Otto von Stetten

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Otto von Stetten

Otto von Stetten (* 16th March 1862 in Bamberg , † 7. August 1937 in Schliersee ) was a Bavarian cavalry general in the First World War .

Life

family

Otto was the son of the Bavarian chamberlain Friedrich von Stetten and his wife Adele, née Hohe. In 1915 he married Marie, née Kaulbach, widowed Baroness von Weinbach, a daughter of the painter Hermann Kaulbach .

Military career

Stetten joined the 3rd Chevaulegers Regiment "Duke Karl Theodor" of the Bavarian Army in Dieuze as a four-year-old volunteer after attending the Realgymnasium on October 1, 1879 , was appointed Portepeefähnrich on March 18, 1880 and second lieutenant on March 29 , 1879 . Promoted April 1882. From 1889 to 1891 he was assigned to the Munich Riding School. Stetten then graduated from the War Academy by 1894 , which he graduated without any special qualifications. In the meantime he had been promoted to lieutenant prime on March 25, 1891 . On April 4, 1895, he was assigned to the General Staff for a year and spent the next three and a half years at the side of Rupprecht von Bayern as his personal adjutant. Together, the two traveled to the Middle East , India , Japan and China, among others . In this function, Stetten was promoted to Rittmeister on November 7, 1896 . As such, on November 6, 1899, he took over a squadron in the 2nd Chevaulegers Regiment "Taxis" in Regensburg . Next he was transferred to the General Staff of the 2nd Division in Augsburg on September 13, 1901 and promoted to Major on October 28, 1902 .

In 1904 Stetten took a leave of absence and received approval to take part in the Russo-Japanese War on the Japanese side , in which he fought, among other things, in the Battle of Mukden . The city ​​chronicle of Munich of March 17, 1904 reports the following: “To take part in the Russo-Japanese war, the General Staff of the Bavarian Army sent the Major, Otto von Stetten in the General Staff of the 1st Army Corps. The same began his journey to the east or to the headquarters of the Japanese army today ”.

After the end of the war, Stetten returned to Bavaria on September 17, 1905 and was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the I. Army Corps in Munich on October 17, 1905. As a lieutenant colonel (since August 15, 1906) he was appointed on July 12, 1908 took command of the 2nd Heavy Rider Regiment "Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este" in Landshut and was promoted to colonel shortly afterwards on August 12, 1908 . On March 26, 1909, he was appointed commander of the 5th Cavalry Brigade and a year later of the 1st Cavalry Brigade . After his promotion to major general on October 16, 1911, he was appointed head of department in the War Ministry and the Council of State in March 1912 . From March 18, 1913 to August 1, 1914 he was also inspector of the cavalry and replaced Rudolf von Frommel in this function . On December 17, 1913, he was finally promoted to lieutenant general .

The Bavarian Cavalry Division in the attack at Lagarde

When the First World War broke out, Stetten was appointed commander of the Cavalry Division , a major unit of the 6th Army that was deployed on the Western Front, in early August 1914 . During the first fighting, the battle near Lagarde , in which the division was already involved on August 11th, an initial success on the western front was achieved through Stetten. Even though the division's Uhlans had suffered heavy losses with 235 officers and men killed, the village could be attacked. A flag, eleven cannons and six machine guns were captured and over 1,400 prisoners were taken that day. In addition, it was possible to secure an army order from a fallen French brigadier general, which could provide information about the battle plan of the French in Lorraine. The attack at Lagarde was the last successful cavalry attack in a larger formation on the western front.

In October the division fought in the border area between northern France and Belgium and was already able to advance on Hazebrouck when it had to be withdrawn because of the approaching British troops. On October 11, 1914, Stetten was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order . On November 5, 1914, he was transferred and, as a substitute, was entrusted with the management of the II Army Corps . On November 10th of the same year the corps succeeded in taking St. Eloi in the First Battle of Flanders . During the Battle of the Somme , the 3rd Infantry Division was overrun in places. Southeast of Martinpuich, on the edge of the Foureaux forest and north of Combles, however, the 4th Infantry Division together with the Prussian 185th Infantry Division were able to stop the British assault troops advancing sideways from the tanks with their machine gun fire. For his achievements in this battle Stetten received the order Pour le Mérite on September 22, 1916 .

On January 5, 1917, Stetten took over the corps as commanding general and was appointed general of the cavalry on January 17, 1917. At that time, the 3rd Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Wenninger and the 4th Infantry Division under Major General Franz von Bayern were subordinate to him . On the morning of May 21, 1917, the 2nd British Army began a massive bombardment with over 2,000 guns, in which the Germans were continuously shot at in preparation for the Battle of Messines . This bombardment resulted in an extensive destruction of the German defenses, but on the other hand it served as a warning for the impending attack. This then began on June 7th with the completely unforeseen demolition of 19 mines under the German positions. The detonation of the mines was the loudest human-made sound to date and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions of all time. As a result of these explosions, up to 10,000 soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division, for which Stetten was also responsible, died in one fell swoop. With barrage from all pipes, the use of poison gas and 72 tanks, the British 2nd Army was able to take the front arch within three hours and take several thousand German soldiers prisoner. It is not for nothing that the Battle of Messines is considered the most successful offensive of the Allies in World War I and at the same time it was the greatest defeat for Stetten.

During the subsequent Third Battle of Flanders, the corps was subordinate to the “Lille” group of the 4th Army on the southern section of the front and was able to hold its positions. At the Fourth Battle of Flanders , also known as the Battle of Armentières , Stetten, together with General der Infantry Carlowitz , was able to wipe out the enemy position divisions on the first impact and by 10 a.m. to cross the third enemy line everywhere. Towards evening Stetten's right wing corps, having crossed the completely muddy field of funnels, was able to take Bois-Grenier in a flank thrust to the right, penetrate Fleurbaix and gain access to the Lys at Bac St. Maur . This area could then be used by other units as a base for crossing the river, while parts of the "Stetten" corps were engaged in heavy fighting with the enemy at Pont Mortier. Finally, on the night of April 11, the corps was able to struck another attack arc around the eastern edge of Armentières to Houplines, which then led to the successful capture of the city that afternoon. The successful outcome of the Battle of Armentières more than compensated for the loss of terrain in Flanders in 1917 in just a few weeks and created a potential basis for further action. The Allies suffered heavy losses in the form of around 20,000 prisoners, 400 artillery pieces and thousands of machine guns. Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen relieved Stetten from his command on April 18, 1918. He was then transferred to the army officers and retired from military service on May 12, 1918. At the same time King Ludwig III appointed him . in recognition of his services to commander of the Military Max Joseph Order.

post war period

After the end of the First World War, Stetten became involved in the paramilitary umbrella organization Bund Bayern und Reich , founded in 1921 , which was then the strongest paramilitary association in Bavaria. However, when he became its chairman in 1926, the Bund, which maintained close contacts with the Reichswehr , had already passed its zenith.

honors and awards

A barracks on the Oberwiesenfeld in Munich was named in recognition of his military services in 1938. In addition, Stetten was holder of the following medals and decorations :

literature

  • Walter Schärl: The composition of the Bavarian civil service from 1806-1918. (Munich Historical Studies, Department Bavarian History 1). Lassleben, Kallmünz 1955, No. 475, pp. 269-270.
  • Rudolf von Kramer, Otto von Waldenfels: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Acts of War and Book of Honor 1914–1918. Self-published by the Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order, Munich 1966, pp. 419-420.
  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 3: PZ. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2011, ISBN 3-7648-2586-3 , pp. 360–361.
  • Hanns Möller: History of the knight of the order »pour le mérite« in the world war. Volume II: M-Z. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Berlin 1935, pp. 373–374.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Siegfried Weiss : Desired career art. Painter, graphic artist, sculptor. Former students of the Munich Maximiliansgymnasium from 1849 to 1918. Allitera Verlag, Munich 2012. ISBN 978-3-86906-475-8 , p. 114
  2. ↑ a b Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-10490-8 , p. 584.
  3. ↑ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Kingdom of Bavaria for 1914. Munich 1914, p. 21.
personal data
SURNAME Stetten, Otto von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bavarian general of the cavalry in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1862
PLACE OF BIRTH Bamberg
DATE OF DEATH August 7, 1937
Place of death Schliersee