Otto von Wegerer

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Otto von Wegerer
Wegerer, Otto von 1867-1963, Gen.Maj. on 4.6.20 with seniority from 9.4.20.jpg
Birth name Robert Otto Rudolf von Wegerer
Birth date 28 August 1867(1867-08-28)
Place of birth Glieschwitz, Kreis Militsch, Province of Silesia (Lower Silesia), Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date 31 July 1963 (aged 95)
Place of death West Germany
Allegiance  German Empire
 Weimar Republic
Service/branch War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army
Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army
War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Preliminary Reichswehr
Rank Generalmajor
Battles/wars World War I
Awards Iron Cross
House Order of Hohenzollern
Relations ∞ 1897 Helene Jansen
∞ 1927 Martha von Drigalski

Robert Otto Rudolf von Wegerer (1867–1963) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army and the Vorläufige (preliminary) Reichwehr, finally Generalmajor.

Life

Das richtige Soldatenlied by Prof. Dr. phil. Kutscher
Walter Kirmße (1885–1934)[1]

Otto von Wegerer joined the Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91 in Oldenburg and was commission as Sekondeleutnant (2nd Lieutenant) with patent from 22 March 1887 in the 3rd Company. In 1889/90, he was appointed adjutant of the 1st Battalion. On 1 October 1893, now a Premierleutnant (1st Lieutenant), he was sent to the War Academy in Berlin for almost three years for his general staff training. In 1896, he was commanded to the the Great General Staff (Großer Generalstab) for another three years. On 18 January 1901, he was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain) and appointed commander of the 3rd Company/Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 91.

In 1902, he was appointed commander of the 8th Company/Infanterie-Regiment "Großherzog Friedrich Franz II von Mecklenburg-Schwerin" (4. Brandenburgisches) Nr. 24.[2] As of rank list 1907, he had returned to the Great General Staff and was appointed adjutant of the Senior Quartermaster (Oberquartiermeister) Erich von Gündell (later under General Paul Matthiaß and finally under General Hermann von Bertrab). On 27 January 1909, he was promoted to Major. As of rank list 1913, he was commander of the 2nd Battalion/Infanterie-Regiment "von Voigts-Rhetz" (3. Hannoversches) Nr. 79 in Hildesheim.[3]

WWI and Reichswehr

Among other things, Lieutenant Colonel (promoted on 19 August 1914) Otto von Wegerer was appointed commander of the Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 92. Orderly officer and regimental adjutant was 1st Lieutenant Walter Kirmße. The two would eventually become friends after the war. Kirmße (b. 21 February 1885) was owner of a leather degreasing factory. On 29 November 1934, he was badly burned after trichlorethylene, a poisonous gas, escaped. His employee Erich Zingelmann died the same day in the Finsterwald hospital, Walter's wife Magda, who tried to save her husband, was also hurt. All three had been transported to the hospital, Walter Kirmße died the next day on 30 November 1934.

Also serving in the regiment was reserve officer Prof. Dr. phil. Artur Heinrich Theodor Christoph Kutscher (1878–1960), who would become leader of the 8th Company. His war diary "Kriegstagebuch" (two volumes, 1915[4]) describes the history of the regiment from 24 July 1914 to 16 February 1915 including the bloody battles at the Western Front. Kutscher's soldier songbook "Das richtige Soldatenlied. Verse und Singweisen im Felde gesammelt" (G. Grothe, Berlin 1917) was "dedicated to my regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Otto von Wegerer, Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 92, with respect and devotion".[5] Kutscher not only earned the iron Cross, but also the Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th class with swords.[6]

On 18 June 1917, von Wegerer was promoted to Oberst (Colonel). On 4 June 1920, Otto von Wegerer received the Charakter als Generalmajor (honorary Major General of the Reichswehr) with rank seniority (RDA) from 9 April 1920.

Family

Descent

Otto was the son of Rudolf Conrad von Wegerer (1822–1891) and his wife (∞ 1866) Vally Bianca Selma Henriette, née Gottschling (1848–1935). He had two siblings:[7]

  • Henriette Christiane Anna (b. 16 January 1869 in Breslau; d. 30 January 1940); ⚭ Hirschberg 30 October 1897 Hans Ludwig Carl Ernst von Engel (b. 3 April 1865 in Breesen; d. 22 March 1942), Rittmeister and Herr auf Breesen (lord of the manor) as well as Knight of Justice of the Johanniter-Orden
    • Son Hans Adolf Rudolf (1909–1994); ∞ Heidi von Möllendorff aus dem Hause Horst (1911–2000)
  • Fritz Conrad Siegesmund (1873–1947), Major in the Infanterie-Regiment „Herwarth von Bittenfeld“ (1. Westfälisches) Nr. 13 and Knight of Honour of the Johanniter-Orden; ⚭ Berlin 27 October 1917 widow Elisabeth von Normann, née von Siegroth (b. 1879)

Marriages

On 2 October 1897 in Oldenburg, Otto von Wegerer married his fiancée Helene Auguste Karoline Jansen (b. 10. Februar 1869 in Oldenburg; d. 29 September 1925 in Stavenow). On 3 June 1927 in Hildesheim, widower Generalmajor a. D. von Wegerer married the widow Martha von Drigalski, née Schroeder (b. 21 July 1883 in Kraatz; d. 22 February 1938 in Hildesheim).

Awards and decorations (excerpt)

Further reading

  • Werner Blankenstein: Geschichte des Reserve-Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 92 im Welt­kriege 1914—18, Osnabrück 1934

References

  1. ↑ Peter Detlev Otto Gustav Kirmsse: Bewegtes Leben – Geliebtes Leben – Erfülltes Leben- Meine Kindheit 1934–38, 2020
  2. ↑ Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee, 1903, p. 166
  3. ↑ Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee, 1914, p. 248
  4. ↑ Artur Kutscher – Kriegstagebuch – Erster Teil
  5. ↑ Liederlexikon: Das richtige Soldatenlied
  6. ↑ PERSONALSTAND DER LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN, München 1915, S. XVI
  7. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser, Teil B, 1939, pp. 641 f.
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