Herrmann Gustav Karl Max von Fabeck (6 May 1854 – 16 December 1916) 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 ...

military officer and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

'' General der Infantarie'' 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 commanded the 13th Corps in the 5th Army and took part in the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from 17 September to 19 October 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German Empire, German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of ...

on the Western Front and also commanded the new 11th Army on the Eastern Front. Subsequently, he commanded several German armies during the war until his evacuation from the front due to illness in 1916 and died on 16 December. A competent and highly decorated commander, von Fabeck is a recipient of 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 ...

, Prussia's and Germany's highest military honor.William E. Hamelman: ''The History of the Prussian Pour le Mérite Order, Volume III (1888–1918)'' Matthäus Publishers, 1986

Life

Fabeck was born 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 ...

in 1854, when it was the capital of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. He was the son of Prussian Lieutenant-General Hermann von Fabeck (1816–1873) and wife Bertha, née von dem Borne (1829–1910). By the time he was 17 years old he was already a second lieutenant in the 1st Footguards Regiment (). From 1878 to 1879 he attended the

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

. In 1882 he was appointed to 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 ...

and was promoted to captain in 1884. From 1886 he served in the General Staff of the 28. 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 ...

. On 24 October 1887 married Helene von Seldeneck (7 October 1863 in Karlsruhe – 13 July 1938 in Cologne), the daughter of William and Julie (nee Brandt Von Lindau) von Seldeneck, chamberlain of the

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a margravi ...

. The couple had four daughters Ilse, Maria, Margaret, and Hildegard. He became a staff officer to the VI Army Corps in Breslau in 1889 and shortly thereafter was promoted to major. From 1893 he served in the regiment ''Grenadier König Friedrich Wilhelm II. (1. Schlesisches ) Nr. 10 '' in Schweidnitz. In 1896 he was a Lieutenant Colonel Chief of Staff of the XI. Army Corps in Kassel. In 1898 he was promoted to colonel and received his first command: the ''Infanterie-Regiments „Herzog Friedrich Wilhelm von Braunschweig“ (Ostfriesisches) Nr. 78'' in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

. From 1901 he led the 25th Infantry Brigade in the

13th Army Division The Southern Army Division (, 13. förd), was a division of the Swedish Army that operated in various forms from 1941 until 2000. Its staff was located in Kristianstad Garrison in Kristianstad. The unit was disbanded as a result of the disarmame ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. He was promoted to major general that same year. In 1906 Fabeck was promoted to lieutenant general and commander of the 28th Army Division in

. In 1910 he was appointed general of the infantry and commanding general of the XV Army Corps in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. In 1913 he assumed the same position at the XIII (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. He met Fritz von Loßberg as the chief of staff. Loßberg helped Fabeck to have a united staff officers before the war.

World War I

At the beginning of World War, the XIII Army Corps commanded by von Fabeck was part of Germany's 5th Army which was commanded by Crown Prince Wilhelm. It participated in the mobile battles known as the

. During the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (, , – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German A ...

, Fabeck made his move with newly formed 5 divisions with backups of heavy reserve artillery. It was job of I Corps to fight back them. In March 1915 von Fabeck briefly commanded the newly formed 11th Army, which was quickly transferred from the Western to the Eastern fronts with whom he fought in Lithuania. In April 1915 he replaced the injured Alexander von Kluck as commander of the 1st Army. In September 1915 von Fabeck got command of the 12th Army, with whom he transferred to the Eastern Front. He was also attached

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake and were entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia ...

to Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 129 on 27 January 1916. Before he fell ill in October 1916 von Fabeck was the commander of 8th Army for a few weeks. General von Fabeck was awarded the

for outstanding military leadership during the 1914–15 campaigns in Flanders and northern France,Max von Fabeck
at ''The Prussian Machine'', Retrieved 6 June 2012 as well as in recognition of successful operational planning in the battles at

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, Le Cateau and the Ourcq river. He received a personal telegram from the

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 ...

congratulating him on the award.Max von Fabeck – Orden Pour le Mérite
at pourlemerite.org, Retrieved 4 June 2012.

Death

In October 1916 von Fabeck became seriously ill and he committed suicide on 16 December 1916 at Partenkirchen,

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

Awards

* Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of WürttembergPreußisches Kriegsministerium: ''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914'' (Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, 1914) p. 1160 * Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion * Bavarian Military Merit Order * Grand Cross of the Order of Philip the Magnanimous * Grand Cross of the Order of Red Eagle with Oak Leaves *

Order of the Crown of Prussia The Royal Order of the Crown () was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers (or civilians of approximately equivale ...

, 1st class * Prussian Service Award Cross * Grand Cross of the Albert Order with Gold Star * Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy * Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Romania *

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 ...

(1914), 1st and 2nd class * Commander of the Military Merit Order of Württemberg on 1 November 1914 Otto von Moser: ''Die Württemberger im Weltkriege'', Second Expanded Edition (Stuttgart: Chr. Belser AG, 1928) p. 109 *

23 August 1915

Dates of ranks

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. Howeve ...

—1 October 1871 *

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

—18 October 1871 *

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 ...

—18 October 1879 *

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 ...

—12 July 1884 *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

—19 November 1889 *

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, ...

—27 January 1896 *

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 ...

—24 May 1898 *

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 ...

—14 November 1901 *

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 ...

—27 January 1906 *

General der Infanterie 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) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

—13 January 1910

References

Literature

* Holger Afflerbach: ''Kaiser Wilhelm II. als oberster Kriegsherr im Ersten Weltkrieg. Quellen aus der militärischen Umgebung des Kaisers 1914–1918'' Deutsche Geschichtsquellen des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Band 64. (München: Oldenbourg, 2005) * Ian F. W. Beckett: ''Ypres. The First Battle, 1914.'' (Harlow: Pearson/Education, 2004) * Robert T. Foley: ''German Strategy and the Path to Verdun. Erich Falkenhayn and the development of Attrition 1870–1916'' (Cambridge University Press, 2005)

External links

Stammbaum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabeck, Max von 1854 births 1916 deaths Military personnel from Berlin Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg German Army generals of World War I Generals of Infantry (Prussia) German military personnel who died by suicide Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Suicides in Germany