William Balck

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William Balck

Konrad Friedrich August Henry William Balck (born October 19, 1858 in Osnabrück , † July 15, 1924 in Aurich ) was a Prussian lieutenant general in the First World War .

Life

origin

William was the son of British Lieutenant Colonel Georg and his wife Charlotte, née Lütgen, a daughter of Major General Conrad Friedrich Lütgen (1790-1854) and his wife Dorothee Charlotte Lackemann.

Military career

After attending secondary school , he joined the cadet house in Plön and moved to Berlin a year later . On April 15, 1876 he was transferred as an ensign to the East Frisian Infantry Regiment No. 78 of the Prussian Army in Osnabrück . There Balck advanced to secondary lieutenant in mid-October 1877 and from March 1886 worked as an adjutant battalion . After his promotion to Prime Lieutenant , he graduated from the War Academy in Berlin from October 1, 1889 to February 15, 1892 . Subsequently, Balck was deployed as a company commander in his main regiment while being promoted to captain . A year and a half later, he switched to the Danzig War School as a teacher and from July 14, 1895 to June 30, 1898 at the Engers War School in the same position . Balck was then company commander in the infantry regiment "Vogel von Falckenstein" (7th Westphalian) No. 56 in Wesel and was assigned to the General Staff on September 13, 1899 . There he was promoted to major on July 22, 1900 . From August 18, 1901 to September 11, 1903, Balck was simultaneously a member of the study commission for the war schools. Balck changed back to the troop service on July 20, 1904 and was appointed commander of the III. Battalion of the Infantry Regiment "von Courbiére" (2nd Posensches) No. 19 in Görlitz . On October 16, 1906 he was transferred to the staff of the Infantry Regiment "Graf Kirchbach" (1st Lower Silesian) No. 46 to Posen and promoted to lieutenant colonel on January 27, 1907 and on January 27, 1910 to colonel . As such, Balck acted from April 1, 1910 as commander of the infantry regiment "von der Marwitz" (8th Pomeranian) No. 61 in Thorn . On March 22, 1913, Balck was commissioned with the command of the 82nd Infantry Brigade in Colmar and was appointed commander on April 18, 1913 while being promoted to major general . From May 9, 1914, he was employed as an inspector of field telegraphy.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Balck acted as head of field telegraphy in the Grand Headquarters . Balck received a field command again on December 7, 1914 and was appointed commander of the 99th Infantry Brigade, with which he was deployed on the Western Front . Awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , he was wounded on December 19, 1914 and, after his stay in the hospital, initially made available as an officer by the army. After Balck was able to work again, he took over the 13th Landwehr Division on August 19, 1915 and was appointed commander of the 51st Reserve Division on September 5, 1916 a year later . In this role he was promoted to lieutenant general on March 22, 1917. In the same year he received the Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star and Swords. Balck was relieved of his command on March 4, 1918 and appointed governor of the Baltic islands of Ösel , Dagö and Moon . In recognition of his work as a division commander during the fighting in Champagne and before Verdun , Balck was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on March 9, 1918 . Retaining his position as governor and conferring the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class with star, oak leaves and swords, he was put up for disposition on August 18, 1918 . His mobilization provision was lifted on January 26, 1919 and Balck was retired.

Balck published a number of books on military tactics .

family

He was married to Mathilde Jensen since March 21, 1893. The marriage resulted in two children, Georg Otto Hermann and their daughter Frieda. His son also embarked on an officer career and was most recently general of the armored forces in World War II .

Awards

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d 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. 97.
personal data
SURNAME Balck, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Lieutenant General in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH October 19, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Osnabrück
DATE OF DEATH July 15, 1924
Place of death Aurich