Ernst von Voigt

Ernst von Voigt
Birth name	Ernst Wilhelm Karl von Voigt
Birth date	18 August 1847(1847-08-18)
Place of birth	Hildesheim, Kingdom of Hanover, German Confederation
Death date	14 August 1926 (aged 78)
Place of death	Hildesheim, Province of Hanover, German Reich
Allegiance	Kingdom of Prussia German Confederation North German Confederation German Empire
Service/branch	Prussian Army
Years of service	1866–1908
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands held	4. Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 51 14. Division Governor of Mainz
Battles/wars	German War of Brothers Franco-German War
Awards	Iron Cross Order of the Red Eagle
Relations	∞ 1877 Gertrude Hurst

Ernst Wilhelm Karl von Voigt (18 August 1847 – 14 August 1926) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, finally General of the Infantry and Governor of Mainz (1904–1908).

Life

Placed at disposal (z. D.) on 15 April 1908

Prussian Rank List 1914

Ernst was raised in his parents' home, then became a sailor in the merchant navy, where he passed his officer's examination with the highest commendation. During the German War of Brothers, he enlisted as a volunteer in the replacement battalion of the 3rd Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 71 of the Prussian Army on 7 July 1866. He participated in the campaign and was discharged after demobilization on 11 October 1866. However, von Voigt had discovered his love for the military and decided to become a career soldier. He was commissioned as an Fahnenjunker in the 79th Infantry Regiment on 2 June 1867. A year later, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and, from mid-April 1870, was adjutant of the 1st Battalion. As such, von Voigt participated in the battles of Vionville, Gravelotte, Noisseville, and the Siege of Metz during the Franco-German War. At Beaune-la-Rolande, he was wounded in the left arm by a rifle shot.

Awarded the Iron Cross Second Class, von Voigt was promoted to 1st Lieutenant after the end of the war in mid-April 1874 and served as regimental adjutant from 29 June 1874 to 17 October 1876. He was then commanded as adjutant of the 1st Infantry Brigade in Königsberg. In this position, von Voigt was transferred to the 3rd Westphalian Infantry Regiment No. 16 in mid-June 1877 with a commission dated 13 April 1876, and was placed à la suite of the unit at the beginning of July 1878. Relieved of his command, he was assigned to the regiment in mid-December 1879 and promoted to supernumerary captain at the end of July 1880. After several years as a company commander, he was transferred to the General Staff of the Army on 1 April 1886 and transferred to the Great General Staff. From there, von Voigt was transferred to the General Staff of the 7th Division at the beginning of November 1886, and was promoted to Major at the end of March of the following year. He served briefly on the General Staff of the IV Army Corps from 30 April to 26 June 1889. He was transferred back to the General Staff and returned to military service on 15 October 1889 with his appointment as battalion commander in the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment No. 91.

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assigned a position à la suite to the 79th Infantry Regiment "von Voigts-Rhetz" (3rd Hanoverian) No. 191, von Voigt was assigned to the 121st Infantry Regiment "Alt-Württemberg" (3rd Württemberg) in the Kingdom of Württemberg for use as a staff officer. Upon being relieved of this command, he took over the 51st 4th Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment, stationed in Brieg and later in Breslau, on 13 May 1895. After von Voigt was initially tasked with deputising for the commander of the 58th Infantry Brigade on 25 July 1898, he was promoted to Major General and appointed commander of this large unit on 10 September 1898. From 7 July 1901 to 30 April 1904, he served as Lieutenant General in command of the 14th Division in Düsseldorf and subsequently as Governor of Mainz. Upon approval of his resignation, General of the Infantry von Voigt was placed at disposal with the statuatory pension on 15 April 1908 as à la suite of the 79th Infantry Regiment "von Voigts-Rhetz" (3rd Hanoverian).

Family

Ernst came from the second branch of the second line of the von Voigt family, which was elevated to hereditary imperial nobility in Vienna (HRE) on 30 December 1776. He was the fourth of five children of Royal Hanoverian Official Assessor (Amtsassessor) and lord of the manor Georg Wilhelm Eberhard von Voigt (1813–1889) and his first wife (∞ 1838), Wilhelmine Auguste Charlotte Friederike, née Freiin von Rössing (1820–1849). After the death of Ernst's mother, his father married his sister-in-law Adolfine Leonie Dorothea Freiin von Rössing (1824–1869). They would have five further children, all daughters.

Marriage

On 17 October 1877 in Arnstadt, 1st Lieutenant von Voigt married his fiancée Gertrude Elizabeth Hurst (b. 11 January 1856 in Olney, England). They would have seven children:

• Gertrud Irmgard Wilhelmine (b. 10 July 1878 in Königsberg); ∞ Mülhausen (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen) 1901 Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Worgitzky
  • among their children was Hans-Heinrich Worgitzky (1907–1969), Colonel of the Wehrmacht (DKiG), member of the Organisation Gehlen, Vice President of the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst) and Brigade General of the Reserves of the Bundeswehr
• Amy Elisabeth Adelheid (b. 26 July 1881 in Cologne); ∞ Mainz 1906 Dr. jur. Emil Gaßner (1872–1946), Hessian district director in Oppenheim
• Alma Jane Agnes (b. 8 March 1884 in Cologne); ∞ Mainz 1908 Oberregierungsrat Dr. jur. Albert Calmberg
• Dorothea Minna Adolfine (b. 21 November 1885 in Cologne); ∞ Hildesheim 1912 Fregattenkapitän William Ernst Ludolf Freiherr von Rössing (b. 4 July 1879 in Moringen)
• Ernst Georg Hermann Viktor (b. 16 June 1888 in Magdeburg; d. 20 october 1961 in Hannover), Kapitänleutnant and U-boat ace in WWI, Managing Director of the "Niedersächsische Verfrachtungsgesellschaft m. b. H." and Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter) of the Johanniter-Orden; ∞ Kassel 1937 Helga Sigrid Anna Mathilde Charlotte-Käthe Julie von Hugo (b. 24 August 1907 in Kassel)
• Kurt Wilhelm Ernst Otto-Helmuth (1890–1970), Crew 1908 (among them Reinhold Saltzwedel, Wolfgang Steinbauer and Ernst Voigt), Kapitänleutnant and torpedo boat commandant in WWI, bookstore owner, Prokurist and Fregattenkapitän in WWII; ∞ Wilhelmshaven 1914 Margarete Luise Auguste-Viktoria Hunnius (b. 22 October 1889 in Wandsbek), 3 daughters
• Johanna "Hanna" Auguste Gertrude Katharina (b. 2 January 1895 in Ludwigsburg; d. 26 April 1934 in Hildesheim)

Promotions

• 7 July 1866 Kriegsfreiwilliger (War Volunteer)
• 2 June 1867 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 14 November 1867 Portepee-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 7 July 1868 Sekonde-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 3 April 1872 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant)
• 20 July 1880 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 22 March 1887 Major
• 18 June 1892 Oberst-Lieutenant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 13 May 1895 Oberst (Colonel)
• 10 September 1898 Generalmajor (Major General)
• 7 July 1901 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)
• 16 October 1906 Charakter als General der Infanterie (Honorary / Brevet General of the Infantry)

Awards and decorations

• Commemorative Cross for the Campaign of 1866 (Erinnerungs-Kreuz für den Feldzug von 1866)
• Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
• War Commemorative Medal of 1870–1871 (Kaiserliche Kriegsdenkmünze 1870/71; KD70/71)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4/PrA4)
• Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, Knight's Cross (NO3)
  • later re-categorized as Knight's Cross 1st Class (NO3a)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz; DA)
• Order of Albert the Bear, Commander 2nd Class (AAB2b/AB2b)
• Württemberg Order of the Crown, Knight's Cross (WK3c)
  • later reclassified as WK3
• House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis, Knight of Honour 1st Class with the Golden Crown (OV3a)
• Anniversary Oak Leaves (Jubiläums-Eichenlaub „25“ 1870/1895) to the Iron Cross 2nd Class
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow
• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Commander 1st Class (BZL2a/BZ2a)
• Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
• Prussian Order of the Crown, 1st Class
• Red Eagle Order, 1st Class with Oak Leaves
• Hesse Order of Merit of Philip the Magnanimous (Verdienstorden Philipps des Großmütigen), Grand Cross with the Crown (GHVP1mKr/HP1mKr) on 20 August 1907 (permission to accept in December 1907)