Alexander Adolf August Karl von Linsingen (10 February 1850 – 5 June 1935) was a German general during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Military service

Linsingen joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

in 1868 and rose to Corps Commander ( II Corps) in 1909. He was one of the very few top German generals not to have served on the general staff. At the beginning of World War I, Linsingen was a Corps commander in the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

. Transferred to the Eastern Front where German and Austrian armies were threatened by a Russian offensive in Galicia, Linsingen took command of South Army (1915). He defeated the Russian armies in the Battle of Stryi in 1915, capturing 60,000 Russian prisoners. He was awarded the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

on 14 May 1915 and the Oakleaves (for a second award) on 3 July 1915. In 1915, he took command of the

Army of the Bug The Army of the Bug (german: Bugarmee / Armeeoberkommando Bug / A.O.K. Bug) was an Field army, army level command of the German Empire, German German Army (German Empire), Army in World War I named for the Bug River. It was formed against Russi ...

and was concurrently commander of

Heeresgruppe Linsingen The Army Group Mackensen (german: Heeresgruppe Mackensen, HGr. Mackensen) which operated in Poland between 22 April 1915 and 8 September 1915 during World War I under the command of Field Marshal , was an army group of the Imperial German Army. On ...

. In June 1916, his Army Group faced the Brusilov offensive. After an initial retreat, he checked the Russian advance at the

Battle of Kowel The Battle of Kowel (also known as the Battle of Kovel or the Battle of Kovel-Stanislav) took place during World War I, from 24 July to 8 August 1916. It began with an Austrian counter-attack by Alexander von Linsingen south of Kowel, a city loc ...

. He was promoted to

Colonel-General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

, the second highest rank for a general in the Imperial German Army (4 stars). In 1917-1918 and especially after the signing of the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace, separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russian SFSR, Russia and the Central Powers (German Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of ...

, he led the German advance into the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. On 31 March 1918, his Army Group was disbanded and von Linsingen became the Military Governor of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

(June 1918). Alexander von Linsingen died on 5 June 1935 and is interred at the Neuen St. Nikolai-Friedhof in Hannover, Germany.

Decorations and awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

of 1870, 2nd class * Order of the Crown, 2nd class with Star (Prussia) * Knight of Justice of the

Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg) Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Service Award A Service award was awarded by a country to a soldier or civilian for long service. It is comparable to a service medal but can be awarded to civilians as well as soldiers. Germany Kingdom of Bavaria * Königliches Ludwigsorden for 50 years' ser ...

(Prussia) * Commander 2nd Class of the

Order of Albert the Bear The House Order of Albert the Bear (German: ''Hausorden Albrechts des Bären'' or ''Der Herzoglich Anhaltische Hausorden Albrechts des Bären'') was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the fa ...

(Anhalt) * Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden , house = Zähringen , father = Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden , mother = Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt ...

with Oak Leaves (Baden) * Military Merit Order, 2nd class with Star (Bavaria) * Grand Cross with Gold Crown in the

House Order of the Wendish Crown The House Order of the Wendish Crown (german: Hausorden der Wendischen Krone) was an Order of the House of Mecklenburg, jointly instituted on 12 May 1864 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of ...

(Mecklenburg) * Grand Commanders Cross of the Order of the Griffon (Mecklenburg) * Grand Cross of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order (german: Friedrichs-Orden or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, Kin ...

* Commander Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

(1911) * Iron Cross of 1914, 1st class * Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen (1915) *

(14 May 1915); Oak Leaves added on 3 July 1915 *

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

(27 January 1917) * Grand Cross of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

with Swords (27 January 1917)

Glossary

*''Armee-Abteilung'' or Army Detachment in the sense of "something detached from an Army". It is not under the command of an Army so is in itself a small Army. *''Armee-Gruppe'' or Army Group in the sense of a group within an Army and under its command, generally formed as a temporary measure for a specific task. *''Heeresgruppe'' or

Army Group An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area. An army group is the largest field organization handled by ...

in the sense of a number of armies under a single commander.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linsingen, Alexander Von 1850 births 1935 deaths People from Hildesheim People from the Kingdom of Hanover German Army generals of World War I German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Colonel generals of Prussia Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary 19th-century Prussian military personnel Military personnel from Lower Saxony