Karl von Hänisch

Karl von Hänisch
Birth name	Karl Heinrich von Hänisch
Birth date	25 April 1861(1861-04-25)
Place of birth	Unruhstadt, Province of Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date	27 March 1921 (aged 59)
Place of death	Blankenburg, Free State of Brunswick, German Reich
Allegiance	Kingdom of Prussia German Empire
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1879–1918
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands held	Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 5 4. Garde-Infanterie-Brigade XIV. Army Corps X. Army Corps
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross
Relations	∞ 1885 Elly Schroeder

Karl Heinrich Hänisch, as of 1871 von Hänisch (25 April 1861 – 27 March 1921), was a German officer of the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army, finally General of the Infantry in WWI.

Life

Father Karl (Carl) Eduard von Hänisch

Karl Heinrich von Hänisch was a cadet in Oranienstein from 2 May 1873 and in Berlin from 1 May 1876. Because of his extraordinary achievements in the cadet corps, he was transferred to the Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 4 as a commissioned 2nd Lieutenant on 12 April 1879. In the later years he would serve as an adjutant, staff officer, company commander, battalion commander, regimental commander and brigade commander. On 27 January 1913, he was appointed Inspector General of Military Transport in Berlin as successor to Alfred von Lyncker.

During the First World War, he served as Chief of the General Staff of the 7th Army under Josias von Heeringen from 2 August 1914. On 10 March 1915, he was appointed Commanding General of the XIV. Army Corps. At that time, the corps was stationed in the Arras area and suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Loretto, which lasted from May to July 1915. Although some sectors in his area were lost, his troops succeeded in repelling the French breakthrough on the Loretto Heights and thwarting further attempts to break through. In 1916, von Hänisch and his corps were subordinated to the 3rd Army under General of the Cavalry Karl von Einem.

Due to illness, von Hänisch relinquished command to Lieutenant General Martin Chales de Beaulieu on 12 August 1916. He was subsequently transferred from the army to the officers' reserve corps. On 10 September 1916, he was granted the honorary rank of General of the Infantry with a pension and placed at disposal (z. D.). From 25 November 1916, von Hänisch was reinstated and served as Commanding General of the Deputy General Command of the X. Army Corps in Hanover. In this position, von Hänisch received his commission on 27 January 1918.

When the November Revolution that originated with the Kiel mutiny broke out, only two generals in Germany opposed it in person. In Lübeck, Lieutenant General Harry von Wright confronted the mutineers with his pistol, and in Hanover, von Hänisch did so with his drawn sword, attempting to maintain military discipline. Days after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, his mobilization order was rescinded on 17 November 1918 and, after 39 years of military service, he was finally able to retire.

Family

Karl Heinrich was the son of Prussian General of the Cavalry Carl Eduard von Hänisch (1829–1908) and his wife Laura Adele Jeannette Kamilla, née von Hippel (1834–1918). His father had been elevated to hereditary Prussian nobility on 16 June 1871 for his extraordinary achievements in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-German War. He had eight siblings:

• Eduard Karl Theodor (1858–1925), Prussian Lieutenant Colonel; ⚭ Hedwig Elisabeth Wohlgemuth (b. 12 November 1864 in Halberstadt), 5 children
• Klara Laura Josephine (1860–1866)
• Laura Anna Marie (1865–1953); ∞ Johannes Simon (1855–1929), Lieutenant General
• Anna Martha (1867–1944); ∞ Konstantin Fritsch (1857–1934), Privy Senior Government Councillor and President of the Imperial Railway Office
• Marie Margarete (1868–1953), teacher
• Elisabeth Adele Margarete Martha (1870–1943); ∞ Ernst von Heynitz (1863–1927), Major General
• Friedrich Karl Albrecht (1872–1942), lawyer
• Olga (7 February 1877 – 9 March 1877)

Marriage

On 1 July 1885 in Halberstadt, 2nd Lieutenant von Hänisch married his fiancée Elly Marianne Henriette Schroeder (1862–1931), daughter of the mining director Julius Schröder. They would have five children:

• Karl Julius Richard Eduard (16 April 1886 – 5 August 1877)
• Elisabeth Carlotta "Liselotte" (22 August 1888 – 21 July 1937); ∞ Königsberg 29 September 1908 Uhlan Rittmeister Hans Würtz, last rank Colonel in WWII
• Hans Erich (26 August 1890 – 21 January 1915), 2nd Lieutenant of the Dragoon Regiment No. 23, died from wounds received during the First Battle of the Marne in WWI.
• Liddy Laura Hildegard (3 December 1894 – 4 November 1931); ∞ Berlin 3 May 1916 Paul Aladar Freiherr von Uckermann
  • Colonel Freiherr von Uckermann, Field Commandant 589 Orléans (Loiret), was ⚔ on 7 August 1944 at the Château de Solterre (Orléans) during an attempted kidnapping by terrorists of the “Résistance”.
• Joachim Martin Friedrich (b. 10 November 1897 in Freiburg im Breisgau); ∞ 7 September 1929 Ilse Bauermeister from Hamburg
  • During the First World War, he was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment and a recipient of the Iron Cross First Class. Later, residing in Tilsit, he was a factory director and chairman of the board of J. Brüning & Sohn AG. He died on 10 December or 12 December 1944, depending on the source.

Promotions

• 12 April 1879 Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 14 June 1888 Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 19 September 1891 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 18 October 1897 Major
• 24 April 1904 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 27 January 1907 Oberst (Colonel)
• 27 January 1911 Generalmajor (Major General)
• 22 March 1913 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)
• 10 September 1916 Charakter als General der Infanterie (Honorary/Brevet General of the Infantry)
• 27 January 1918 General der Infanterie (General of the Infantry)

Awards and decorations

Prussian Rank list 1914

• Friedrich Order, Knight's Cross First Class (WF3a)
• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class
• Baden Order of the Zähringer Lion (Orden vom Zähringer Löwen), Knight's Cross 1st Class (BZL3a/BZ3a)
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz; DA)
• Russian Order of Saint Anna (St.-Annen-Orden), II. Class (RA2) in January 1905
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow (mit der Schleife) on 21 January 1906
• Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Commander 2nd Class (HSEH2b/HSH2b) in February 1908
• Royal Crown to his Red Eagle Order 3rd Class with the Bow in October 1908
• Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class on 1 June 1910
• Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves on 1 June 1912
• Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Grand Cross (SEH1/HSEH1/HSH1) in September 1913
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, II. Class with Star (BMV2mSt) in April 1914
• Iron Cross (1914), 1st and 2nd Class
• Württemberg Order of the Crown, Commander (Kommenthur) with Star (WK2a)
• Star and Swords to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves on 12 August 1916
• Oldenburg Friedrich August Cross (Friedrich-August-Kreuz), 2nd and 1st Class (OFA1/OK1) in January 1917
• Cross of Merit for War Aid (Verdienstkreuz für Kriegshilfe; VK) on 10 May 1917

Gallery

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