Benignus von Safferling. Benignus Ritter von Safferling (30 November 1825 – 4 September 1895) was a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

and

War Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

under Otto of Bavaria.

Biography

Von Safferling was born in

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

. When he was eight years old, he went with his father, a soldier of King Otto to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. In 1835, his father was killed in action in Argos, when he was commander of an

uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

regiment. Von Safferling joined the cadets corps at

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island an ...

shortly afterwards. In the rank of a

Korporal ''Korporal'' is the German and Danish spelling of the English corporal. ''Korporal'' is used in a number of armed forces as the lowest rank of the non-commissioned officers group. However, in the German Bundeswehr, it is considered a high enlis ...

he was transferred to the 2nd Infantry Regiment in Greece. In 1843, when the Bavarians had to leave the country, he was acquired by the

Bavarian army The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of ...

, where he was advanced to

Unterleutnant Unterleutnant (NPA-original abbreviation ''Ultn.''; en: translation "Under-lieutenant" or "sub-lieutenant") was an officer of the armies of East Germany and other nations. The rank was first introduced in 1662-74 by France and was also adopted ...

in 1845, in 1849 to

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Tr ...

and in 1859 to

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

. He took part in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

1866, and served as a

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

in the general staff in the 1st Royal Bavarian Division under General Stephan during the Franco-Prussian War. After the war he stood in France as Bavarian military representative at the Oberkommando of the occupation army until 1872. Back in Bavaria, he became commander of the training troops, which had to teach

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n parade rules in the Bavarian forces. In 1874, he became

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedi ...

and commander of the Infantry Regiment "King", two years later he became

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

. In the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

he was transferred to

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, where he served as commander of the Bavarian occupation brigade. In 1886, he became

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

and president of the General Auditorium, in the following year he became

adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

and commander of the

2nd Royal Bavarian Division The 2nd Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as the Infantry Division of the Munich General Comman ...

. On 5 May 1890 he took office as war minister. In the same year he was advanced to the rank General der Infanterie on 20 September, and was awarded honorary citizen of

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

.''Safferling, Benignus, Ritter von''
Meyers Konversationslexikon Ritter von Safferling was retired at his own request on 5 June 1893. He died in

Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

,''Safferling, Benignus von''
, House of the Bavarian history (HdBG). and is buried at the Alter Nördlicher Friedhof in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

.Grave of Benignus Safferling

Awards

* Military Order of Max Joseph

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Safferling, Benignus von Bavarian Ministers of War Bavarian generals People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Burials at the Alter Nordfriedhof (Munich) 1825 births 1899 deaths