Albert Theodor Otto Emmich (since 1913 von Emmich) (4 August 1848 – 22 December 1915) was a

Prussian 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 ...

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.". OED ...

Biography

Emmich was the son of an Oberst (Colonel). He married Elise Pauline Sophie (born 1855), daughter of Karl von Graberg. Born in Minden, Emmich entered the Prussian Army in 1866. A veteran of the Franco-Prussian War, he was promoted to major-general in 1901 and given command of the 31st Infantry brigade. In 1905, he was promoted to lieutenant-general and given command of the 10th Division. He attained the rank of general of infantry in 1909, and was placed in command of the X Army Corps at

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. During the early days of

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 ...

in Europe in 1914, he was given command of a provisional army, ''Army of the Meuse'', which was explicitly formed for the special task of taking the forts of Liège and securing the invasion roads into Belgium for the regular German armies. The

Battle of Liège A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

began shortly after the morning of 5 August 1914, when German bombardment began on the eastern Belgian forts. That marks it chronologically as the first battle to take place during World War I, beginning shortly before the

Battle of Mulhouse The Battle of Mulhouse (german: Mülhausen), also called the Battle of Alsace (french: Bataille d'Alsace), which began on 7 August 1914, was the opening attack of the First World War by the French Army against Germany. The battle was part of a ...

. The Imperial German troops were obliged to entrench and bring up heavy siege artillery. He laid siege to Liège, which he entered on 7 August 1914, but the last forts did not surrender until 16 August 1914. After the fall of Liège, Emmich reverted to corps command and fought at the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

and in the trench warfare near Reims. In April 1915 Emmich was transferred to the Eastern front where he fought in the

Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive The Gorlice–Tarnów offensive during World War I was initially conceived as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the Central Powers' chief offensi ...

. Emmich was ennobled in 1913. He died of

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis, which ...

Awards and decorations

* Grand Cross of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) 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 se ...

* 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 *

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 ...

(7 August 1914) together with

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...

for the taking of Liège; Oak Leaves added to the Pour le Mérite on 14 May 1915

Footnotes

References

* ''The Siege of Liège: A Personal Narrative'', by Paul Hamelius (London, 1914). * * In ''Daily Chronicle War Books'', Volume IV, (1914), "The Campaign Around Liège" by J. M. Kennedy. * ''

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 ...

'' by

Barbara Tuchman Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian 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 month of World ...

(1962)

External links

* 1848 births 1915 deaths People from Minden People from the Province of Westphalia Generals of Infantry (Prussia) German untitled nobility German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Deaths from arteriosclerosis Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia {{Germany-army-bio-stub