Bernhard Gottfried Max Hugo Eberhard, Graf von Schmettow, usually shortened to Eberhard Graf von Schmettow, (17 September 1861 – 21 January 1935) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

general of

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 ...

Biography

Eberhard von Schmettow was born in

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, as son of Maximilian Graf von Schmettow on 17 September 1861. In 1881 he joined an

Uhlan Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...

regiment of 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 ...

and spent the next 25 years as cavalry and staff officer; also serving as an aide-de-camp to Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

. He became commander of the 1st Life Cuirassier Regiment in 1906, of the 5th Cavalry Brigade in 1911 and of the Guards Hussar Brigade in 1912. Von Schmettow was promoted to

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

in January 1913. When

began General von Schmettow was briefly on the Western Front before being sent to the Eastern Front, given command of the 9th Cavalry Division and, in 1915, the 8th Cavalry Division. In August 1916 he briefly commanded the 195th Infantry Division and was promoted to

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

. He was assigned to lead the newly created Cavalry Corps Schmettow as part of the 9th Army during the Romanian campaign. It initially consisted of the remnants of the 3rd Cavalry Division, the 1st Austrian Cavalry Division and the 51st

Hungarian Honved Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...

Infantry Division. For his services in the campaign Schmettow received the

Pour le Merite Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Iranian si ...

. In early 1917 Schmettow and his corps were transferred to the Western Front and made up of the 6th and

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

Cavalry Divisions. Shortly afterwards the corps changed, dismounting and exchanging most of the mounted units as cavalry was less needed, and was renamed 65th Corps or Gendkdo z.b.V. 65 (''"General Command for Special Use"''). Schmettow fought in the 2nd and the 3rd Battle of the Aisne. Close to the end of the war the corps, by now consisting of the 5th, 50th and 216th Infantry Divisions as well as the 4th Guards Infantry Division, participated in the

Second Battle of the Marne The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...

. For his services in the later Schmettow received the oak leaves to his Pour le Merite. After the armistice General von Schmettow resigned his commission and ended his military service on 22 February 1919; passing away in

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

on 21 January 1935. Family He was married to Agnes von Rundstedt - sister of the famous Wehrmacht Field Marshall - and had three daughters and two sons. Eberhard also was a cousin of contemporary and fellow cavalry general Egon Graf von Schmettow. One of his sons,

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German (language), German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") fro ...

Maximilian von Schmettow, fell at

Cunel Cunel () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperat ...

in 1918. His other son, Rudolf von Schmettow, served in his father's regiment and later became a general-leutnant in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. He commanded German troops in the Channel Islands, where his honourable, chivalrous and sensible influence was eventually recognised as key to the relative absence of extremism and oppression during the occupation.

Dates of rank

*16.04.1881 - Sekonde-Lieutenant *15.02.1890 - Premier-Lieutenant *15.12.1894 -

Rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

*18.04.1901 -

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*10.04.1906 -

Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedis ...

*20.04.1909 -

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

*27.01.1913 - Generalmajor *18.08.1916 - Generalleutnant

Honours and awards

;German orders and decorations ;Foreign orders and decorations * : Knight of the Iron Crown, 1st Class with War Decoration, ''1915'' * : Knight of St. Alexander * : Commander of the Dannebrog, 2nd Class, ''3 April 1903'' * : ** Knight of Saints Maurice and Lazarus ** Commander of the Crown of Italy * : Knight of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class * : Knight of the Military Merit Order, 2nd Class * : Honorary Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

, ''27 February 1905''''The Edinburgh Gazette''
issue 11710, p. 301

References

External links

Biographical entry at The Prussian Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmettow, Eberhard Graf von 1861 births 1935 deaths Von Schmettow family German Army generals of World War I Cavalry commanders Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Commanders Second Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Honorary Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Crosses of Military Merit Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt People from Halberstadt