Georg Fuchs (December 25, 1856 ― September 30, 1939) was a

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

General of the Infantry 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) General of the Infantry (, abbr. ) is ...

who notably served during

World War I 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 ...

Career

After graduating college in 1877 Fuchs joined the Prussian Army and later became a

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

in the 33rd (East Prussian) Fusiliers "Count Roon". He received his commission as a second lieutenant on February 11, 1879, from 1885 he attended the

Prussian Staff College The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College () was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop German General Staff, general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Akademie für ...

for three years being promoted to

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

. This allowed him to join the

German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the Imperial German Army, German Army, responsible for the continuous stu ...

in 1890. As a

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

he led a company in the Magdeburg Fusilier Regiment No. 36 in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

in 1894. After being promoted to Major in 1898 he taught at the Prussian War Academy for 2 years. He was promoted to

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) 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, ...

in 1905 and became chief of staff of the

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the Germany, German States of Germany, city state of Hamburg. Located on the right bank of the Elbe river, Alton ...

. Once

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

he commanded the 4th Lower Alsatian Infantry Regiment No. 143 and the 20th Infantry Brigade once promoted to

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

in 1911. When he was promoted to

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

he was given command of the 16th Division.

World War I

At the beginning of

he was commissioned for the Occupation of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on August 2, 1914. He then fought in association with the

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Arm ...

during the Battle of Neufchâteau. At the end of August 1916, he became the commanding general of the X Reserve Corps. In October, his command shifted to the XIV Reserve Corps which was the main area of attack of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Fifth Army during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. In March, 1917 he took command over

Armee-Abteilung C Armee-Abteilung Strantz / Armee-Abteilung C (Army Detachment C) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the Western Front throughout its existence. History ''Armee-Abteilung'' C was formed on 18 September 191 ...

between the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

and

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river. After an offensive from the

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, he had to give up positions east of

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

during the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12 to 15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States again ...

in mid-September, 1918. After the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, Fuchs was given command of the Fifth Army in December, 1918.

Awards and decorations

Among Fuchs's awards and decorations were:''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914'', Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914, p. 80. *

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 ...

, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves * Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star * Prussian Service Award Cross *Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Zähringer Lion *

Order of the Griffon ''Order of the Griffon'' is a tactical role-playing game for the TurboGrafx-16 developed by Westwood Associates and based on the tabletop role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). The game is set in the nation of Karameikos within ''D& ...

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: ''Oldenburgischer Haus- und Verd ...

* Princely Reuss Honor Cross, 2nd Class *Commander´s Cross of the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () 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 The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

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 and 1st Class *

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

on 22 August 1917

Notes

References

* Herrmann Julius Meyer (1933). ''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. p. 368. * Hürten, Heinz; Böhm, Gustav; Meyer, Georg (1977). ''Adjutant im preußischen Kriegsministerium Juni 1918 bis Oktober 1919''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. p. 77. * Walter Killy: ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie''. 1995, * Richard Lehfeldt, Otto Kischke, Berthold Wagner: ''Geschichte des Füsilier-Regiments Graf Roon (Ostpreussischen) Nr. 33''. 1901, p. 87. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Georg 1856 births 1939 deaths Generals of Infantry (Prussia) German Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class Commanders of the Order of Franz Joseph Military personnel from Gdańsk