Eberhard Alfred Konrad Karl von Hofacker (25 June 1861, in

Hemmingen Hemmingen () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 6 km south of Hanover. Until December 2004, Hemmingen belonged to the Regierungsbezirk Hannover, which was dissolved in January 2005. ...

– 19 January 1928, in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

) was a

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

army officer who was a

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 ...

in the

First World War 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 ...

and 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 ...

with oak leaves.

Early life and military career

On 29 September 1879 he joined the 25th (1st Württemberg) Dragoons "Queen Olga" in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

as an Officer Cadet. On 10 May 1880 he was appointed ensign, and on 6 February 1881 he was promoted to second lieutenant. From 28 March 1886, he served as regimental adjutant and was in this position on 18 December 1888 when promoted to first lieutenant. From 21 July 1891 to 11 September 1894, he was assigned to the Prussian Military Academy. This was followed by appointment as squadron commander with the 25th Dragoons and promotion to captain on 12 September 1894. In 1898, Hofacker was adjutant to the 26th Division (1st Royal Württemberg). From 16 December 1899 to 17 October 1901 he served on the General Staff in

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 ...

with promotion in May 1901 to major. He was then First General Staff Officer in the General Staff of the 21st Division, from 27 January 1903 in the same role at the 26th Division, and from 27 April 1904 likewise with the

XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps The XIII (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps / XIII AK (german: XIII. (Königlich Württembergisches) Armee-Korps) was a corps of the Imperial German Army. It was, effectively, also the army of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which had been integrated in ...

. On 21 June 1906 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel as an aide of

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

and the commander of the Palace Guard Company. Two years later he was named commander of the 20th (2nd Württemberg) Uhlans "King William I". On 7 September 1909 Hofacker was promoted to colonel. On 24 July 1910 he 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 ...

and appointed as chief of staff of XVIII Army Corps. His final peacetime appointment from 1 October 1912 was as commander of the 45th Cavalry Brigade in

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; french: link=no, Sarrelouis, ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis, as the name implies, is located on t ...

World War I

At the outbreak of the war, he was serving with the 45th Cavalry Brigade which, on mobilisation, was assigned to the 6th Cavalry Division on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. Subsequently, he was given command of the 4th Landwehr Division and from 15 December 1915 the 5th Cavalry Division on the Eastern Front in the

Pripet marshes __NOTOC__ The Pinsk Marshes ( be, Пінскія балоты, ''Pinskiya baloty''), also known as the Pripet Marshes ( be, Прыпяцкія балоты, ''Prypiackija baloty''), the Polesie Marshes, and the Rokitno Marshes, are a vast natural ...

. From 13 August 1916 he commanded the 82nd Reserve Division and during this time was promoted to

(1 November). On 22 December 1916 he briefly took command of 22nd Reserve Division before transferring to command the 26th Division on 6 January 1917. He led this division in the Battle of Arras and for his performance he was awarded the

on 26 April 1917. He was transferred with his division to the Italian Front in September 1917 to help shore up the Austro-Hungarian Army (as part of 51st Corps, 14th Army). During the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...

he took command of 51st Corps from 3 November when its previous commander,

Albert von Berrer Albert von Berrer was a Generalleutnant of Imperial German Army who was involved in World War I. He was killed in action in late 1917. Life Albert von Berrer was born on 8 September 1857 in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He entered the 119th ...

, was killed in action. He was awarded the Oakleaves to the

(signifying a second award) on 24 November 1917. On 23 January 1918 the 14th Army Command was recalled (to form a new 17th Army on the Western Front). The German troops remaining on the Italian front came under the command of 51st Corps until it was also withdrawn in February 1918. Back on the Western Front, he commanded 51st Corps in the Battle of Amiens in August 1918.

Later life

From 23 August 1918, Hofacker was put on active reserve status (temporary retirement). After the war Hofacker was deputy director of the Württemberg military academy. He retired from active duty on 8 May 1919.

Family

Eberhard von Hofacker was married to Albertine, Countess of Üxküll-Gyllenband. Their son

Caesar von Hofacker Caesar von Hofacker (sometimes Cäsar; 2 March 1896 – 20 December 1944) was a German Luftwaffe Lieutenant Colonel and member of the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler. Career Hofacker was born in Ludwigsburg; his father Eberhard von Hofacker wa ...

was involved in the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

to kill

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

.Peter Hoffmann, ''The History of the German resistance, 1933-1945'', McGill-Queen's Press, 1996, p. 354

Awards

* Pour le Mérite with oak leaves ** Pour le Mérite on 26 April 1917 ** Oak leaves on 24 November 1917

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofacker, Eberhard von 1861 births 1928 deaths People from Ludwigsburg (district) People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Lieutenant generals of Württemberg Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class German Army generals of World War I Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg