 93rd Reserve Infantry Brigade. For his achievements during the battles in the Carpathian Mountains , Galicia and Russia , Breßler was awarded the Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Swords , after he had already received both classes of the Iron Cross . After Breßler had become major general on March 22, 1917 , Kaiser Wilhelm II appointed him commander of the 121st Division on December 9, 1917 , which was on the western front south-east of Verdun on the Cambres Heights. During the defensive battles at Nesle and Noyon , Breßler proved himself again and was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on October 9, 1918. After further defensive battles, the remnants of the large unit marched back home after the armistice .

Breßler gave up command of the division on December 17, 1918 and was made available as an officer by the army. On March 15, 1919 he was appointed commander of the 37th Division and the 78th Resolving Staff in Allenstein . From both commands Breßler was released on October 9, 1919 and a day later with the character as a lieutenant general for disposition made.

Breßler received the character of General of the Infantry on August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day.

literature

• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 1: A-G. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2505-7 , pp. 191-192.
• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume I: A-L. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, Berlin 1935, pp. 147–148.