Roderich von Schoeler

Roderich von Schoeler

Roderich Felix Alexander von Schoeler (born August 3, 1862 in Trier , † April 4, 1935 in Bad Wildungen ) was a German infantry general of the Reichswehr .

Life

origin

Roderich was the son of the later Prussian Lieutenant General Daniel von Schoeler (1800-1878) and his second wife Helene von Bornstedt (born May 13, 1825 in Rathenow ; † October 18, 1898 in Bonn ).

Military career

Schoeler joined the 4th Guards Regiment on foot in the Prussian Army on April 12, 1879 , coming from the Cadet Corps as an ensign . In the autumn of the same year he was promoted to second lieutenant and on July 22, 1888 to prime lieutenant . As such, Schoeler was sent to the War Academy from October 1, 1890 to July 21, 1893 for further training . Schoeler then became a captain and company commander in his main regiment in mid-September 1893 . In November 1899 he was sent to the War Ministry and Schoeler was finally transferred here on January 27, 1900 while simultaneously being promoted to major . There he worked in the 2nd Supply Department (C2) in the Supply and Justice Department (CD) until February 13, 1905. He then took over as commander of the III. Battalion in Grenadier Regiment No. 89 in Schwerin and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 10, 1906 . After two years of service in the troops, Schoeler took over the Berlin III district command on May 18, 1907. In this position he was promoted to colonel on April 20, 1909 . As such, Schoeler was in command of the 2nd Guards Regiment on foot from January 27, 1910 to September 30, 1912 and was then promoted to Major General, commander of the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade . In the following year Schoeler was recalled on July 3, 1913 and appointed director of the Army Administration Department (BD) in the War Ministry. At the same time he acts as a deputy authorized representative to the Federal Council of the German Reich .

First World War

With the outbreak of the First World War, Schoeler was appointed general director of the field army on August 3, 1914 . On April 27, 1916, Schoeler returned to service and was given the command of the 20th division . In this position he was promoted to lieutenant general on June 6, 1916 and finally on August 21, 1916, he was appointed division commander. With her he was on duty on the Eastern Front and participated in the fighting on the Stochod and the Battle of Kovel during the Brusilov offensive . Schoeler was withdrawn from this front command on September 30, 1916 and appointed Deputy Minister of War. However, he only stayed in this role for a few weeks. On October 29, 1916 he was transferred to the officers of the army and on December 18, 1916 appointed commander of the 11th Division . The division was at this point in position fighting on the Somme . In the battle of Arras his division was able to prevent the breakthrough of British and Canadian troops in the section commanded by Schoeler, but suffered heavy losses. 105 officers and 3,154 NCOs and men lost their lives, were wounded or were considered missing. Schoeler was then commissioned on May 11, 1917 with the leadership of the VIII. Army Corps in the Linsingen Army Group in Volhynia .

In September Schoeler and his corps came to Army Division B and were assigned a section on the Swiss border. In the spring of 1918 the corps was deployed with the 7th Army and attacked on April 7, 1918. It stormed the heights of Amigny and forced the passage over the Oise at Chauny . In the following days, the large association fought in the coppice of Coucy and on the Ailette , stormed Coucy-le-Château and pursued the defeated enemy to the Oise-Aisne Canal . The attack was then stopped there.

From June 9th to 13th, 1918, Schoeler then led his corps with the 18th Army in the battle of Noyon . On the first day of the fight, the enemy was pushed back seven kilometers to the south and on June 10th the Corps captured Marquéglise . In the further course of the fighting it advanced to the Matz to the south-east and threatened the French troops standing on the heights of Lassigny on the left flank. His troops could not advance further than the Aronde , however, as Schoeler was exposed to strong counter-attacks there, which he was able to repel. For his achievements, Schoeler was submitted to the Pour le Mérite by his commanding General Oskar von Hutier . Wilhelm II then honored him on June 30, 1918 with the highest Prussian valor award.

Until the end of the war, Schoeler was involved in defensive battles with heavy losses in the 7th Army, most recently in the Antwerp- Maas position. After the Compiègne armistice , he led his troops back home.

Reichswehr

Schoeler was accepted into the provisional Reichswehr and on August 7, 1919, was entrusted with the management of Reichswehr Group Command 2 in Kassel. Schoeler behaved negatively towards Walther von Lüttwitz in the run-up to the Kapp Putsch . On the first day of the coup he made a declaration of loyalty to the Ebert government . Schoeler submitted his farewell and was retired from active service on September 30, 1920, conferring the character of General of the Infantry.

family

Schoeler married Helene Freiin Böcklin von Böcklinsau (born March 21, 1865 in Mannheim ) in Unkel on September 11, 1919 .

Awards

• Order of the Crown II class
• Knight of Honor of the Order of St. John
• Prussian service award cross
• Honorary Commander of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern
• Cross of Honor of the Order of the Griffin
• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
• Order of the Red Eagle II class with oak leaves and swords

literature

• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume 2: MZ. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Berlin 1935, pp. 287–289.
• 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. 248-249.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Harold J. Gordon Jr .: The Reichswehr and the Weimar Republic. Verlag für Wehrwesen Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt am Main 1959, p. 105.
2. ↑ Harold J. Gordon Jr .: The Reichswehr and the Weimar Republic. Verlag für Wehrwesen Bernard & Graefe, Frankfurt am Main 1959, p. 139.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 58.