Carl Gronau

Carl Gronau
Birth name	Max Carl Erdmann Gronau
Birth date	19 March 1855 (another source states 24 March 1855)
Place of birth	Oberförsterei Reiersdorf, Kreis Templin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date	9 March 1945 (aged 89)
Place of death	German Reich
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army
Years of service	1875–1918/19
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Red Eagle Order Prussian Order of the Crown Iron Cross Imperial Order of Leopold
Relations	∞ Alma Franziska Elisabeth Reiche

Max Carl Erdmann Gronau (also Karl; 1855–1945) was a German officer of the Prussian Army and the Imperial German Army, finally well-decorated Lieutenant General and divisional leader in World War I.

Military career (chronology)

• April 1875 Joined the field artillery of the Prussian Army as an officer candidate
• 1876 2nd Lieutenant in the 1. Abtheilung (1st Artillery Battalion)/1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Wittenberg
• 1879 Commanded to the Vereinigte Artillerie- und Ingenieurschule (United Artillery and Engineering School) in Berlin
• 1881 Return to the 1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Wittenberg
• 1882–1884 Adjutant of the 1st Battalion/1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Wittenberg
• 1885 8th Battery/2nd Battalion/1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Jüterbog
• 1886 to 22 March 1887 7th Battery/2nd Battalion/1. Brandenburgisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr. 3 (General-Feldzeugmeister) in Jüterbog
• 22 March 1887 to 1 April 1890 4th Battery/2nd Battalion/Nassauisches Feldartillerie Regiment Nr. 27 in Wiesbaden
  • Member of the study commission (Studien-Kommission) of the Vereinigte Artillerie- und Ingenieurschule
• 1 April 1890 Directorate officer with the Vereinigte Artillerie- und Ingenieurschule (United Artillery and Engineering School) in Berlin
  • during this time, subordinated to the Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 33
• 1892–1894 Commander of the 3rd Battery/Feldartillerie-Regiment General-Feldzeugmeister (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3
• 1895 Member of the Abtheilung I/1. Artillerie-Prüfungs-Kommission in Berlin à la suite Feldartillerie-Regiment "General-Feldzeugmeister" (1. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 3
  • 1895–1897 Commanded as instructor to the field artillery shooting school in Jüterbog
• 1898–1899 Transferred as instructor to the field artillery shooting school in Jüterbog
• 1900 Transferred to the staff of the Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 36 in Danzig
• 18 April 1901 Commander of the II. Abteilung (2nd Battalion)/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 36 in Danzig
• 1904 Commander of the I. Abteilung (1st Battalion)/Lehr-Regiment (teaching regiment)/Feldartillerie-Schießschule (field artillery shooting school) in Jüterbog
• 19 June 1909 to 27 January 1914 Commander of the 4. Garde-Feldartillerie-Regiment in Potsdam
• 27 January 1914 to 8 September 1916 Commander of the 22. Feldartillerie-Brigade (Cassel)
  • The assembly area of ​​the 22nd Infantry Division was the northwestern part of the Prüm district. This assembly was completed on 13 August 1914. At 6 a.m. the march began via Radscheid to Schönberg. Here the commanders of the 43rd Infantry Brigade, Major General Hülsen, and the 22nd Field Artillery Brigade, Major General Gronau, stood and watched the troops march past. Major General Diefenbach stood outside the town in the ditch, a meerschaum pipe in his mouth, and for the first time inspected and greeted the members of his division with a friendly smile.
• 21 March 1915 Commander (partly at the same time) of the 86th Infantry Division (controversial) succeeding Lieutenant General Theodor von Wernitz (1848–1922)
  • other reliable sources still have Lieutenant General von Wernitz as commander of the division in 1916 and even early 1917.
• 10 September 1916 Commander of the 215th Infantry Division
  • The reinforced German 215th Infantry Division under Major General Gronau supported the Austrian Army in the Romanian and Russian theater at the beginning of November 1916 and in the Russo-Romanian theater as of 23 July 1917

Family

Carl came from an old family from the Duchy of Berg and was born in the senior forestry district (Oberförsterei) Reiersdorf. 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). Carl had four siblings, his older brother was the nobilized General of the Artillery Johann Karl Hermann von Gronau.

General Carl Gronau was married to Alma Franziska Elisabeth, née Reiche.

Promotions

• April 1875 Fahnenjunker (Officer Candidate)
• 11 November 1875 Portepee-Fähnrich (Officer Cadet)
• 17 October 1876 Seconde-Lieutenant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 22 March 1887 Premier-Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant)
• 18 October 1891 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 18 April 1901 Major without Patent (ernannt)
  • 19 September 1901 Patent received
• 18 May 1908 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 20 March 1911 Oberst (Colonel)
• 22 April 1914 Generalmajor (Major General)
• 27 January 1918 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)

Gallery

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Awards and decorations

• Mecklenburg Greifen-Orden, Knight's Cross (MGrO3/MG3)
• Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
• Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class on 2 November 1899
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, V. Class (JVAS5/JV5)
• Southwest Africa Commemorative Medal (Südwest-Afrika Denkmünze) in Steel for Non-Combatants
• Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 3rd Class
• Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow on 31 May 1912
• Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class on 18 January 1914
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Ducal Anhalt Friedrich Cross (Herzoglich Anhaltisches Friedrichkreuz; AF/AK)
• Red Eagle Order, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords in September/October 1916
• Saxon Albert Order (Albrechts-Orden), Commander 1st Class (with Star) with Swords (SA2a⚔)
• Princely Waldeck Cross of Merit (Fürstlich Waldeck’sches Verdienstkreuz), 1st Class with Swords (WVK1⚔)
• Austria-Hungary Military Merit Cross, 2nd Class with War Decoration (ÖMV2mKD/ÖM2K)
• Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg (HH) on 10 December 1917 as Major General and Commander of the 215th Infantry Division
• Star to his Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords
• Austrian-Hungarian Imperial Order of Leopold, Grand Cross with the War Decoration (ÖL1mKD/ÖL1K)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords