Wolf Rudolf Freiherr Marshal von Altengottern

Baron Marshal von Altengottern

Wolf Rudolf Freiherr Marschall von Altengottern (* 26. September 1855 in Elk ; † 20th November 1930 in Castle Altengottern ) was a Prussian general of cavalry in the First World War .

Life

origin

His parents were District Administrator Rudolf Marschall von Altengottern (1820–1890) and his wife Anna Luise, née von Seebach (1827–1897).

Career

Marshall came on 18 September 1875 as a cadet in the Thuringian Hussars. 12 of the Prussian army and was promoted to mid-February 1877 second lieutenant . From October 1, 1880 to July 21, 1883 he was sent to the military academy for training and shortly before the end of training on July 3, he was transferred to the regiment of the Gardes du Corps . After being promoted to Prime Lieutenant on April 1, 1885, he was promoted to regimental adjutant a fortnight later. On September 17, 1887 he was transferred as adjutant of the 1st Guards Cavalry Brigade . In the further course of his military career, Marschall held various general staff assignments and was appointed commander of the Leib-Garde-Hussar Regiment on April 24, 1904 . From June 9, 1905, he also acted as the wing adjutant of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Left in this position, he was commissioned to lead the 17th Cavalry Brigade (Grand Duke Mecklenburgische) in Schwerin on September 13, 1906 and on January 27, 1907 appointed commander of this large formation . On May 28, 1907, Marschall passed the brigade to his successor Ludwig von Schwerin. He was now working as serving with the adjutant of the Emperor, on 27 January 1909 serving with General à la suite of the Emperor, and on April 5, leaving in this position was the disposition made.

He was a member of the Prussian manor house .

First World War

When the First World War broke out, Marschall was initially assigned as a ZD officer to serve with the Kaiser in the Great Headquarters . On December 24, 1914, he was then appointed commander of the 3rd Guard Division , which he initially led in the Southern Army until February 16, 1915 , while simultaneously conferring the character of General of the Cavalry . Marschall then took over the "Marschall" corps named after him and consisting of various Austrian divisions in the section of the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army , which at that time was deployed in Bukovina and on the Dniester . Here he was then also awarded the patent for his rank on March 22, 1915 .

In mid-April 1916 he was appointed Commanding General of the newly established Guard Reserve Corps on the Western Front . The corps was used in the Battle of the Somme from July 1916 and Marschall was awarded the order Pour le Mérite for the defense of the section entrusted to him on September 21, 1916 . In 1917 he took part in the battles for the Wytschaete arch and the Third Battle of Flanders . In April 1918, the corps fought in the German spring offensive and was instrumental in the battle of the Lys . For the successes that his subordinate troops achieved in this offensive, Marshal was awarded the oak leaves for Pour le Mérite on May 16, 1918.

After the armistice , Marschall was commissioned to lead the 4th Army on November 19, 1918 . After returning home, he retired on December 30, 1918 at his own request.

family

In 1885 he married Countess Wilhelmine von Rittberg (1866–1951). The couple had at least one son:

• Wolf Erhard (1888–1960) ⚭ 1921 Countess Luise Finck von Finckenstein (1896–1991)

literature

• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: M-Z. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 14-16.
• 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 , pp. 416-418.

Individual evidence

1. ^ German Historical Museum, Hans Wilderotter (ed.), Klaus-D. Pohl (ed.): The last emperor: Wilhelm II. In exile. Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, 1991, p. 368.