Hugo von Freytag-Loringhoven

Hugo Freiherr von Freytag-Loringhoven
Dr. phil. h. c. Hugo von Freytag-Loringhoven
Birth name	Hugo Friedrich Philipp Johann Freytag von Loringhoven
Birth date	20 May 1855(1855-05-20)
Place of birth	Copenhagen, Denmark
Death date	19 October 1924 (aged 69)
Place of death	Weimar, German Reich
Allegiance	Russian Empire Kingdom of Prussia German Empire
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1868–1877 1877–1918
Rank	General der Infanterie
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross, Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts
Relations	∞ Margarete von Zedlitz (1859–1943)

Hugo Friedrich Philipp Johann Freytag von Loringhoven, since 1878 Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven, since 1880 Freiherr von Freytag-Loringhoven (1855–1924), was a Baltic Baron and German officer, finally General der Infanterie in World War I, and military historian (Kriegswissenschaftler). Serving faithful and honest, he critized the German warfare, especially the strategic mistakes by Berthold von Deimling (XV. Armee-Korps) and his personal friend Erich von Falkenhayn (Chief of the General Staff) on the Western Front: " [...] unspeakable sins were committed there, and not only at Ypres, but right at the beginning already on the Aisne [...] streams of German blood have been irresponsibly wasted.” He later stated that Kaiser Wilhelm II had since 1916 "allowed himself to be shut out far too much".

Chronology

Ancestry

• 1868 Joined the Imperial Russian Army (Kaiserlich-Russische Armee) as a cadet
• 13 October 1877 Sekonde-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • Joined the Prussian Army with the 9th Company/2. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß in Berlin
    • His Baltic German title "Baron" was accepted and was formally adjusted to the Prussian German Freiherr in 1880.
    • He later also served in the 2nd Company.
• 15 January 1887 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant)
  • Student at the War Academy
• 22 March 1890 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • Commanded to the Generalstab der Armee (Neben-Etat)
  • Teacher at the War Academy (Preußische Kriegsakademie)
  • Commander of the 10th Company/Grenadier-Regiment „König Friedrich III.“ (2. Schlesisches) Nr. 11 in Breslau
• 27 January 1898 Major
  • Once again teacher at the War Academy subordinated to the Great General Staff (Großer Generalstab)
• 15 September 1904 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
  • Department head in the Großer Generalstab
• 14 April 1907 Oberst (Colonel)
  • 19 December 1907 to 26 January 1910 Commander of the Grenadier-Regiment „Prinz Carl von Preußen“ (2. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 12 in Frankfurt an der Oder
  • Oberquartiermeister of the Generalstab der Armee in Berlin
• 20 March 1911 Generalmajor
  • At the same time member of the Study Commission of the War Academy
• 1 October 1913 Generalleutnant
  • 8 December 1913 to 1 August 1914 Commander of the 22. Division in Kassel
    • replaced Liman von Sanders
  • 2 August 1914 Liaison to the Austro-Hungarian Great General Staff in Vienna
  • January 1915 to 15 September 1916 General-Quartiermeister replacing Adolf Wild von Hohenborn who became War Minister (Kriegsminister)
    • when Erich Ludendorff became First Quartermaster General (Erster General-Quartiermeister), Hugo von Freytag-Loringhoven became his deputy (Stellvertretender Generalquartiermeister) as Generalquartiermeister West.
    • August to 17 September 1915 provisional leader (Führer) of the IX. Reserve-Korps for General der Infanterie Max von Boehn who served as deputy commander-in-chief of the 1. Armee during this time
    • 13. April bis 19. Dezember 1916 at the same time commander of the 17. Reserve-Division
      • his deputy as Stellvertretender Generalquartiermeister since June 1916 was Generalleutnant Traugott Martin von Sauberzweig,
  • 15 September 1916 (Allerhöchste Kabinettsorder from 12 September 1916) Chief of the Deputy General Staff of the Supreme Army Command (Oberste Heeresleitung; 3. OHL) in Berlin replacing the Chef des Stellvertretenden Generalstabs Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke who had died on 18 June 1916
• 18 April 1918 General der Infanterie

Family

Hugo was of German origin, and a Baltic baron, although his ancestors came to the Baltic area from Westphalia in the 14th or 15th century as members of the Teutonic Order. Well known is Johann Freytag von Loringhoven (1430–1494) from Löringhoff near Datteln, one of the eight knights of the Freytag von Loringhoven family that operated in Livonia, who became Deutsch-Ordens-Komtur zu Reval and, succeeding Bernhard von der Borch (1471-1483), Land Master of the Livonian Order (Landmeister in Livland). He ended the 200-year struggle for power inside the Livonian Order by carefully balancing warfare and politics. Freytag von Loringhoven soon recognized the talent of Wolter von Plettenberg and appointed him Master in 1489.

Hugo's father was the Geheimrat and diplomat (e.g. Consul-General in Russian service in Copenhagen 1852–68 and Danzig 1868–79) Carl/Karl Gottlob Freytag von Loringhoven (b. 4 January 1811 on Gut Owerlack, Gouvernement Livland; d. 26 January 1882 in Weimar; since 1878 Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven), who was born on Gut Owerlack (today Patkula) in district orKreis Fellin near Helme in Estonia. His mother Mathilde Luise, née Kalkmann (1824–1909), was the daughter of the German merchant, shipowner and Imperial Vice-Consul of Empire of Brazil in Bremen (he dedicated himself to the immigration of German colonists to Brazil) Ludwig Friedrich Kalkmann (1791–1847).

Hugo's grandfather and owner of Manor Owerlack, Heinrich Johann III Freytag von Loringhoven (b. 1 August 1778; ∞ Charlotte Barbara von Helmersen), served as a Imperial Russian lieutenant during the French invasion of Russia in 1812, was severely wounded and died as a result of this on 16 March 1813.

The later jurist, playwright and Weimar chamberlain Alexander Luis Ulrich Heinrich Johann Freytag von Loringhoven, born in Rio de Janeiro, was Hugo's older brother. His sisters were the artist Mathilde "Tilly" Freiin von Freytag-Loringhoven (b 30 October 1860 in Copenhagen; d December 1941 in Weimar) and Maria Caroline Ida Gustava Freiin von Freytag-Loringhoven (1863–1946).

His son Leopold married the German Dadaist artist and poet Else Hildegard Plötz (12 July 1874 – 14 December 1927). He was her third husband. Daughter Irene (1890–1957) was married to the wealthy merchant Detlof von Winterfeld (1881–1937) and later to Korvettenkapitän a. D. Paul von Wallenberg (b. 16 February 1880), murdered by the Red Army on 5 March 1945 in Klein-Willkawe, Kreis Trebnitz, Schlesien.

Awards, decorations and honours

• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class with the Crown
• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Officer's Cross of the Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (JM4)
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow
• Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 2nd class (BMV2)
• Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class (neck order)
• Albrechts-Orden of Saxony, Commander (Komtur) 1st Class (SA2a)
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross
• Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
• Star to his Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Pour le Mérite for Arts and Sciences on 17 August 1916
• Swords to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves in 1916
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Grand Cross with Swords (BZ1⚔)
• Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords in 1917

Honours

• Honorary Doctorate of the University of Berlin (Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin) on 22 July 1915 (Dr. phil. h. c.)
• Member of the Akademie gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften zu Erfurt in 1918

Writings

• Die Heerführung Napoleons und Moltkes. Eine vergleichende Studie. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1897.
• Aufklärung und Armeeführung. Dargestellt an den Ereignissen bei der Schlesischen Armee im Herbst 1813. Eine Studie. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1900 (Digitalisat).
• Studien über Kriegführung auf Grundlage des Nordamerikanischen Sezessionskrieges in Virginien.
  • Heft 1: Bull Run, Richmond, Manassas. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901 (Digitalisat).
  • Heft 2: Maryland, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901 (Digitalisat).
  • Heft 3: Atlanta, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Savannah, Das Ende. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1903 (Digitalisat).
• Der Infanterie-Angriff in den neuesten Kriegen. Ein Beitrag zur Klärung der Angriffsfrage. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1905 (Digitalisat).
• Die Macht der Persönlichkeit im Kriege. Studien nach Clausewitz. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1905 (Digitalisat).
• Das Exerzier-Reglement für die Infanterie vom 29. Mai 1906. Kriegsgeschichtlich erläutert. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1907 (Digitalisat).
• Die Heerführung Napoleons in ihrer Bedeutung für unsere Zeit. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1910.
• Krieg und Politik in der Neuzeit. Studien. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1911 (Digitalisat).
• Das russische Oberkommando in der europäischen Türkei im Kriege 1877-1878. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1912.
• Gebirgskämpfe. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1912.
• Betrachtungen über den russisch-japanischen Krieg.
  • Band 1 Erster Band. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1913.
  • Band 2 Zweiter Band. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1913.
• Die Führung in den neuesten Kriegen. Operatives und Taktisches. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1913.
• Die Grundbedingungen kriegerischen Erfolges. Beiträge zur Psychologie des Krieges im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1914.
• Was unsere Vorväter erduldet haben. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart/Berlin 1917.
• Folgerungen aus dem Weltkriege. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1917 (Digitalisat); 14. Auflage E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Stuttgart/Berlin 1917.
• Politik und Kriegführung. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1918.
• Geschultes Volksheer oder Miliz? Kriegslehren aus Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. 2. Auflage E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1918 (Digitalisat of the English translation from 1918).
• Was danken wir unserem Offizierkorps? 2 Jahrhunderte seiner Geschichte. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1919.
• Die Pflege geschichtlicher Erinnerungen. H. Beyer & Söhne, Langensalza 1920.
• Heerführung im Weltkriege.
  • Band 1 Erster Band. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin o. J. [1920] (Digitalisat).
  • Band 2 Zweiter Band. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1921.
• Generalfeldmarschall Graf von Schlieffen. Sein Leben und die Verwertung seines geistigen Erbes im Weltkriege. Schraepler, Leipzig 1920 (Digitalisat).
• Angewandte Geschichte. Ein Versuch. Vereinigung wissenschaftlicher Verlage, Berlin/Leipzig 1920.
• Antrieb und Wesensart der französischen Festlandspolitik von Richelieu bis heute. H. Beyer & Söhne, Langensalza 1921.
• Die staatlichen Grenzen in Europa. Geschichtlich und militärisch betrachtet. Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft für Politik und Geschichte, Berlin 1921.
• Zur Erkenntnis deutschen Wesens. H. Beyer & Söhne, Langensalza 1921.
• Feldherrengröße. Vom Denken und Handeln hervorragender Heerführer. E. S. Mittler & Sohn. Berlin 1922.
• Die Psyche der Heere. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1923.
• Menschen und Dinge, wie ich sie in meinem Leben sah. E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1923.
• Die Verwertung kriegsgeschichtlicher Erfahrungen (= Militär-Wochenblatt. Beiheft, 1925). E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1925.

External links

• Bernd Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven