Franz Freiherr Rohr von Denta (30 October 1854 – 9 December 1927) was an Austro-Hungarian field marshal and field commander who served as the last commander of the Austro-Hungarian First Army.

Early life

Born in Arad,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

(modern-day

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

), in 1854 as Franz Denta, son of an army NCO, he became a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the ''3 Galizisches Uhlanen-Regiment Erzherzog Carl'' in 1876 upon graduating from the

Theresian Military Academy The Theresian Military Academy (german: Theresianische Militärakademie, TherMilAk) is a military academy in Austria, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. Founded in 1751, the academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt ...

Wiener-Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

. He later attended the Austrian

War College A war college is a senior military academy which is normally intended for veteran military officers and whose purpose is to educate and 'train on' senior military tacticians, strategists, and leaders. It is also often the place where advanced tact ...

. Having attained the rank of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, he was appointed Chief of Staff of II Corps in September 1897, a position in which he served until April 1901. By 1903 Denta was commanding the 73 Landwehr-Brigade at Pressburg/Pozsony (modern-day

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

) and in 1909 was made General Inspector of military educational establishments. In 1911 he was promoted to the rank of

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

and appointed commander of the Hungarian ''Landwehr'' (''Honved'') in 1913.

War service

Responsible for the task of defending the southwestern frontier and historic heartlands of the Empire following the Italian declaration of war on May 23, 1915, Rohr was appointed commander of ''Armeegruppe Rohr'' on May 27 and took charge of all troops from

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

. Having overseen the successful defense of the Carinthian frontier, Rohr was promoted to the rank of

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...

on January 1, 1916, and made commander of the new 10th Army following the dissolution of his army-group in anticipation of the Tyrol Offensive. With the halting of all offensive operations on the Italian front by the Imperial army in the face of the Brusilov Offensive, the Tyrol effort was prematurely brought to an end and Rohr was transferred to command the 11th Army, also in the

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

district in June 1916. In February 1917, and with the promotion of Gen. Arz von Straussenberg to the position of Chief of the General Staff, Rohr took charge of the 1st Army and for the first time served as a commander on the Eastern Front. On April 14, 1917, he was elevated to the nobility, taking the rank of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and the title Rohr von Denta. Promoted to the position of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

on January 30, 1918, Rohr continued in command of the 1st Army until its disbandment following peace with

on April 15, 1918.

Retirement

Retiring from command at war’s end, Rohr was nevertheless appointed Field Marshal in the army of newly independent Hungary. Freiherr Rohr von Denta died in the village of Rodaun, near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, on 9 December 1927.

Honours & Decorations

* Military Service Cross 1st Class * Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold * Knights' Cross 1st Class of the Order of the Iron Crown * Captain of the Hungarian Trabantenleibgarde (Life Guards)

Selected Service Record

* 1876 Lieutenant (3.Galizisches Uhlanen-Regiment Erzherzog Carl) * 1896 Colonel (General Staff) * 1903 Major General (73.Landwehr-IBrig. at Preßburg) * 1909 General Inspector of military educational establishments * 1911 General der Kavallerie * 1916 Generaloberst * 1918 Feldmarschall

References