Arthur Sigismund von Förster

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Sigismund von Förster
Arthur Sigismund von Förster (1856–1934).jpg
Birth name Arthur Sigismund von Förster
Birth date 24 February 1856(1856-02-24)
Place of birth Sangerhausen, Regierungsbezirk Merseburg, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date 11 August 1934 (aged 78)
Place of death Brandenburg an der Havel, Province of Brandenburg, German Reich
Resting place Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof in Berlin-Schöneberg
Allegiance Germany Prussian Eagle.jpg Kingdom of Prussia
 German Empire
Service/branch War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army
Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
Years of service 1874–1917
Rank General der Infanterie
Battles/wars World War I
Awards Iron Cross
Pour le Mérite
Red Eagle Order
Relations ∞ 1884 Betty Dorothea Eunike

Arthur Sigismund von Förster (also Artur; 24 February 1856 – 11 August 1934) was a German officer of the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army, finally honorary (Charakter) General of the Infantry and Knight of the Order "Pour le Mérite".

Military career (chronology)

Pour le Mérite 1901
Sigismund von Förster.jpg
  • Prussian Cadet Corps (Kadettenkorps)
  • 23 April 1874 as Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant) transferred to the 2. Ingenieur-Inspektion in Spandau
  • 2 May 1874 Transferred to the 3rd Company/Magdeburgisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 4
  • October 1875 Commanded for two years to the Vereinigte Artillerie- und Ingenieurschule (United Artillery and Engineering School)
  • October 1877 Transferred to the 2nd Company/Eisenbahn-Regiment (Railway Regiment) in Berlin, later 6th and 8th Company
  • 1881 to 1883 Studies at the Technical University of Berlin
  • 1883 Transferred back to the 2. Ingenieur-Inspektion, now a Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 1884/85 Transferred to the 4. Ingenieur-Inspektion, fortification service in Friedrichsort
  • 1887 Transferred to the Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7 in Cöln-Deutz
  • 1888 Hauptmann and Commander of the 1st Company in the Hessisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 11 in Mainz
  • 1890 to 1893 Transferred to the Luftschiffer-Abteilung (airship battalion) in Berlin, officially belonging to the Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr. 1
  • 1893/94 Commander of the 7th Company/3. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 138 in Straßburg (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen)
  • 10 September 1897 Major
  • 1898 Aggregated with the staff of the 3. Unter-Elsässisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 138
  • 17. Dezember 1898 Commander of the 2nd Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment „General-Feldmarschall Prinz Friedrich Karl von Preußen“ (8. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 64 in Prenzlau
    • 1899 Commander of the 1st Battalion
  • 9 July 1900 Transferred to the 2nd Infantry Regiment/East Asian Expeditionary Force (Ostasiatisches Expeditionskorps)
    • Commander of the 2nd Battalion; After a 17 hour reconnaissance ride, Major von Förster came back to the regiment and planned a storm of the “Boxer fortress” Tse King Kuan. The next night, 29 October 1900, he rode with 103 men the 20 km route he had found. Along him was Generalleutnant Emil von Lessel, Commander of the East Asian Expeditionary Force, and some of his staff officers als observers. Sigismund von Förster attacked the fortress with c. 800 men defending it. Although wounded, he did not leave his men and always led from the front. He conquered the fortress, over 80 defenders had fallen, and captured two rapid-fire guns, ten pieces of artillery and six flags. For this, he received the Order "Pour le Mérite" from Kaiser Wilhelm II.
  • 2 October 1901 Aggregated with the staff of the 5. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß
  • 1 April 1902 Commander of the 1st Battalion/5. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß
  • 26 January 1904 Transferred to the staff of the Leib-Grenadier-Regiments „König Friedrich Wilhelm III.“ (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 8
    • During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904/05, he was assigned to the Japanese Army as a military observer. He experienced the bloody Battle of Liaoyang (25 August – 5 September 1904) on horseback.
  • 10 March 1904 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
  • 21 February 1906 Invited by Kaiser Wilhelm II to the ball in the Royal Palace in Berlin
  • 18 August 1906 Delegated with the leadership of the Infanterie-Regiment „von Stülpnagel“ (5. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 48 in Küstrin
  • 13 September 1906 Oberst (Colonel) and now officially commander of the Infanterie-Regiment „von Stülpnagel“ (5. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 48
  • 16 June 1910 Generalmajor and commander of the 67. Infanterie-Brigade in Metz
  • 1 March 1913 Generalleutnant and commander of the 6. Division in Brandenburg an der Havel
  • 3 February 1914 Retired and put to disposal (zur Disposition; z. D.)

WWI

  • 2 August 1914 to 22 September 1915 Commander of the 1. Reserve-Division as part of the I. Reserve-Korps under the command of Lieutenant General Curt von Morgen
    • 24 February 1915 During the First Battle of Przasnysz, the city of Przasnysz was taken by storm by the 1st Reserve Division under Generalleutnant Sigismund von Förster. The Germans captured 10,000 prisoners (of which 60 officers), a banner, 14 machine guns and 36 guns, an armored car. The casualties of the attackers in 5 days amounted to 110 killed, 123 missing and 474 wounded.
  • 23 September 1915 Commander of the 77. Reserve-Division (he resided with his staff in Lautzensee Castle)
    • Lots of trench warfare, mainly in front of Dünaburg
  • 17 May 1917 Charakter als General der Infanterie and mobilization provision repealed (Mobilmachungsbestimmung aufgehoben)

Family

Descent

Sigismund was the son of Eberhard Philipp Ferdinand Siegesmund von Förster (1815–1862), Prussian Captain in the Ostpreußisches Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 1, and his wife Henriette Amalie Karoline, née von Schlieben (1821–1892). He had, at least, two siblings:[1]

  • Karl Hermann Waldemar Maximilian "Max" (1845–1905), retired 1st Lieutenant (Westfälisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 7), engineer and factory owner (Rheinische Dynamitfabrik in Opladen[2]); ∞ Berlin 2 July 1891 Margarete Auguste Ferdinande Ernestine Peip, two children (son Hermann Sigismund Maximilian was ⚔ on 17 June 1918 as a member of the Jagdstaffel 27, Fliegertruppe)
  • Henriette Clara (1854–1925), writer, playwright

Marriage

On 4 April 1884 in Berlin, 1st Lieutenant von Förster married his fiancée Betty Dorothea Eunike (1864–1910). Their children were:

  • Dorothea (29 January 1885 – 23 Oktober 1886)
  • Margarethe (1886–1969); ∞ 5 December 1919 Major a. D. and Regierungsrat (government council) Albert Jonas, divorced (o¦o) 6 December 1921[3]
  • Hans Eberhard Sigismund (1887–1959), General der Infanterie of the Wehrmacht

Awards and decorations

Rangliste 1913
  • Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class with the Crown (PRAO4mKr/PrA4mKr)
  • Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
  • Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
  • Pour le Mérite on 28 May 1901
  • China Commemorative Medal (China-Denkmünze) in Bronze for combatants with three battle clasps
  • Order of the Iron Crown (Austria), 2nd Class with the War Decoration (ÖEK2.KD)
  • Officer's Cross of the Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (JMuL4/JM4)
  • Ottoman Osmanie-Orden (Osmanije), 3rd Class (TO3)
  • Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class with Swords
  • Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, Commander (JZ3)
  • Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow
  • Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Swords on Ring
  • Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
  • Star to his Prussian Order of the Crown 2nd Class with Swords on Ring in 1913
  • Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves in 1914
  • Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords (it can be assumed that, due to his rank, he was one of the first recipients)

References

  1. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Briefadeligen Häuser, 1916, p. 232
  2. ↑ As an engineer officer in the 1860s, he had the opportunity to become interested in explosives technology. At the time, these were explosive tests using the lithofractor, a variant of dynamite from the company Gebr. Krebs & Co in Kalk. This means was used in 1871 (Franco-German War) to blow up the iron gun barrels captured in the Paris forts.He became technical director of the Wolff & Co guncotton factory in Walsrode. In 1883, during explosive tests with compressed shooting wool, he recognized the effect of the cavity in the explosive charge (hollow charge) and its military use, which later became, among other things, led to the bazooka and wrote a publication about the cavity effect (later also known as the Neumann effect or Munroe effect). In Hoherlehme near Wildau he founded another factory of his own for smokeless rolling papers and nitroglycerin powder. From 1898 he sold this z. B. to the Ottoman and Spanish armies. In the same year, he and his factory took part in the formation of the central office for scientific and technical investigations in Neubabelsberg.
  3. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser, Teil B, 1939–1940, p. 152
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