Otto von Moser

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Otto von Moser

Otto Moser , who has been with Moser since 1908 , (born March 31, 1860 in Stuttgart ; † October 11, 1931 in Isny im Allgäu ) was a Württemberg lieutenant general in World War I as well as a military historian and author of numerous books.

Life

origin

He was the fifth son of the Württemberg commercial councilor Alwin Moser (1823-1906), most recently chairman of the supervisory board of the Deutsche Verlagsanstalt in Stuttgart, and his wife Auguste, née Kleinlogel (1827-1900).

Military career

After attending the Stuttgart secondary school, he graduated from the cadet schools in Bensberg and Berlin from 1874 . Coming from the middle class, he was the first in his family to pursue a career as an officer. Moser joined the 8th Württemberg Infantry Regiment No. 126 as an ensign on April 16, 1877 and was promoted to secondary lieutenant on October 7, 1878 . From July 31, 1882 to March 1, 1883 Moser was sent to the military gymnastics school and afterwards he worked as an assistant teacher in this institution. He then returned to his parent regiment on May 2, 1884 and was used as an adjutant of the Fusilier Battalion. In this function he was promoted to Prime Lieutenant on February 23, 1889 . For almost three years from October 1, 1889, Moser was commanded for further training at the Prussian War Academy . Then commanded to Moser for one year for the General Staff to Berlin, it carried on 14 September 1893. Captain and as such was then carried out on April 1, 1894, the appointment as a company commander in the Grenadier Regiment "Queen Olga" (1 Württembergisches) No 119 . Moser held this post until his transfer to the General Staff on September 12, 1896, and at the same time was again commanded to the General Staff. From there he became the first general staff officer on November 18, 1897 in the general staff of the 27th Division (2nd Royal Württembergische) . As a major (since September 13, 1899) he served from July 22, 1900 to February 27, 1902 and then until April 23, 1904 in the same function, initially in the General Staff of the XVIII. Army Corps and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps . Moser was then until April 9, 1906 commander of the 1st battalion of the infantry regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm, King of Prussia" (2nd Württembergisches) No. 120 . For a short time he was then assigned to the staff of the infantry regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden" (8th Württembergisches) No. 126 while being promoted to lieutenant colonel and was transferred to the war academy on May 21, 1906 as a teacher. Here he taught until November 18, 1909, in the meantime became a colonel on March 24, 1909 and as such then department head in the General Staff.

On February 25, 1908, King Wilhelm II awarded him the Cross of Honor of the Order of the Württemberg Crown . Associated with this was the elevation to the personal nobility .

From April 1, 1910 to September 12, 1912 Moser acted as the commander of the infantry regiment "Alt-Württemberg" (3rd Württembergisches) No. 121 and was then made available as an officer by the army while being promoted to major general .

First World War

With effect from January 27, 1913 he was appointed commander of the 53rd Infantry Brigade (3rd Royal Württembergische) in Ulm . In 1914, the later Field Marshal Erwin Rommel also served in the brigade . Moser held this command even after the outbreak of the First World War and the mobilization . He was deployed with his brigade on the Western Front and was wounded near Romagne during the Battle of Varennes-Montfaucon. After his stay in the hospital, he was initially made available as an officer by the army and, after his recovery, on May 25, 1915, he was appointed commander of the 107th division that was in formation . With this he was then used on the Eastern Front and fought u. a. in the capture of Brest-Litovsk and in the campaign against Serbia . Moser, promoted to Lieutenant General on August 18, 1915, gave up command on June 13, 1916, was transferred to the Western Front and there commander of the 27th Division (2nd Royal Württembergische). On March 12, 1917 he was appointed commanding general of the XIV Reserve Corps , with whom he distinguished himself at the Battle of Arras .

During the Battle of Cambrai , Moser counterattacked the British completely unexpectedly on November 30, 1917 as leader of the Arras corps group. Three newly arrived divisions strengthen the storm troops. At Burlon, Moser's associations suffered heavy losses in combat with eight British divisions. The army groups Caudry and Busigny, however, quickly regained lost terrain further south. Moser was made available as an officer by the army on February 8, 1918, and retired on July 18, 1918, when he was awarded the Commendation of Military Merit .

post war period

After the war, Moser lived almost continuously on the Ludwigshöhe estate in Isny, which his wife had inherited.

In the years up to his death, he published a number of books on military history, as he did during his active time. The University of Tübingen honored his work with the award of an honorary doctorate on July 31, 1927. The fee for his work Die Württemberger im Weltkriege went to a foundation he established and based in Isny, which pursued social purposes.

family

His marriage to Antonie Distel on October 15, 1883 in Stuttgart gave birth to the three children Helene Hildegard (* 1886), Otto (* 1894) and Albert (* 1899).

Awards

Works

  • Brief strategic overview of the war of 1870/71. Mittler-Verlag, Berlin 1896.
  • The leadership of the army corps in field wars. Mittler-Verlag, Berlin 1913.
  • Training and leadership of the battalion, regiment and brigade. Thoughts and suggestions. Mittler-Verlag, Berlin 1914.
  • Battle and Victory Days 1914: Campaign Records. Mittler-Verlag, Berlin 1915.
  • Campaign records 1914-1918 as Brigade Division Commander and Commanding General. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1920. [1]
  • Brief strategic overview of World War 1914-1918. Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1921.
  • Serious chats about the world war. A critical military-political history of war for professionals and non-professionals. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1925.
  • The most important militarily and politically from the world war. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1926.
  • Pre-war period, the world war and the future war. Special print from the magazine “Deutscher Officier-Bund”, 6th year 1927, No. 12-14. Berlin 1927, Dob-Verlag GmbH.
  • The Württemberg people in the world war. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1927.
  • The supreme powers in the world war. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1931.
  • The World War and the Post-War Academic Youth. Belser-Verlag, Stuttgart 1939.

literature

  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 2: HO. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2003, ISBN 3-7648-2516-2 .
  • Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: MZ. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Berlin 1935, pp. 57–59.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ War Ministry (ed.): Königlich Württembergisches Militär-Wochenblatt. No. 6 of February 25, 1908, p. 20.
personal data
SURNAME Moser, Otto von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Württemberg Lieutenant General in World War I, author
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH October 11, 1931
Place of death Isny in the Allgäu