Eduard Freiherr von Böhm-Ermolli (12 February 1856 – 9 December 1941) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

who rose to the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. He was the head of the Second Army and fought mainly on the front of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

during the entire conflict. On 30 October 1940, Böhm-Ermolli was made a German ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

''.

Biography

Early life

Eduard Böhm was born in the Italian city of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

where his father served with a small representative detachment of the Austrian army. His father, Georg Böhm (1813–1893), had as a sergeant won a battlefield commission for bravery after the battle of Novara in 1849, been promoted to the rank of major upon his retirement in 1877. In June 1885, he received permission to attach his wife's (Maria Josepha Ermolli) maiden name to his family name. He was elevated to hereditary nobility in September 1885, and hence the family was known as "von Böhm-Ermolli". Böhm-Ermolli was trained at the cadet academy in St. Pölten and the Theresian Military Academy in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

and entered the service on 1 September 1875 as a lieutenant in the

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

s. He served in a variety of line and staff positions, steadily rose through the ranks, being promoted to General of the Cavalry on 1 May 1912 and appointed commanding general of the 1st Army Corps in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

Service during World War One

At the start of

, Böhm-Ermolli was given command of the Austrian 2nd Army, which was intended for action on the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

n front. After the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

mobilised, the 2nd Army was diverted to the Russian front, where it reinforced the armies of Austria's

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

ally.
In September 1915 he also became commander of the Army Group Böhm-Ermolli which included the German South Army besides his own Second Army. Böhm-Ermolli was promoted to ''

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 was ...

'' in May 1916 and to ''

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

'' in January 1918. In March 1918, his forces occupied

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. His Army Group was dissolved at

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

at the war's end.

Later life

Böhm-Ermolli then settled in his home town of

Troppau Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital o ...

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...

, which became part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in 1919, and the government of Czechoslovakia paid him his pension and honored him as a General 1st Class in the reserve. In 1928 he became an "Army General" of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, even though he never served in the

Czechoslovak Army The Czechoslovak Army ( Czech and Slovak: Československá armáda) was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. History In the f ...

. When the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

, the predominantly German settled regions along the fringes of Czechoslovakia, was annexed to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1938, he became a German subject. On 31 October 1940 Böhm-Ermolli received an honorary promotion to ''

'' of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

. In addition, he was appointed honorary colonel-in-chief of Infantry Regiment 28 in his hometown of Troppau (Opava). When he died in December 1941, he was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

with full military honors in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Military service and promotion record

* Cadet, Austrian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt, Class of 1875 * Leutnant, K.u.K. Dragoon Regiment Nr 4, 1875 ** served as a general staff officer, 1870s to 1890s * Oberst (Colonel), K.u.K., 1897 * General-Major, 1903 ** Commander, 16th Cavalry Brigade ** Commander of a cavalry division * Feldmarschall-Leutnant, K.u.K., 1907 ** Commander in chief, K.u.K. 1st Army Corps, November 18, 1911 * General der Kavallerie, K.u.K., May 1, 1912 ** Commander in chief, K.u.K. 2nd Army * General-Oberst, K.u.K., May 1, 1916 ** Commander, Army Group "Böhm-Ermolli", 1916 to 1918 * Feldmarschall, K.u.K., January 31, 1918 ** Commander of occupied Ukraine, to June 17, 1918 Retired, December 1, 1918. * (honorary) Generalfeldmarschall, Wehrmacht, 1940

Decorations and awards

: * Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen – Grand Cross, 1918 (#1687) * Military Merit Cross – I. Class Cross with War Decoration * Order of Leopold – Grand Cross, with War Decoration & Swords *

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

– Knight, I. Class, with War Decoration *

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

– Commander *

Decoration for Services to the Red Cross The Decoration for Services to the Red Cross (''Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um das Rote Kreuz'') was an Austro-Hungarian award instituted on 17 August 1914 by Emperor Franz Josef I to mark the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention. It was in ...

– Star of Honor *

– Knight, III. Class * Military Merit Cross – III. Class Cross * Military Merit Medal (Signum Laudis) – in Gold * Military Merit Medal (Signum Laudis) – in Silver * Officer’s Long Service Cross, III. Class (25+ years of service) * 1898 Jubilee Medal (Emperor Franz Joseph I. Golden Jubilee) : * Military Merit Order – Knight, Grand Cross : *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

, 2nd Class *

, 1st Class *

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

** Oakleaves to the

Jewison, G. and Steiner, J. : * Ottoman War Medal (“Gallipoli Star”) * Liyakat (Merit) Medal * Imtiyaz (Honor) Medal

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boehm-Ermolli, Eduard Von 1856 births 1941 deaths People from Ancona Field marshals of Austria Austro-Hungarian Army officers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Field marshals of Nazi Germany Barons of Austria Austrian expatriates in Italy Silesian nobility Czechoslovak military personnel Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Theresian Military Academy alumni