Eugen Ritter von Zoellner

Eugen Ritter von Zoellner
Birth name	Andreas Heinrich Eugen Zoellner
Birth date	18 June 1866(1866-06-18)
Place of birth	Regensburg, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Confederation
Death date	19 February 1945 (aged 78)
Place of death	Prien am Chiemsee near Rosenheim, Bavaria, German Reich
Allegiance	Kingdom of Bavaria German Empire Weimar Republic
Service/branch	Royal Bavarian Army Imperial German Army Preliminary Reichswehr
Years of service	1884–1914 1914–1918 1919
Rank	Lieutenant General (honorary)
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Bavarian Military Merit Order Red Eagle Order Iron Cross Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown
Relations	∞ 1893 Emma Kirchner

Andreas Heinrich Eugen Zoellner, from 1917 Ritter von Zoellner (originally also Zöllner; 18 June 1866 – 19 February 1945), was a German officer of the Bavarian Army, the Imperial German Army in World War I and the Preliminary Reichswehr, finally a Lieutenant General.

Life

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ritter von Zoellner in September 1944 during the celebrations for his 60th anniversary of joining the military.

Geschichte des K.B. 11. Infanterie-Regiments „von der Tann“ 1805–1905 by Captain Zoellner, Munich 1905

Eugen attended the Humanistic Gymnasium in Regensburg, achieved his Abitur and joined the Royal Bavarian 11th Infantry Regiment “von der Tann” as an officer candidate on 1 September 1884.

• 1885 to 1886 Commanded to the Royal Bavarian War School
• 10 February 1886 Certificate of maturity to become an officer with the expression of the highest commendation
• 1 June 1889 Six weeks Pionier training
• 15 June 1890 Two months riding lessons
• 1 May 1891 to 30 September 1894 Battalion adjutant
• 1 October 1894 Three years War Academy
  • Particularly suitable as an instructor and as military interpreter in the French language.
• 1 November 1898 Commanded for one year to the Bavarian General Staff
• 1 November 1899 Command to the General Staff extended by one year due to particularly good performance.
• 1 April 1900 Transferred to the Central Office of the Bavarian General Staff
• 1 October 1901 Adjutant of the Chief of the General Staff of the Bavarian Army
  • assigned to the War Academy as instructor for "recent war history"
• 21 September 1902 Company commander in the Königlich Bayerisches 2. Infanterie Regiment „Kronprinz“
• 25 November 1904 Transferred to the Central Office of the Bavarian General Staff
• 31 March 1905 Transferred to the General Staff of the 3rd Royal Bavarian Infantry Division in Landau
• 25 January 1907 Transferred to the General Staff of the II. Royal Bavarian Army Corps in Würzburg
• 12 August 1908 Battalion commander in the Königlich Bayerisches Infanterie-Leibregiment in Munich
  • active member of the Senior Study and Examination Committee
• 24 September with effect from 1 October 1909 Transferred to the Central Office of the Bavarian General Staff and commanded for two years to the Royal Prussian Great General Staff in Berlin
  • simultaneously military member of the Bavarian Senate at the Reich Military Court in Charlottenburg
• 20 September with effect from 1 October 1910 Entrusted with the duties of a head of a department at the General Staff (Central Office)
  • member of the Military Studies and Examination Commission
• 25 May 1911 Appointed head of a department at the General Staff (Central Office)
• 22 September with effect from 1 October 1911 Again commanded to the Royal Prussian Great General Staff in Berlin
  • 23 September with effect from 1 October 1911 again appointed military member of the Bavarian Senate at the Reich Military Court in Charlottenburg
• 1 August 1914 Assigned to the Chief of the General Staff of the Field Army
• 2 October 1914 Appointed Chief of Staff of the Quartermaster General
  • 13 April 1916 entrusted with the duties of the Quartermaster General
• 27 June 1916 Appointed deputy commander of the 49th German Reserve Division
• 1 October 1916 Appointed commander of the 49th German Reserve Infantry Division
  • The division took part in the fighting against Romania, which had betrayed the brotherhood in arms with the Central Powers in August 1916.
• 30 January 1917 Commanded to the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division
• 8 February 1917 Appointed commander of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Division
• 3 October 1917 Due to receiving the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown, he was elevated to personal, non-hereditary nobility with the title "Ritter von".
• 3 November 1918 Appointed commander of the 12th Bavarian Infantry Division
  • 12 November to 19 December Evacuation of the occupied territory and march to the homeland
• 20 December 1918 Appointed commander of the 6th Bavarian Infantry Division during demobilization
• 19 June 1919 Entrusted with the duties of the Commanding General of the III. Bavarian Army Corps
• 28 September 1919 Placed at disposal (z. D.); de facto retired with the statutory pension
  • in contrast to the Heeresabwicklungsamt Bayern, his military file states 11 October 1919

Family

Eugen was the son of Protestant Royal Bavarian Councillor of Commerce (Kommerzienrat) Gottlieb Heinrich Zöllner (d. 23 January 1913) and his wife Anna Margaretha Elisa, née Grötsch (d. 25 September 1916). Heinrich Zöllner was an enthusiastic mountaineer and a member of the German Alpine Club (DAV) from 1886 until his death.

Marriage

On 15 May 1893, 2nd Lieutenant Zoellner married his fiancée Emma Kirchner (1870 – 28 January 1936). They would have two children:

• Emma Margaretha Johanna (b. 13 February 1895)
• Otto (b. 6 April 1898; ⚔ 2 May 1918)

Promotions

• 1 September 1884 Freiwillig Gemeiner Offiziersaspirant (Voluntary Common Officer Candidate)
• 21 December 1884 (Fahnenjunker-)Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank)
• 14 May 1885 Portepée-Fähnrich
• 8 April 1886 Second-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 6 November 1894 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant)
• 21 March 1900 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 1 May 1904 Captain 1st Class
• 20 July 1906 Major without Patent
  • 8 March 1907 received Patent as Major
• 25 July 1910 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 23 January 1913 Oberst (Colonel)
• 10 September 1914 Generalmajor (Major General)
• 28 September 1919 Charakter als Generalleutnant z. D. (Honorary Lieutenant General at disposal)
  • in contrast to the Heeresabwicklungsamt Bayern, his military file states 11 October 1919

Awards and decorations

• Prinz-Regent-Luitpold Jubiläums-Medaille on 12 March 1905
• Military Merit Order (Bavaria), Knight's Cross 2nd Class (BMV4/BMV4b) on 10 July 1905
  • later reclassified as 4th Class
• Bavarian Long Service Cross (Königlich Bayerisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz), II. Class for 24 years (BDK2/BD2) in 1908
• Prussian Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class on 16 September 1908
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class on 18 October 1910
• Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 3rd Class (BMV3/BMV3b) on 28 October 1912
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class on 14 February 1913
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 19 November 1914
  • 1st Class on 22 March 1915
• Order of the Iron Crown (Austria), 2nd Class with War Decoration
  • 2nd Class (ÖEK2) on 21 November 1914
  • War Decoration (ÖEK2K) on 9 March 1916
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, 2nd Class and Swords (BMV2b⚔) on 24 November 1914
• Saxon Albert Order (Albrechts-Orden), Commander 1st Class with Swords (SA2a⚔) on 1 February 1915
• Württemberg Order of the Crown, Commander with Swords (WK2b⚔) on 1 February 1915
• Oldenburg Friedrich-August Cross (Friedrich-August-Kreuz), 2nd and 1st Class (OFAK1/OFA1/OK1) on 1 April 1915
• Austria-Hungary Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class with War Decoration (ÖMV2mKD/ÖM2K) on 21 August 1915
• Ottoman Liakat Medal in Gold with Swords/Sabers (TürkL1⚔/TL1⚔) on 28 September 1915
• Gallipoli Star (Eiserner Halbmond; TürkH/TH) on 4 January 1916
• Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Swords on 18 February 1916
• Grand Ducal Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross (Großherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinsches Militärverdienstkreuz), II. Class (MVK2/MMV2/MK2) on 6 June 1916
• War Merit Cross (Brunswick) on 28 June 1916
• Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown, Knight's Cross (BKr3) on 23 August 1917
• Ducal Anhalt Friedrich Cross (Herzoglich Anhaltisches Friedrichkreuz; AFK/AF/AK) on 31 December 1917
• Star to his Bavarian Military Merit Order 2nd Class with Swords (BMV2a⚔) on 5 July 1918
• Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star and Swords on 6 June 1918
• Bavarian Long Service Cross, I. Class for 40 years (BD1) on 31 August 1919
  • war years were counted double
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords on 25 April 1935

Gallery

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External links

• Andreas Heinrich Eugen Ritter von Zoellner, prussianmachine.com