(13 February 1848 – 30 July 1918) 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 ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

, later 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 ...

. He was a recipient of with Oak Leaves, one of the highest

orders of merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order re ...

in the Kingdom of Prussia and, subsequently,

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. While serving as the military governor of Ukraine during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, Eichhorn was assassinated by a Russian socialist.

Biography

was born in in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

(now

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). His father (1813-1892) was a politician. Both of his grandfathers were notable politicians. He joined the Prussian Army in 1866, and took part in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

of 1866, and in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870-1871. He won the

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 ...

second class during the Franco-Prussian War. He rose through the ranks of the Prussian Army, being appointed chief of the staff of the VI Army Corps at in 1897, commanding the 9th Division from 1901 to 1904 and the XVIII Army Corps from 1904 to 1912. In 1912 he took command of the 7th Army Inspection, the peacetime headquarters for the Imperial German XVI,

XVIII 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 (number), 17 and preceding 19 (number), 19. It is an even composite number. Mathematics 18 is a semiperfect number and an abundant number. It is a largely composite number, as it has 6 divisors a ...

, and XXI Army Corps. At the outbreak of

in August 1914, was incapacitated because of an accident in May 1914, but he was able to play a part in the

First Battle of Champagne The First Battle of Champagne () was fought from 1915 in World War I in the Champagne region of France and was the second offensive by the Allies against the German Empire since mobile warfare had ended after the First Battle of Ypres in Flande ...

, also known as the Battle of Soissons, at the beginning of 1915. He became the commanding general of the 10th Army on 21 January 1915, and commanded it until 5 March 1918. Under his command, the 10th Army engaged in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

in February 1915. In August 1915, he took Kovno and afterwards the fortresses of

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

and Olita, and continued his advance into

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He received the on 18 August 1915 and the oak leaves to the on 28 September 1915. On 30 July 1916, while remaining in command of the 10th Army, became supreme commander of Army Group Eichhorn (') based around 10th Army, which he commanded until 31 March 1918. On 18 December 1917, was promoted to (

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

). On 3 April 1918, he became supreme commander of Army Group Kiev ( ''Heeresgruppe Kiew'') and simultaneously military governor of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

.Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung'', p.611.

Death

Eichhorn was assassinated in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

by a member of the Russian Party of

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries-Internationalists () was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revolution. In 1917, the Socialist Revolutionary Party split between those who supported the Russian Pro ...

, Boris Donskoy, who threw a bomb at the carriage carrying Eichhorn. At that time,

Pavlo Skoropadskyi Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi (; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, who served as the Hetman of all Ukraine, hetman of the Ukrainian State throughout 1918 following a 1918 Ukrainian coup d'état, coup d'éta ...

was walking nearby and almost immediately came to the scene of the explosion and saw that the field marshal had no legs. Also killed was Eichhorn's adjutant, Walter von Dreßer. Donskoy was convicted of murder by a field military court and executed by

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

. Eichhorn is buried in the in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Awards

2nd Class (1871) ** Oak Leaves (1895) ** Clasp (1915) ** 1st Class *

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

(Russian Empire), 3rd Class (31 August 1871) * PRU Order of Crown ribbon

Prussian Order of the Crown, 1st Class (17 January 1904) * Order of Philip the Magnanimous, Grand Cross with Crown (8 September 1905) * PRU Roter Adlerorden BAR

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 ...

, Grand Cross with Oak Leaves (20 August 1907) * Ludwig Order, Grand Cross (15 September 1912) * D-PRU Pour le Merite 1 BAR

(18 August 1915), with Oak Leaves (28 September 1915) * D-SAX Militaer St-Heinrich Orden BAR

Military Order of St. Henry, Commander 2nd Class (25 October 1916) Eichhorn was also awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

on 18 February 1918.

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

, decreed that one of the eight towers of

Malbork Castle The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, commonly known as Malbork Castle (; ), is a Brick Gothic castle complex located in the town of Malbork, Poland, built in the 13th and significantly expanded in the 14th century. It is the largest cast ...

(' of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

) should be named after Eichhorn. in the

Marzahn-Hellersdorf Marzahn-Hellersdorf () is the tenth Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf. The borough was formerly part of East Berlin. Geography It ...

district of Berlin was named after him during his lifetime.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Photo of Eichhorn and his adjutant
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eichhorn, Hermann Von 1848 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Wrocław Military personnel from the Province of Silesia Field marshals of the German Empire Field marshals of Prussia German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German military personnel killed in World War I Assassinated German people Assassinated military personnel German people murdered abroad People murdered in Ukraine Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class German Army generals of World War I People assassinated in the 20th century Central Powers intervention in the Russian Civil War