Max Clemens Lothar Freiherr von Hausen (December 17, 1846 – March 19, 1922) was a German

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He participated in the Austro-Prussian and Franco-German Wars and became ''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German '' Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

'' of Saxon troops and War Minister in the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

. At the beginning of the

, he was the head of the Third Army which he led during the Battles of the Frontiers,

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

, and the Marne. He was relieved of his command because of illness in September 1914.

Life

Early life

Max Clemens Lothar von Hausen was born on the 17th December 1846 in Dresden-Neustadt as the second son of Clemens von Hausen and Anna Wilhelmine von Ammon. His mother Anna was the daughter of the surgeon and opthalmologist

Friedrich August von Ammon Friedrich August von Ammon (10 September 1799 – 18 May 1861) was a German surgeon and ophthalmologist born in Göttingen. He was the son of theologian Christoph Friedrich von Ammon (1766–1850). He studied medicine at the Universities of Unive ...

. Through his mother he was also a great-grandson of the protestant theologian Christoph Friedrich von Ammon by whom he was baptized.

Military career

Coming from a military family Hausen entered the

Saxon army The Royal Saxon Army () was the military force of the Electorate (1682–1807) and later the Kingdom of Saxony (1807–1918). A regular Saxon army was first established in 1682 and it continued to exist until the abolition of the German monarchies ...

as a cadet in the royal Saxon school of cadets. Being promoted to Seconde-Lieutenant in 1864 he joined the 3rd Jäger Battalion and served against

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

of 1866; where he saw action at the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

. After that war, Saxony allied with Prussia and became a part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

when it was created in 1871. From 1871 to 1874 Hausen taught at the Prussian military academy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and from 1875 until 1887 he served on the Imperial German General Staff. Being the chief of staff of the Saxon army from 1892 to 1895 he commanded the 32nd (3rd Royal Saxon) Division from 1897 to 1900 and the

XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps The XII (1st Royal Saxon) Army Corps / XII AK () was a Saxon corps level command of the Saxon and German Armies before and during World War I. The Corps was formed as the Royal Saxon Corps on 1 April 1867 and headquartered in Dresden. Initially, ...

from 1900 to 1902. He served as Minister of War of the Kingdom of Saxony from 1902 to 1914, being promoted to Generaloberst in 1910. During Hausen's service year as Minister of War, he tried to have a good relationships with Prussian Army. In 1914, Hausen requested to be released from his more than 50 year service.

First World War

Upon mobilization in August 1914, the Royal Saxon Army became the German Third Army and Hausen was given command. His army participated in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (; ; ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of French Third Republic, France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategy, milita ...

, mainly in the battles of

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

, where Hausen's troops summarily executed over 600 of its inhabitants, including several women and children (one of them just 3 weeks old), John Horne and Alan Kramer. ''The German Atrocities of 1914: A History of Denial,'' New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2001. . large summary http://www.h-et.org/reviews/showpdf.cgi?path=48071096633975/ref> and

, and he and his army were responsible for the destruction of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

in September 1914. When asked about how such deeds would eventually be known into history, he replied:

"We should write history ourselves."

After the Second Army's retreat after the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

, Hausen saw his own flank exposed and ordered a retreat. After the stabilization of the front on the

Aisne River The Aisne ( , , ; Picard: ''Ainne'') is a river in northeastern France. It is a left tributary of the Oise. It gave its name to the French department of Aisne. It was known in the Roman period as Axona. The river rises in the forest of A ...

, on September 9, 1914, Hausen was relieved of his command due to illness and replaced by General

Karl von Einem Karl Wilhelm Georg August von Einem genannt von Rothmaler (1 January 1853 – 7 April 1934) was the commander of the German 3rd Army during the First World War and served as the Prussian Minister of War responsible for much of the German milit ...

. Hausen held no further field commands during the war, and died shortly after the war ended. He was occupied by writing about his memories during his last years.

Dates of rank

*July 31, 1864: Sekonde-Lieutenant (2Lt) *July 31, 1866: Premier-Lieutenant (1Lt) *January 2, 1872: Hauptmann (Cpt) *April 1, 1881: Major (Maj) *April 1, 1887: Oberstleutnant (Ltc) *March 20, 1890: Oberst (Col) *March 25, 1893: Generalmajor (MGen) *December 17, 1896: Generalleutnant (LGen) *May 12, 1901: General der Infanterie (Gen) *December 17, 1910: Generaloberst (ColGen)

Decorations and awards

; *

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown () or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in the coat of arms of Saxony. It occup ...

*Knight's Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry *Grand Cross of the

Albert Order The Albert Order () was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone who had served the state well, for civil virtue, s ...

; / *

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

* Order of Merit of the Prussian Crown *Grand Cross of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

with chain *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, 2nd Class of 1870 ;Other German states *: Military Merit Order *

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, in memory of the Dukes of Zähringen from whom he was descended. Classes It had five classes: *Grand Cross *Commander, First Class *Commander, ...

, Knight 1st Class *: Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown ;Foreign *Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold

Notes

References

Barbara Tuchman Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian, journalist and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for '' The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first mo ...

, ''

The Guns of August ''The Guns of August'' (published in the UK as ''August 1914'') is a 1962 book centered on the first month of World War I written by Barbara W. Tuchman. After introductory chapters, Tuchman describes in great detail the opening events of the con ...

'' (New York, 1972) *Günter Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Heere 1815-1939'' (Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1993)

External links

FirstWorldWar.com Who's Who: Max von Hausen
---- ;Notes: :1.On 8.February.1902, Oberhoffer was in turn succeeded as Quartermaster-General by

Karl von Bülow Karl Wilhelm Paul von Bülow (24 March 1846 – 31 August 1921) was a German field marshal commanding the German 2nd Army during World War I from 1914 to 1915. Early life Bülow was born in Berlin on 24 March 1846 into a distinguished Prussian ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hausen, Max von 1846 births 1922 deaths German barons Colonel generals of Saxony People of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German Army generals of World War I Rape of Belgium perpetrators Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Military personnel from Dresden