Robert Weber (officer)

Robert Weber (between 1914 and 1918)

Robert Weber (born June 13, 1849 in Wollishofen , today a quarter of the city of Zurich ; † May 14, 1931 in Zurich; authorized to reside in Wollishofen and since 1886 in Zurich) was a Swiss officer , most recently in the rank of corps commander and architect .

Life

Family and work

The reformed baptized, from Wollishofen in Zurich and originating Robert Weber, son of wine merchant and innkeeper John Weber and his wife Anna, born Schmid, completed after the acquisition of the Swiss Matura , the study of architecture and a military scientific training at the Federal Polytechnic Zurich . Robert Weber was first married to Anna Meyer, second to Sophie Kündig and third to Luise, the daughter of pastor Karl Gottlieb Wegmann. He died in Zurich in mid-May 1931, one month before his 82nd birthday.

Professional background

After completing his degree, Robert Weber held positions as an architect in various places in Switzerland and Germany . In 1876 Weber entered the military with the rank of captain , in the function of an instruction officer for the engineering troops , in 1891 Weber , who was appointed permanent staff officer , moved to the Federal Military Department in Bern . In 1901 Robert Weber was appointed chief of arms of the engineering troops, in 1914 chief of genius in the army, a position from which he resigned in 1918. Weber, who was promoted to division commander in 1908 and high corps commander in 1918, was dismissed from his position as weapons chief of the engineering troops in 1924 in accordance with his request and in recognition of his services. Weber, who was responsible for the creation of the corps of engineer officers, came out particularly with publications on the defense issue. Robert Weber played a leading role in the expansion of the national defense system.

Publications

• The Franco-German border fortresses and the question of national fortifications: Military geographic considerations by a militia officer, Orell Füssli, Zurich, 1880
• The increase in mountain artillery: SA. from the National-Zeitung, National-Zeitung, Basel, 1891
• On the defense issue: Critical remarks on the organization of the Swiss infantry, in: Schweizer Zeitfragen,; 24., Orell Füssli, Zurich, 1893
• From the campaign in Thessaly in 1897: Memories and studies of a Swiss officer, in: Neujahrsblatt der Feuerwerker-Gesellschaft in Zürich, 93, Orell Füssli, Zürich, 1898
• The strategic importance of Switzerland in the campaigns of the past century and on the threshold of the twentieth: After a lecture, Verlag der Haller'schen Buchdruckerei, Bern, 1898
• Army and weapon of genius: after a lecture given at the Officers' Association of the City of Bern, Haller, Bern, 1902
• Principles of fortifying battlefields and fighting for entrenched positions, Haller, Bern, 1904
• The interests of the state defense in a standard-gauge Brünig railway and in its section Interlaken-Brienz-Meiringen: Lecture given in the officers' association Interlaken, Komm.A. Francke, Bern, 1906
• Overview of Swiss war history, published by the Federal High War Commissioner, Bern, 1925
• Should Switzerland disarm? : On the task and importance of the Swiss defense system, in: Schweizerische Politik, 5, Leemann, Zurich, 1931

literature

• Alfred Ernst: The conception of the Swiss national defense, 1815 to 1966, Huber, Frauenfeld, Stuttgart, 1971, ISBN 3-7193-0006-4 , p. 23.
• Rudolf J. Ritter: Die Funkertruppe: Contribution to the history of radio communications among the transmission troops 1904 to 1979, in: Monographs on the history of the transmission troops, 1., Federal Office for transmission troops, Bern, 1991, p. 13, 75.
• Georges Rapp, Viktor Hofer, Rudolf Jaun, Hans Rapold, Hans Senn: The Swiss General Staff, Vol. 8: The Swiss General Staff Corps 1875-1945, Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel, 1991, p. 390.
• Robert Gubler: Field Division 6 : from the Zurich Militia to the Field Division, 1815–1991, in: [Field Division 6], [Vol. 1], Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich, 1991, ISBN 3-8582-3323-4 , p. 543.
• Hans Rudolf Fuhrer, Max Mittler : The history of the Swiss fortifications, Orell Füssli, Zurich; Cologne, 1992, ISBN 3-2800-1844-7 , p. 40.
• Hans Rudolf Fuhrer: The Swiss Army in World War I: Threat, National Defense and National Fortifications , Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich, 1999, ISBN 3-8582-3798-1 , p. 139.

Web links

• Peter Müller-Grieshaber: Weber, Robert. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .