Hans von Gronau

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Hans von Gronau
Hans von Gronau I.jpg
Birth name Johann Karl Hermann Gronau
Birth date 6 February 1850[1]
Place of birth Alt Schadow, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date 22 February 1940 (aged 90)
Place of death Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, German Reich
Place of burial Alter Friedhof Potsdam (garrison cemetery)
Allegiance Germany Prussian Eagle.jpg Kingdom of Prussia
Coat of arms of North German Confederation.png North German Confederation
 German Empire
Service/branch War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army
Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
Years of service 1869–1919
Rank General of the Artillery
Battles/wars Franco-German War
World War I
Awards Iron Cross
Red Eagle Order
Pour le Mérite
Relations ∞ 1890 Luise Gerischer

Johann "Hans" Karl Hermann Gronau, as of 1913 von Gronau (6 February 1850 – 22 February 1940), was a German officer of the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army, finally General of the Artillery in World War I and knight of the order "Pour le Mérite". He was raised to Prussian hereditary nobility on 16 June 1913 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Many newspapers in Europe reported his death, also The New York Times (24 February 1940, Section Obituaries, Page 17).

Military career (chronology)

Vintage signed postal card
70th Military Anniversary Celebration for General (ret.) Hans von Gronau (left) in Potsdam on 13 April 1939
Family grave site in Potsdam; strangely, a different date of birth is displayed here: 6 February 1850.
  • Easter 1869 Abitur
  • 13.4.1869 Joined the 3. Feldartillerie-Brigade in Stettin as an officer candidate
  • 1870/71 Franco-German War
  • 21.9.1870 Transferred to the 2. Fuß-Abtheilung (2nd Artillery Battalion of Foot)/Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Jüterbog
  • 1.10.1871 Commanded to the Vereinigte Artillerie- und Ingenieurschule (United Artillery and Engineering School) in Berlin
  • July 1873 Return to the 1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Jüterbog
  • 1.10.1875 Commanded to the Prussian War Academy (Preußische Kriegsakademie) in Berlin
  • 21.7.1878 Return to the 1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Jüterbog
  • 1.4.1880 to 18.4.1882 Detached for duty to the Great General Staff (Großer Generalstab) in Berlin
  • 21.4.1883 Transferred to the Great General Staff (Großer Generalstab) in Berlin
  • 20.6.1885 On the General Staff of the 2. Division in Danzig
  • 22.3.1887 Commander of the 5th Battery/1. Badisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 14 in Karlsruhe
  • 1.10.1888 Great General Staff (Großer Generalstab) in Berlin
    • 1891 to 1892 Military instructor (Militair-Lehrer) at the Prussian War Academy (Preußische Kriegsakademie) in Berlin
  • 14.5.1894 Delegated with the leadership of Department 1/General Staff of the Army (Generalstab der Armee) in Berlin
  • 27.1.1898 Commander of the Westpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 16 in Königsberg
    • Renamed 1. Ostpreußisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 16 on 27.1.1902
  • 1.10.1899 Commander of the 2. Feldartillerie-Brigade in Insterburg
  • 27.10.1903 Commander of the 1. Infanterie-Division in Königsberg
  • 1.10.1907 Governor of Fortress Thorn
  • 16.8.1911 Placed at disposal (zur Disposition gestellt)
    • à la suite Feldartillerie-Regiment "General-Feldzeugmeister" (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3
  • 2.8.1914 Commanding General of the IV. Reservekorps/1. Armee (Western Front)
    • The corps as part of the 1st Army was on the right wing of the forces that attacked France and Belgium as part of the Schlieffen Plan. When Generaloberst Alexander von Kluck's 1st Army swung around in front of Paris and advanced across the Marne, thereby exposing the entire right wing of the German army, the Commanding General of the IV Reserve Corps, General Hans von Gronau, reacted by going on the offensive without orders and securing the flank until the Supreme Army Command (OHL) could initiate countermeasures.
  • 11.9.1915 Commanding General of the XXXXI. Reservekorps (Eastern Front)
    • From 5 August 1916, the general command (Generalkommando) of the XXXXI. Reservekorps was called Army Group (Armee-Gruppe) von Gronau and on 18 September 1916, it was renamed (and increased) as Army Detachment (Armee-Bbteilung) Gronau.
  • Commander-in-Chief (Oberbefehlshaber) of the Armee-Abteilung Gronau
  • 2.2.1919 Retired[2]
    • Von Gronau last lived in Potsdam at Moltkestraße 7.

Family

Hans came from an old family from the Duchy of Berg. He was the son of the Royal Prussian senior forester (Königlich Preußischer Oberförster) Johann Carl Ludwig Hermann Gronau (b. 1 December 1816 in Cöpenick; d. 27 December 1911) and his wife Alexandrine Friederike Bertha, née Leusenthin (1823–1903) from Groß-Puppen (Ortelsburg district) and grandson of the Cöpenick castle pastor (Schloßprediger) Johann Carl Ludwig Gronau (1778–1817) as well as great-grandson of the Berlin pastor and meteorologist Karl Ludwig Gronau (1742–1826).[3] Hans had four siblings, his younger brother was Lieutenant General Max Carl Erdmann Gronau.

Marriage

On 23 February 1890 in Granow, Landkreis Arnswalde, Major von Gronau married his fiancée Emma Agnes Luise Gerischer (1867–1926). Their three sons were:[4]

  • Karl Wilhelm Albrecht (b. 25 July 1891 in Berlin), 2nd Lieutenant in the Flying Battalion 30, ⚔ 21 August 1914 near Brussels
  • Hans Wolfgang (1893–1977), German aviation pioneer and Luftwaffe general
  • Hans Gerhard (b. 12 July 1897 in Charlottenburg), 2nd Lieutenant in the Feldartillerie-Regiment "General-Feldzeugmeister" (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3, ⚔ 29 February 1916 in Bois de Hassoule near Fort Douaumont

Promotions

  • 13.4.1869 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
  • 21.11.1869 Portepee-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
  • 21.9.1870 Seconde-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • 15.8.1878 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 23.12.1882 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 15.10.1888 Major
  • 27.1.1894 Oberst-Lieutenant (Lieutenant Colonel)
  • 22.3.1897 Oberst (Colonel)
  • 18.4.1900 Generalmajor (Major General)
  • 29.10.1903 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)
  • 27.1.1908 Charakter als General der Artillerie (Honorary General of the Artillery)
  • 31.8.1914 (another source states 2.9.1914 ) General der Artillerie (active)

Awards and decorations

  • Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
  • War Commemorative Medal of 1870–1871 (Kaiserliche Kriegsdenkmünze 1870/71; KD70/71) with five battle clasps
  • Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class
  • Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class
  • Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
  • Order of the Crown (Württemberg), Knight's Cross (WK3b)
  • Anniversary Oak Leaves "25" 1870/1895 to his Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
  • Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
  • Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow
  • Order of the Iron Crown (Austria), 2nd Class (ÖEK2)
  • Insignia of the Lions to his Order of the Crown (Württemberg) Knight's Cross (WK3mL)
  • Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
  • Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class
  • Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves
  • Prussian Order of the Crown, 1st Class
  • Red Eagle Order, 1st Class with Oak Leaves[5]

WWI (excerpt)

References

  1. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser, Teil B, Stammreihe, 1933, p. 202
  2. ↑ Hans von Gronau
  3. ↑ NDB 7 (1966), p. 126
  4. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser, Teil B, 1941, p. 200
  5. ↑ Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee, 1914, p. 426
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