Ferdinand von Stockhausen

Ferdinand von Stockhausen
Birth date	5 May 1861
Place of birth	Erfurt, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date	⚔ 14 December 1915 (aged 54)
Place of death	Aschhoop, Flanders, Belgium
Allegiance	Kingdom of Prussia German Empire
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1880–1915
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Oldenburg Infantry Regiment No. 91 40th Infantry Brigade 91st Reserve Infantry Brigade
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Red Eagle Order Prussian Order of the Crown Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 1915 Marie von Witzleben

Johannes Ferdinand Benedix Maria von Stockhausen (5 May 1861 – 14 December 1915) was a German officer, finally Major General and brigade commander in World War I.

Life

After attending Gymnasium and achieving his Abitur, Ferdinand von Stockhausen joined the 1. Westfälisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 13 on 1 April 1880 as an officer candidate. He was commissioned in the 9th Company in October 1881. The regiment was renamed to Infanterie-Regiment "Herwarth von Bittenfeld" (1. Westfälisches) Nr. 13 on 27 January 1889.

• Rank List 1885 Transferred to the 11th Company
• Rank List 1887 Transferred to the 7th Company
• Rank List 1888 Adjutant of the III. Battalion
• Rank List 1891 Transferred to the 6th Company
• Rank List 1892 Transferred to the 5th Company
• Rank List 1893 Regimental adjutant
• 15 November 1894 Appointed commander of the 13th Company/Infanterie-Regiment "Herwarth von Bittenfeld" (1. Westfälisches) Nr. 13
• Rank List 1897 Appointed commander of the 2nd Company/Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 158 in Paderborn
  • 27 January 1902 renamed to 7. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 158
• 26 May 1900 Commanded to the 21st Division as adjutant
• 22 April 1905 Appointed commander of the II. Battalion/Füsilier-Regiment "von Gersdorff" (Kurhessisches) Nr. 80 in Wiesbaden
• 22 March 1913 Appointed commander of the Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91 in Oldenburg
• 16 September 1914 Appointed commander of the 40th Infantry Brigade
• 5 November 1914 Appointed commander of the 91st Reserve Infantry Brigade

Death

On 14 December 1915, brigade commander Major General Ferdinand von Stockhausen was killed in action by a direct hit from shrapnel near his command post in the Aschhoop monastery school. His body was transported from the front to Oldenburg and buried with full military honors. The Basilica of St. Mary in Bethen (near Cloppenburg) houses one of the largest memorials for fallen soldiers of both World Wars in Germany. In the crypt of the pilgrimage church, built in 1929 as a war memorial, the names of 3,672 war dead from Catholic parishes in the Oldenburg region are inscribed on marble plaques, including that of Major General Ferdinand von Stockhausen.

Family

Ferdinand was the son and seventh as well as last child of Royal Tribunal Vice President Wilhelm Theodor Christian von Stockhausen (1810–1899) and his second wife (∞ Münster 27 June 1843) Maria Sophia Elisabeth Franziska Klara Klementine, née von Olfers (1819–1867).

Marriage

On 29 September 1915 in Hanover, Major General von Stockhausen married Marie Anna Friederike Henriette, née von Witzleben (b. 3 March 1855 in Ober-Steinkirch; d. 20 July 1933 in Liegnitz), second wife (∞ Ober-Steinkirch 6 June 1878) and widow of Major General Eduard Karl Wilhelm Graf von Schlieffen (1829–1907).

Promotions

Genealogy: Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser, 1903

• 1 April 1880 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier (Officer Candidate with Corporal/NCO/Junior Sergeant rank
• 16 November 1880 Portepee-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 18 October 1881 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with Patent from 16 September 1881
• 27 January 1890 Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant) without Patent
  • 24 March 1890 received Patent as 1st Lieutenant
• 15 November 1894 Hauptmann (Captain) without Patent
  • 18 June 1895 received Patent as Captain
• 18 June 1903 Major
• 20 April 1910 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 22 March 1913 Oberst (Colonel)
• 18 August 1915 Generalmajor (Major General)

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class
• Imperial Russian Sankt-Stanislaus-Orden, II. Class (RSt2)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis, Ehren-Komturkreuz or Honorary Commanders Cross (OV2b)
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• War Merit Cross (Brunswick), 2nd Class (BrK2)
• Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross (Friedrich-August-Kreuz), 2nd and 1st Class (OFA1/OK1)

Writings

• Kurzgefaßte Geschichte des 1. Westfälischen Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 13, Potsdam 1882