
Martin Wilhelm Remus von Woyrsch (4 February 1847 – 6 August 1920) was a
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
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 ...
, a member of the
Prussian House of Lords from 1908 to 1918, and an ''Ehrenkommendator'' or Honorary Commander of the
Order of St. John.
Family

Remus von Woyrsch was born at the estate
Pilsnitz (Pilczyce) near
Breslau (Wrocław) in
Prussian Silesia
The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a provinces of Prussia, province of Kingdom of Prussia, 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 ...
. He came from old Bohemian nobility, first from
South Bohemia
The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western part of the South Bohemian Reg ...
and then from ca. 1500 in
Troppau (Opava) in
Moravian Silesia. He married Thekla von Massow (1854–1943) from
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 ...
, on 26 September 1873 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 ...
,
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
. She was the daughter of the royal Prussian forester Hermann von Massow.
His nephew
Udo von Woyrsch (1895–1983) was an
SS Obergruppenführer
(, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after ...
and
SS and Police Leader
The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the o ...
.
Career
After Woyrsch finished high school in Breslau, he joined the 1st Potsdamer Garde-Grenadier Regiment on 5 April 1866. He served at the
battle of Königgrätz in 1866. He later fought in the 1870–71
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 ...
where he was wounded but earned 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 ...
. In 1901 Woyrsch was promoted to divisional commander.
He retired in 1911 but was re-activated in August 1914 to command the
Landwehr Corps and was quickly sent to help the
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
fighting in
partitioned Poland. He came up to the
Vistula
The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
, and then reinforced the left wing of the
Austro-Hungarian army
The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
under General
Viktor Dankl von Krasnik. In the three days of battle against the
Imperial Russian army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
Woyrsch covered the retreat of the Austrians with his ''Landwehr'' corps. A
St. Petersburg newspaper wrote that: "Only the activity of the small Prussian ''Landwehr'' troops in this battle prevented the complete destruction of the Austrian army." Later he was included in
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...
's
9th Army. In July 1915 Woyrsch was involved in the breakthrough battle of Sienno near
Wongrowitz (Wągrowiec). In 1916 he helped fight off the Russian
Brusilov Offensive and in 1917 was promoted
Generalfeldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...
.
In 1920 Woyrsch retired, again, to his family estate at the castle Pilsnitz near Breslau. After his death the
Silesian sculptor
Paul Ondrusch created a wooden sculpture of Woyrsch to decorate the main hall inside the town hall of
Leobschütz (Głubczyce). Woyrsch was portrayed as a knight wearing a coat and a chain mail, with his hands placed on a handle of a large sword resting against the ground.
[Maler, Katarzyna (1996), "Dzieła Paula Ondruscha zachowane na Ziemi Głubczyckiej", Kalendarz Głubczycki (Głubczyce) (1997): p. 75, ISSN 1231-4803 (Polish)]
Honours
* ''Ehrenbürger'' (Honorary citizen) of
Breslau
* ''Ehrenbürger'' (Honorary citizen) of
Neisse
The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.
* Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy
Orders and decorations
*
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 ...
(1871)
*
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 ...
*
Order of Saint John (''Johanniterorden'')
* ''
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 25 October 1914
References
Further reading
* Bruno Clemenz: ''Generalfeldmarschall von Woyrsch und seine Schlesier – Eigenhändige Auszüge aus seinem Kriegstagebuch''. Carl Flemming Pub. Berlin:1919.
* Hahn-Butry, Jürgen (pub.): ''Preußisch-deutsche Feldmarschälle und Großadmirale''. Safari Pub. Berlin:1938.
* Jürgen Hahn-Butry (Hrsg.): ''Preußisch-deutsche Feldmarschälle und Großadmirale''. Safari, Berlin 1938.
* ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'', Adelige Häuser A Vol VII, p402, Vol 34. C. A. Starke Pub. Limburg (Lahn):1965. ISSN 0435-2408
* ''Acta Borussica Band 9'' (1900–1909) (PDF-file. 2,74 MB)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woyrsch, Remus von
1847 births
1920 deaths
19th-century German military personnel
German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
Field marshals of Prussia
German Army generals of World War I
Field marshals of the German Empire
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870)
Prussian nobility
Members of the Prussian House of Lords
Silesian nobility
Habsburg Bohemian nobility
German people of Czech descent
Military personnel from Wrocław
Military personnel from the Province of Silesia