Ludwig Alexander Friedrich August Philipp Freiherr von Falkenhausen (13 September 1844 – 4 May 1936) was a German officer most notable for his activities 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 ...

Before World War I

Falkenhausen was born in

Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...

. His parents were the Prussian Lieutenant-General D. Alexander von Falkenhausen (1821–1889) and his wife Catherine née Rouanet (1825–1907). Falkenhausen first attended a private school 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 ...

and then, from May 1856, was a Cadet in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

at the age of 11. In 1859, he moved to the main military academy in Berlin. On 6 May 1862, he was transferred to the

1st Foot Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

as a 2nd Lieutenant. Later, he was

regimental adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commiss ...

of the combined Guards Reserve Infantry Regiment. At this position, Falkenhausen participated in both

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

and 1866 campaign with the main army. Between October 1868 and May 1869, he served with the Guards Field Artillery as regimental adjutant. 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 ...

(1870–71), he participated in the battles of Gravelotte-St.Privat, Beaumont & Sedan and at the Siege of Paris. At the end of 1870, he was released from the position as regimental adjutant, and, from July 1871, he served as adjutant of the 28th Division in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

. In subsequent years, he was transferred several times: from the 40th Fusiliers to the Army General Staff, then to the General Staff of the 16th Division in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

and the General Staff of the VIII Army Corps (

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

). In 1885, he was transferred as commander of the First Battalion (

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

) in the 65th Infantry. In March 1887, Falkenhausen was Chief of Staff of the Guards Corps (Berlin). In June 1890, he commanded the Queen Augusta Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr 4 (Koblenz). Two years later, he led the 29th Infantry Brigade (Cologne) and 1893 was chief quartermaster of the Chief of General Staff of the Army. Between 1893 and 1895, he was also a member of the Study Commission of the Military Academy. After working at the War Department, in January 1895 he became director of the General War Department in the Ministry of War. In February 1895, he was appointed representative in the Bundesrat. In January 1897, he became commander of the 2nd Guards Infantry Division (Berlin), and then, in 1899, he became the commanding general of 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 ...

. In March 1902, he retired but kept busy with military science studies.

World War I

Upon mobilization in August 1914, Falkenhausen became commanding general of the Ersatz Corps of the 6th Army. As commander of Armee-Abteilung Falkenhausen, he commanded the German troops during the battles for the 1914/15 Delmer back and in the trench warfare in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

(1915-1916). He was highly successful during the first half of

and 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 23 August 1915, with oak leaves following on 15 April 1916. After having commanded the coastal defenses near

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

(April–September 1916), on 28 September 1916 Falkenhausen was given command of the 6th Army at the Battle of Arras in April 1917. He failed to deploy correctly the newly developed

defence in depth Defence in depth (also known as deep defence or elastic defence) is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space. Rather than defeating a ...

to counter new British and Dominion tactics and was removed from field command by General

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (; 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Battle of Liège, Liège and Battle ...

. Thereafter, he succeeded

Moritz von Bissing Moritz Ferdinand Freiherr von Bissing (30 January 1844 – 18 April 1917) was a German officer from Prussia. Life and pre-WWI army career Bissing was born at Ober Bellmannsdorf in the Province of Silesia. He was the son of Moritz von Bissing ...

and served as governor-general of the

General Governorate of Belgium The Imperial German General Government of Belgium () was a German Army occupation administration which administered one of the three separate occupation zones established in German-occupied Belgium during the First World War. Government and ad ...

during the German occupation, from May 1917 until November 1918. In early 1918, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' published an article – entitled ''Falkenhausen's reign of terror'' – describing 170 military executions of Belgian civilians that had taken place since he had been appointed governor.

Death

Generaloberst a. D. Freiherr von Falkenhausen died on 4 May 1936 in

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

, Nazi Germany and was ceremoniously buried at the

Invalidenfriedhof The Invalids' Cemetery () is one of the oldest cemeteries in Berlin. It was the traditional resting place of the Prussian Army, and is regarded as particularly important as a memorial to the German Wars of Liberation of 1813–15. History Th ...

in Berlin.

Family

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his nephew

Alexander von Falkenhausen Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen (29 October 187831 July 1966) was a German general and military advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. He was an important figure during the Sino-German cooperation to reform the Chinese army. In ...

served as military governor of Belgium (22 May 1940 – 15 July 1944).

Awards and decorations (excerpt)

;German honours * Order of the Black Eagle - Ribbon bar

Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''27 January 1917'' (Prussia) * D-PRU Pour le Merite 2 BAR

(military), ''23 August 1915''; with Oak Leaves, ''25 April 1916'' (Prussia) *

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 Class (1870); 1st Class (1914) (Prussia) * Knight 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 ...

, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves (Prussia) * EST Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana - 5th Class BAR

Knight of the Order of the Prussian Crown, 2nd Class (Prussia) * Order of St Giovanni of Gerusalem-Brandenburg BAR

Knight of Justice of the

Johanniter Order The Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John of the Hospital at Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of Saint John or the Johanniter Order (German: ''Johanniterorden''), is the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hos ...

(Prussia) * BAD Order of the Lion of Zaeringen ribbon

Knight of the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, in memory of the Dukes of Zähringen from whom he was descended. Classes It had five classes: *Grand Cross *Commander, First Class *Commander, ...

, 1st Class with Swords, ''1878''; Commander 1st Class with Oak Leaves, ''1893'' (Baden) * Bavaria021

Knight of the Military Merit Order, 2nd Class (Bavaria) * D-SAX Militaer St-Heinrich Orden BAR

Knight of the Military Order of St. Henry, ''15 September 1915'' (Saxony) ;Foreign honours * Ord Leopold-COM

Commander of the

Imperial Order of Leopold Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Impe ...

, ''1889'' (Austria-Hungary) * Cavaliere SSML BAR

Commander of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

(Italy) *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, 3rd Class (Japan) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Knight of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class in Diamonds (Russia) * Order of the Sword - Ribbon bar

Commander 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 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

, 2nd Class, ''31 August 1888'' (Sweden-Norway)

Notes

References

External links

Biography
at the Lexikon der Deutschen Generale * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falkenhausen, Ludwig Von 1844 births 1936 deaths

Ludwig Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig von Koopa, a character in Mario (the game) Arts and entertai ...

People from Guben Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg Colonel generals of Prussia German barons Prussian military personnel of the Second Schleswig War Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German Army generals of World War I Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery 19th-century Prussian military personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Commanders of the Order of the Sword Military personnel from Brandenburg Rape of Belgium perpetrators