Friedrich Hermann Staabs, as of 1913 von Staabs (11 March 1859 – 7 September 1940), was a German infantry general in

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 ...

and commanding general of the XXXIX. Reserve Corps.

Biography

As a second lieutenant, Staabs was transferred from the cadet corps to the 62nd (3rd Upper Silesian) Infantry Regiment of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

on April 14, 1877. From October 1, 1879, to January 31, 1884, he served there as battalion adjutant and was then transferred to the 59th (4th Posen) Infantry Regiment. From October 1, 1885, Staabs 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. He spent most of his military career on the Great General Staff. Here he rose to head of the railway department. In 1925 he published ''Aufmarsch nach zwei Fronten'' (''Deployment on two fronts'') a book in which he contradicted Moltke's view that it would not have been possible to quickly shift the focus of the German deployment to the Eastern Front. On June 16, 1913, Staabs was raised to the hereditary

Prussian nobility 01 or 01 may refer to: * The year 2001, or any year ending with 01 * The month of January * 1 (number) Music * ''01'' (Richard Müller album), 2001 * ''01'' (Urban Zakapa album), 2011 * ''01011001'', the seventh studio album from Arjen Anthony L ...

on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the reign of Kaiser

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

. Even before the outbreak of

, Staabs was the commander of the 37th Division. In August 1914, was his division of the 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 ...

with the 8th Army on the Eastern Front. His troops fought as part of the XX. Army Corps under

Friedrich von Scholtz Boje Friedrich Nikolaus von Scholtz (born 24 March 1851 in Flensburg – died 30 April 1927 in Ballenstedt) was a German general, who served as commander of 20th Corps and the 8th Army of the German Empire on the Eastern Front in the First World W ...

in the

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russ ...

and in the Battle of the Masurian Lakes. From June 15, 1915, to July 6, 1916, Staabs was the commander of the 3rd Division. His troops fought in the breakthrough Battle at Przasnysz in July 1915 and then pursued to the lower

Narew The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

. In September they advanced to Wolkowysk ago and went from 20 October between Naroch and Dryswjatysee for years of trench warfare until it was over. For his work he had received the swords of the

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 ...

, II. Class and the royal crown in August 1915.''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914'', Hrsg.: Preußisches Kriegsministerium, Kriegsministerium, Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914, S. 82. On July 7, 1916, he succeeded Otto von Lauenstein as commander of the XXXIX. Reserve Corps. The corps was transferred to the Romanian theater of war after Romania declared war in August 1916. Alexandru Ioanițiu (Lt.-Colonel), '' Războiul României: 1916-1918 '', vol. 1, Tipografia Geniului, București, 1929 As part of the 9th Army under the command of

Erich von Falkenhayn Erich Georg Sebastian Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was a German general and Ottoman Field Marshal who served as Prussian Minister of War and Chief of the German General Staff during the First World War. Falkenha ...

, his troops distinguished themselves especially in the Battle of Kronstadt in early October.Erich von Falkenhayn, ''Campania Armatei a 9-a împotriva românilor și a rușilor'', Atelierele Grafice Socec & Co S.A., București, 1937

Constantin Kirițescu Constantin Kirițescu (September 3, 1876 – August 12, 1965) was a Romanian zoologist, educator and historian. Born and schooled in Bucharest, he occupied successive posts in the Education Ministry, with education being a running theme of his d ...

, ''Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României'', vol. 1, Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1989, Together with the I. Reserve Corps, he held out against the Romanians on the ridge of the Fagaras Mountains until the end of November. For participating in the occupation of Ploesti and taking

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

on December 6, 1916, he was awarded the

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 December 11, 1916. On December 3, 1917, Staabs was appointed

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 ...

. The corps was involved in the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

in 1918 as part of the 2nd Army. From March 17 to May 22, 1918, Staabs commanded both this corps and the

XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps The XIII (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps / XIII AK () was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in 1871 into the Prussian Army command structure, as had th ...

. On May 15, 1918, he was also awarded the oak leaves for the

for the services of his troops.Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand and Christian Zweng, ''Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs'', Volume 1 ''A–G'', Osnabrück: Biblio, 1999, ISBN 9783764825058, pp. 481–82 He was the father of Gerdhild von Staabs (1900–1970), the founder of the Scenotest.

Bibliography

* Hans Friedrich Huebner: "Officer list of the 2nd Upper Rhine Infantry Regiment No. 99." E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1906, p. 77. * Falkenhayn, Erich von, ''9th Army Campaign against Romanians and Russians'', Atelierele Grafice Socec & Co S.A., Bucharest, 1937 * Kiritescu, Constantin, ''History of the war for the unification of Romania'', Scientific and Encyclopedic Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989 * Ioanițiu Alexandru (Lt.-Colonel), ''Războiul României: 1916-1918'', vol 1, Tipografia Geniului, București, 1929 * ''Romania in the World War 1916-1919, Documents, Annexes'', Volume 1, Official Gazette and State Printing Offices, Bucharest, 1934 * ''The General Headquarters of the Romanian Army. Documents 1916 - 1920 '', Machiavelli Publishing House, Bucharest, 1996 * ''Military history of the Romanian people'', vol. V, Military Publishing House, Bucharest, 1989 * ''Romania in the years of the First World War'', Militară Publishing House, Bucharest, 1987

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staabs, Hermann von 1859 births 1940 deaths Generals of Infantry (Prussia) German Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Military personnel from the Rhine Province Military personnel from Aachen