Georg Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz

Georg Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz
Birth name	Georg Harry Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz
Birth date	29 October 1867(1867-10-29)
Place of birth	Wetzlar, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, North German Confederation
Death date	29 June 1941 (aged 73)
Place of death	Würzburg, Bavaria, German Reich
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Freikorps Reichswehr Heer
Years of service	1888–1923 1940–1941
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 44 218. Infanterie-Regiment Commandant of Erfurt
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau Red Eagle Order House Order of Hohenzollern Iron Cross Bavarian Military Merit Order
Relations	∞ 1904 Marie-Erika Gräfin zu Dohna-Schlodien ∞ 1921 Mary Elsa von Rosenberg

Georg Harry Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz (29 October 1867 – 29 June 1941) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Freikorps, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally Major General. He is sometimes confused with his younger cousin Major General Waldemar Bolko Egon Adalbert Julius Georg Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz (1877–1960).

Life

After completing his cadet training, Georg Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz joined the Royal Prussian Army on 22 March 1888 as a brevet officer cadet. He was transferred from the main cadet school in Groß-Lichterfelde to the 4th Guards Grenadier Regiment "Queen" in Koblenz. After attending the war school, he was promoted to second lieutenant in September 1889. He was initially assigned as a company officer in the 5th Company of his regiment in Koblenz. Following the regiment's renaming on January 9, 1890, he became a company officer in the 5th Company of the Queen Augusta Guards Grenadier Regiment No. 4 in Koblenz. In the fall of 1891, he was transferred to the same position in the 4th Company of his regiment at the same location. On 1 October 1893, as part of the regiment's relocation to Spandau, he was transferred to the 2nd Company as a company officer. One year later, he was transferred to the 10th Company of the regiment at the same location in the same capacity. In the autumn of 1895, he succeeded First Lieutenant von Pommer-Esche as Adjutant of the Fusilier Battalion (III. Battalion) in Spandau. The regiment had also relocated to Berlin in 1897. On 1 October 1898, he succeeded First Lieutenant Graf von Blumenthal as regimental adjutant of the Queen Augusta Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 4 in Berlin. His successor as Battalion Adjutant was 2nd Lieutenant von Kempis.

After just over three years, on 17 December 1901, he was appointed military governor of the two eldest sons of Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia. His successor as regimental adjutant in Berlin was 2nd Lieutenant von Oppen. Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz continued to wear his regiment's uniform. On 3 April 1907, he succeeded Captain von der Hardt as commander of the 6th Company of the Queen Augusta Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 4 in Berlin. He was succeeded as military governor by Captain von Gaertner, who became the first military governor for all three sons. On 1 March 1910, he succeeded Captain Freiherr von Meerscheidt-Hülessem as commander of the 4th Company of the 1st Guards Regiment of Foot in Potsdam. His successor as commander of the 6th Company in his old regiment in Berlin was Captain Houben. On 16 June 1913, he was simultaneously promoted to major and transferred to the regimental staff of the 1st Guards Foot Regiment, also in Potsdam. His successor as commander of the 4th Company was His Royal Highness Captain Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf, Prince of Prussia.

During mobilization for World War I, he was transferred to the 1st Guards Reserve Regiment of Foot as a battalion commander in early August 1914. In 1915, he was transferred to the 4th Guards Foot Regiment in the same capacity. On 6 November 1916, he was appointed commander of Infantry Regiment No. 442, a position he held until the end of the war. After the First World War, from March 1919 to May 1919, he commanded the Graf Stillfried Detachment within the Hülsen Free Corps (Freikorps „von Hülsen“) under the General Bernhard von Hülsen. In June 1919, he was transferred to the Provisional Reichswehr. He now belonged to the Reichswehr Brigade 3. On 1 October 1919, he was a staff officer at the regimental staff of the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 5. When the 200,000-man army of the Reichswehr was formed in mid-May 1920, he was a staff officer at the Reichswehr Rifle Regiment 1 of the Reichswehr Brigade 1.

When the 100,000-man Reichswehr was formed, he was transferred to the 8th Infantry Regiment in Frankfurt an der Oder on 1 October 1920. As a staff officer on the regimental staff, he was promoted to colonel in December 1920. On 15 June 1921, he succeeded Colonel Karl Felsch as commander of the 18th Infantry Regiment in Paderborn. On 31 January 1923, he handed over his command to Colonel Hans Kloebe. He was retired from active service in the 100,000-man army on that day. He spent his private life in Reichensachsen in the Eschwege district. He was mobilized again during World War II. On 15 May 1940, he was appointed commandant of Erfurt. On 1 March 1941, he was transferred to the OKH Führer Reserve for health reasons. His service was regulated by Military District IX. On 30 April 1941, his mobilization use was lifted.

Death

Major General Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz died after gallbladder surgery on 29 June 1941 at 8:30 a.m. in the surgical department of Würzburg Reserve Military Hospital II. The causes of death were listed as gallstones, gallbladder inflammation, and postoperative cardiac and circulatory insufficiency. He was subsequently buried in Reichensachen am Rohenberg. His widow died on 20 January 1945 in the Eschwege District Hospital. The cause of death was listed as muscular heart failure.

Family

Georg was the son of Catholic Captain Heinrich Georg Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz (b. 16 April 1834 in Saarlouis,) and his Lutheran wife Marie, née Gräfin von Reichenbach-Goschütz (1843–1915). His father, a company commander in the Rhenish Jäger Battalion No. 8, was ⚔ (shot in the head) on 18 August 1870 in the Battle of Gravelotte (German-Franco War) at the age of 36.

Marriage

On 27 February 1904 in Berlin, Captain Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz married his fiancée Anna Elise Marie-Erika Gräfin zu Dohna-Schlodien (1878–1918). They would have three children. On 8 February 1921, widower Colonel Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz married Mary Elsa, née von Rosenberg (1879–1945), widow of Major Arthur Julius von Eschwege (b. 1871), a company commander in 1. Garde-Reserve-Regiment zu Fuß (his battalion was commanded by Major Graf von Stillfried und Rattonitz), killed in action on 24 October 1914.

Mary Elsa was the daughter of Major General Johann von Rosenberg (1844–1913) and the sister of Reich Foreign Minister Frederic Hans von Rosenberg (1874–1937). Her brother Richard Max von Rosenberg (1878–1904), 2nd Lieutenant of the Schutztruppe, was ⚔ in German Southwest Africa (Hottentot War), her brother lord of the manor Captain of the Reserves Kurt von Rosenberg (1881–1917) was ⚔ in France and her youngest brother 2nd Lieutenant Joachim Georg von Rosenberg (1889–1915) was also ⚔ in World War I.

Children

• Marie-Alexandrine Adolfine Erika Christa (b. 24 December 1904 in Naumburg an der Saale); ∞ Reichensachsen 7 December 1929 lord of the manor Reimar von Cramon-Taubadel (1904–1987), 5 children
  • died on 2 June 1939 at 23:57 in the University Clinic Breslau from pneumonia
• Friedrich Heinrich Christoph Georg Rudolf Alexander (b. 11 August 1906 in Naumburg an der Saale), officer of the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht; ∞ Labuhn 17 October 1936 Agnes Minette Eugenie Adda Freiin zu Innhausen und Knyphausen
  • died as a Captain and Commander of the II. Group of Night Fighter Wing 1 (formerly I. Group of Destroyer Wing 76), serving under Wolfgang Falck, in an airplane crash on 6 October 1940. This occurred in a Messerschmitt Bf 110 during a cruise flight near Lienen, 40 kilometers northeast of Münster in Westphalia, without being hit by weapons, presumably due to an engine failure. He was subsequently buried in Geiglitz in the Plathe district of Pomerania.
• Marie Adolfine (27 February 1908 – 28 February 1908), died in Berlin only hours after her birth
• Marie-Erika "Eri" Charlotte Anna Elise Adele (1910–1982)
  • I ∞ Kassel 14 October 1933 administrator, later lord of the manor (Schloß Falkenburg) 2nd Lieutenant (ret.) Kurt-Apel Karl Hugo Hermann von Griesheim (1899–1993), Knight of Honor of the Johanniterorden, 2 children:
    • Wolf-Witilo Georg Kurt von Griesheim (b. 13 September 1934 in Bad Polzin)
    • Konrad-Heinrich Kurt-Apel von Griesheim (b. 1 December 1937 in Bad Polzin)
  • II ∞ Wolfgang Falck (1910–2007), Colonel of the Luftwaffe
    • According to at least one source, Falck was in a relationship with "Eri" from around 1944 (possibly even earlier), without divorcing his first wife Marilies, née Freiin von Berchem (1910-2009), out of consideration for his children.

Promotions

• 22 March 1888 Charakter als Portepee-Fähnrich (Honorary Officer Cadet)
• 18 October 1888 Portepee-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 21 September 1889 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 22 March 1897 Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 18 April 1903 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 16 June 1913 Major
• 15 July 1918 Oberstleutnant
• 18 December 1920 Oberst (Colonel) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 October 1920
• 31 January 1923 Charakter als Generalmajor (Honorary Major General)
• 15 May 1940 Charakter als Generalmajor z. V. (Honorary / Brevet Major General at disposal)
• 1 April 1941 Generalmajor z. V. ([full] Major General at disposal)

Awards and decorations

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Knight's Cross II. Class (BZL3b/BZ3b; permission to wear in December 1897)
• China Commemorative Medal (China-Denkmünze) in Steel for non-combatants in 1901
• Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau, Knight's Cross (NN5; permission to wear in March 1902)
• The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Siam (Orden der Siamesischen Krone), Officer's Cross (SK4; permission to wear on 30 May 1903)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class (PRAO4/PrA4) on 18 January 1904
• Commemorative Badge for the Silver Wedding Anniversary in 1906 (Erinnerungszeichen zur Silbernen Hochzeit 1906)
• Crown to his Red Eagle Order 4th Class on 20 January 1907
• Princely Reussian Cross of Honor, 3rd Class (REK3/REKj3)
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross (HOH3)
• Russian Order of Saint Anna (Sankt-Annen-Orden), 3rd Class (RA3; permission to wear in April 1911)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz; DA) in 1913
• Crown to his Princely Reussian Cross of Honor 3rd Class (REKj3mKr; permission to wear in September 1913)
• Greek Order of the Redeemer, Gold (Knight's) Cross (GE3; permission to wear in January 1914)
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Swords to his House Order of Hohenzollern Knight's Cross (HOH3⚔) in October 1916
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with the Crown and Swords (BMV4mKr⚔/BMV4a⚔) on 1 December 1916
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords