Heinrich Anton Wilhelm von Wodtke

Heinrich von Wodtke
Birth name	Heinrich Anton Wilhelm Wodtke
Birth date	7 October 1870(1870-10-07)
Place of birth	Frankfurt-on-Oder, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, North German Confederation
Death date	⚔ 26 September 1918 (aged 47)
Place of death	Western Front, French Third Republic
Resting place	German war cemetery in Mont-St.-Rémy
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1889/90–1918
Rank	Major
Commands held	Jäger-Regiment Nr. 5
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross House Order of Hohenzollern

Heinrich Anton Wilhelm Wodtke, since 1885 von Wodtke (7 October 1870 – 26 September 1918), was a German officer of the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army, finally Major and regimental leader in World War I.

Life

Military career

After graduating Gymnasium with Abitur, von Wodtke joined the 1. Badisches Leib-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 109 in Karlsruhe and was second lieutenant in 1891 and in the 3rd company by 1892 at the latest. He was then a company officer in the 9th Company and in 1896 adjutant of the 1st Battalion. On 13 September 1899, von Wodtke was promoted to first lieutenant. In 1900, he was transferred back to the 3rd, and in 1901 to the 10th company. In 1902, he was appointed regimental adjutant. On 13 September 1905, he was promoted to captain (Hauptmann) and placed as an adjutant in the 24th Infantry Brigade under Major General Scotti (later under Major General Franz Walter Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm von Wyszecki). In 1911, he then commanded the 6th company and in 1913 the 1st company of the Anhaltisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 93. On 27 January 1914, von Wodtke was promoted to major and served in the staff of the 7. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 96.

WWI

In the First World War, he was adjutant of the 6th Army (Armeeoberkommando 6) and the successor to Colonel Ernst Thümmel from the end of 1917 (other sources state as of the beginning of 1918) as commander of the 5th Jäger Regiment, which was formed in the field in the summer of 1916 and was subordinate to the 2nd Jäger Brigade of the 200th Infantry Division und Oberst Walter Lehmann. On 17 July 1918, the 5th Jäger Regiment was reorganized so that it consisted of only one battalion, the Ohlendorf Battalion (under Hauptmann Ohlendorf from the Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 23). This was placed under the command of the 3rd Jäger Regiment. On 2 August 1918, the Jäger-Regiment Nr. 5 was reinforced and consisted of the Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 17 (RJB 17) under Hauptmann Wild, the Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 18 (RJB 18) under Hauptmann Stoffleth and the Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 23 (RJB 23) under Hauptmann Ohlendorf. As of 24 August 1918, it consisted again of one battalion, the Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 18 (RJB 18) under Hauptmann Stoffleth.

Death

Regimental commander Major von Wodtke fell on 26 September 1918 on the first day of the defensive battle in Champagne and on the Meuse between Saint-Souplet-sur-Py (Grand Est) and Machault in the Ardennes (Champagne-Ardenne). Captain Stoffleth from Reserve Jäger Battalion (RJB) No. 18 took over command of the regiment again (he had already served as a holiday replacement for a short time in August). Officer Wild from the Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 17, who had just been promoted to major, took over the leadership of Jäger Regiment 5 the next morning as the senior officer. From mid-October 1918 there were fighting in front of and in the Hermann Position, then retreat fighting in front of the Antwerp-Maas Position and finally from November 12, 1918 the evacuation of the occupied area and the march home.

Heinrich von Wodtke rests in the war cemetery at Mont-St.-Rémy, Ardennes dept., France; Final burial site: Block 1, Grave 178.

Family

Heinrich was the son of Lieutenant-General at disposition (zur Disposition; z. D.) Johann Heinrich von Wodtke, who was raised to Prussian nobility on 15 February 1885 as colonel and regimental commander. His mother was Anna Wilhelmine Auguste, née Steffenhagen, who died on 15 November 1914 (he received the news in the field on 30 November 1914, his comrades said it had shaken him badly). He had six siblings:

• Georg Eduard Johann (1864–1942), Major-General; ∞ 1898 Helene "Hella" Amalie Marianne Friederike von Kaisenberg
• Marie Emilie Friederike (b. 8 February 1867 in Graudenz; d. 13 October 1899 in Altona); ∞ Curt Carl Philipp Felix von Kehler
• Max Viktor Emil (b. 27 December 1868 in Graudenz; d. 15 May 1933 in Hamburg), merchant; ∞ Hamburg 25 August 1904 Elisabeth Lantzius, three daughters
• Klara Charlotte Gustave (1873–1940)
• Kurt Friedrich Oskar (1876–1914), Protestant Pastor and military chaplain of the 50th Reserve Division (⚔); ∞ 1903 Margarete Karoline Anna von Rabenau (sister of Otto Karl Hellmuth von Rabenau), three sons and one daughter
• Johannes „Hans“ Konstantin Gerhard (b. 12 October 1878 in Berlin; d. 31 March 1950 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA), officer, later merchant and factory director; ∞ 18 June 1912 German-American Mathilde Marie Bleßman from Buffalo, New York, two children (Margarete Anna, b. 15 November 1913 in Akron, Ohio, and Virginia Jane, b. 7 June 1919 in Akron, Ohio)

Marriage

Oberleutnant von Wodtke married on 23 January 1900 in Freiburg im Breisgau his fiancée Mathilde von Beck (b. 11 January 1879 in Karlsruhe, Baden). They had two children:

• Walter Heinrich Artur (b. 17 November 1900 in Karlsruhe)
• Charlotte Helene Anna (b. 20 November 1902 in Karlsruhe)

Awards, decorations and honours

Rank list 1914

• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Order of the White Falcon (Hausorden vom Weißen Falken), Knight's Cross 2nd Class (GSF3b)
• Baden government anniversary medal from 1902 (BdRJM/BRJM)
  • Badische Regierungs-Jubiläums-Medaille von 1902
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Knight's Cross 2nd Class (BZ3b) on 18 May 1903
• Swedish Royal Order of the Sword (Schwertorden), Knight II. Class (SS4b) on 29 August 1903
  • later, after reclassification (rank list 1909), abbreviated as SS3b
• Siam Order of the White Elephant, Knight's Cross (SE5)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class
• Oak Leaves to his Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion Knight's Cross 2nd Class (BZ3bmE) on 24 October 1905
• Order of Albert the Bear, Knight Cross 1st Class (AAB3a/AB3a)
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Brunswick War Merit Cross (Herzoglich Braunschweigisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz), 2nd Class (BrK2)
• Ducal Anhalt Friedrich Cross (Herzoglich Anhaltisches Friedrichkreuz; AF/AK)
• Hessian Bravery Medal (Hessische Tapferkeitsmedaille; HT)
• Lippe-Detmold War Merit Cross (Lippisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz; LK)
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (HH)
• Hanseatic Cross of Bremen (BH)
• Saxon Albrechts-Orden, Knight 1st Class with Swords (SA3a⚔)
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion Knight's Cross, 1st Class with Oak Leaves and Swords (BZ3a⚔) on 5 January 1915
• Crown and his Swords to his Order of Albert the Bear Knight Cross 1st Class (AB3a.mKr⚔)
• Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 4th Class with the Crown and Swords (BMV4mKr⚔)
• Knight's Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown with Swords (WK3⚔)
• Mecklenburg Order of the Griffon (Großherzoglich Mecklenburgischer Greifenorden), Honour Cross (MG2c)
• Princely Schwarzburg Cross of Honor, 2nd Class with Swords (SEK2⚔)
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3⚔)

Honours

Major von Wodtke was named for extraordinary bravery and gallantry on the plaques of honor (Ehrentafel XXXXIV) in the Hall of Fame of the Berlin Arsenal (Ruhmeshalle des Zeughauses).

References

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