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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from 1914 to 1915.

Biography

Born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

to the distinguished

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 ...

n military family von Bülow, originally from

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, he enlisted in the Prussian Army and was assigned to the 2nd Guards regiment of infantry in 1864. He saw action during the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 and gained distinction at Königgrätz. Von Bülow served through the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 as a junior officer, winning the Iron Cross Second Class. A Captain of the

German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (german: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuou ...

in 1877, von Bülow was promoted to Colonel and assigned to the 9th Guards Regiment in 1894. In 1897, von Bülow was a major-general and became director of the Central Department in the German War Ministry. In 1900 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and in 1901 was appointed general commanding the Guards Division. He was Commander of the German III Corps from 1903 until his appointment as Inspector of the German 3rd Army in 1912. Assigned to the German 2nd Army at the beginning of World War I in August 1914, von Bülow's army was part of the German force that invaded

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He occupied Liège on 7 August and captured the fortress of Namur on 22–23 August. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, von Bülow defeated General Charles Lanrezac of the

French Fifth Army The Fifth Army (french: Ve Armée) was a fighting force that participated in World War I. Under its commander, Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, it led the attacks which resulted in the victory at the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. World War I C ...

at Charleroi on 23–24 August and again at Saint-Quentin on 29–30 August. As the 2nd Army and General

Alexander von Kluck Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (20 May 1846 – 19 October 1934) was a German general during World War I. Early life Kluck was born in Münster, Westphalia on 20 May 1846. He was the son of architect Karl von Kluck and his wife Elisabeth ...

's 1st Army neared

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

from 31 August to 2 September, von Bülow, concerned about the growing gap between the two armies, ordered Kluck to turn the 1st Army on his right towards him. This decision, however, resulted in Kluck's advancing south and east of Paris, instead of south and west as specified in the

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on ...

. Von Bülow crossed the Marne on 4 September, but was ordered to retreat to the Aisne after the successful counterattack by combined French and British forces against Kluck's 1st Army at the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

from 5–10 September. Von Bülow was believed by the German public to be responsible for the German failure to capture Paris. Von Bülow was promoted to Field Marshal in January of the following year. He suffered a heart attack two months later and a month after that, on 5 April 1915, he was awarded the

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 ...

. He was allowed to retire in early 1916, living in Berlin until his death.

Decorations and awards

* Order of the Black Eagle with Chain (Prussia) – ''invested 18 January 1900'' * Order of the Crown, 1st class (Prussia) *

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 ...

of 1870, 2nd class (Prussia) * Service Cross (Prussia) * Military Merit Medal, 1st class (Prussia) * Cross of Merit, 1st class of the Princely

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

* Commander Second Class of the Order of Berthold I (Baden) * Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) * Grand Cross with the Crown in Gold of the House

Order of the Wendish Crown The House Order of the Wendish Crown (german: Hausorden der Wendischen Krone) was an Order of the House of Mecklenburg, jointly instituted on 12 May 1864 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of ...

(Mecklenburg) * Honorary Grand Cross of the

House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis The House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (German: ''Haus und Verdienstorden von Herzog Peter Friedrich Ludwig'') or proper German Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (German: ''Oldenburgische Haus- und Verdi ...

(Oldenburg) *

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown (german: Hausorden der Rautenkrone) 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 th ...

(Saxony) * Commander of the Second Class of the

Albert Order The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) 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 w ...

(Saxony) * Commander 2nd class of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order (german: Friedrichs-Orden or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King ...

(Württemberg) * Commander of the Order of Order of Leopold (Belgium) * Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit with Diamonds (Bulgaria) * Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(United Kingdom) * Grand Cross of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan) * Grand Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy) * Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy * Order of the Iron Crown, 2nd class (Austria) * Grand Cross of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph (german: Kaiserlich-Österreichischer Franz-Joseph-Orden) was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes ...

* Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania * Grand Cross of the

Order of the Crown (Romania) The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

* Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st class (Russia) * Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the ...

(Sweden) *

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in f ...

, 2nd class (Ottoman Empire) *

of 1914, 1st class *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 188 ...

(Lübeck) *

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 ...

(4 April 1915) * Grand Commander of the Royal

with Swords (22 June 1916)

Notes

References

*Evans, M. M. (2004). Battles of World War I. ''Select Editions''. . * Barbara Tuchman, ''

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

'', New York, 1972 *Hiss, O.C. ''Kleine Geschichte der geheimen Presse'', Berlin, 1946

External links

*
FirstWorldWar.com Who's Who: Karl von Bulow
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulow, Karl Von 1846 births 1921 deaths Military personnel from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Karl von Bulow Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery Field marshals of Prussia Field marshals of the German Empire German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German Army generals of World War I Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Grand Crosses of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of Franz Joseph Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 2nd class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Hanseatic Cross (Lübeck)