Josias von Heeringen

Josias von Heeringen (9 March 1850 – 9 October 1926) was a German general of the imperial era who saw service in the First World War.

Josias von Heeringen
Born9 March 1850
Kassel, Electorate of Hesse
Died9 October 1926(1926-10-09) (aged 76)
Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany
Allegiance German Empire
Service/branch Imperial German Army
Years of service1867–1918
RankGeneraloberst
Commands held
Battles/warsFranco-Prussian War
World War I
AwardsPour le Mérite with Oak Leaves

Early life

Heeringen was born in Kassel in the Electorate of Hesse. He was the son of Josias von Heeringen (1809–1885) and his wife Ehefrau Karoline von Starkloff (1817–1871). His younger brother August von Heeringen (* 26. November 1855 in Kassel; † 29. September 1927 in Berlin), served as a naval officer and was a Chief of the German Naval General Staff. Josias von Heeringen married in 1874 Augusta von Dewall.

Career

After a lengthy military career, he became a major in the ministry of war. From 1892 to 1895, he was head of department in the General Staff. In 1898 he was appointed a Major-General and made head of the army's department within the ministry of war.

In 1901 he was made a Generalleutnant and in 1903 became head of the 22nd Division.[1] In 1906 he was made a General der Infanterie, and also commander of the II Army Corps, whose headquarters was in Stettin. From 1909 to 1913, he was Prussian Minister of War. As a Prussian Minister of War, Heeringen just like predecessors, von Gossler and von Einem, that the strength of the army should not be increased too quickly and too intensively in accordance with the wishes of the General Staff, but that the emphasis of reformist efforts should be placed more on the technical perfection of the army and the quality of the training should be laid. But this brought chief of staff, von Moltke and Ludendorff. Heeringen stopped the immediate formation of three new army corps, and delayed it until 1916-1921. Heeringen was resigned from minister of war in 1913.[2] After being resigned, he became General Inspector of the II Army Inspectorate, headquartered in Berlin.

He took command of the Seventh Army in August 1914, the army that was being used as a decoy for the attempted German invasion of France, and he successfully defended Alsace against the French in the Battle of Mulhouse for which he was awarded the Pour le Mérite (28 August 1915). He became an honorary citizen of Kasel in 1914 and was awarded the oak leaves on 28 August 1916.[3] He commanded the Seventh Army until 1916, when he was transferred to coastal command in Germany for the rest of the war. He left active service with the rank of a Colonel General.

Later life

From 1918 to 1926, he was president of the Kyffhäuserbund. He died on 9 October 1926 in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

Honours and awards

References
  1. "The Prussian Machine". Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  2. Biographie, Deutsche. "Heeringen, Josias von - Deutsche Biographie". www.deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. "Pour le Mérite". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  4. "Großherzogliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden, Karlsruhe, 1910, pp. 197, 892 – via blb-karlsruhe.de
  5. "Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1907, p. 179 – via hathitrust.org
  6. "Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 129 – via hathitrust.org
  7. "Königliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg, Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1907, pp. 69, 128
  8. "Ritter-Orden: Königlich-Ungarischer St. Stephans-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, Vienna, 1918, p. 56 – via alex.onb.ac.at
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