Gerold von Gleich
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Gerold von Gleich (1869–1938) was a German army officer, who served in both the
German Imperial Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the ...
and the
Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
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 ...
, and wrote a memoir of his military career. After the war, he became a distinguished scientist in the field of theoretical physics and contributed significantly to contemporary debates on relativity. Gerold von Gleich was born on 17 March 1869 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 s ...
, in the
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...
, in the German Empire. His father, Alarich von Gleich, was an army officer, who later attained the rank of
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 ...
. He attended the Gymnasium in
Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
(1876–83).


Military career

Gleich began his military career in 1886 in the Dragoner-Regiment Königin Olga Nr. 25 in Ludwigsburg. In 1890 he was transferred to the General Staff. In 1902-05 he served as a squadron commander in the 13. Dragoner-Regiment in
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
. Thereafter he was again seconded to the General Staff, where his exceptional linguistic abilities marked him out for overseas service. In 1912 he was assigned as German Military Attaché to the High Command of the
Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...
, where he observed victorious Greek military operations against Ottoman forces on several fronts during the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
. In 1913, following his return to Germany, he was appointed commanding officer of the Dragoner-Regiment Königin Olga Nr. 25, and took the field with this unit as
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 Swedi ...
at the outbreak 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 ...
. In 1915 he was promoted to
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 ...
. In February 1916 he was selected for secondment to the now allied Ottoman Army and assigned to
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, as chief of staff to Feldmarschall von der Goltz. There he became chief of staff of the Ottoman Sixth Army, with the Ottoman rank of
Mirliva ''Mirliva'' or ''Mîr-i livâ'' was a military rank of the Ottoman Army and Navy. It corresponds to a brigadier general (modern Turkish: ''Tuğgeneral'') in the modern Turkish Army. ''Mirliva'' is a compound word composed of ''Mir'' ( commander) ...
and the accompanying title of
Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
. He participated in the successful siege of Kut-al-Mara and subsequent events in
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
up to late summer 1916. Infected by unclean drinking water, he suffered severe illness and was transported to Aleppo to recuperate. Gleich subsequently wrote a detailed memoir of his military experiences during 1912-16, which was published in 1921 as ''Vom Balkan nach Bagdad: militärisch-politische Erinnerungen an dem Orient'' (''From the Balkans to Baghdad: military-political recollections of the East''). In January 1917 he commanded the Infanterie-Regiment Kaiser Wilhelm Nr. 120 on the Western Front, fighting on the Somme. As commander of Infanterie-Brigade Nr. 18, he played a part in the fighting at Arras and Cambrai, and during the German spring offensive. In 1918 he was promoted to Generalmajor and, on his request, retired from active duty in 1919.


Contributions to science

After the war, Gleich pursued a second career as a gifted and multitalented scientist. From an early age, as an officer cadet, he had demonstrated interest and aptitude in mathematical and astronomical studies. In the post-war era he wrote around 40 scientific papers on physics and astronomy, contributing significantly to debates on relativity. In 1930 he published a comprehensive overview of his work in the book ''Einsteins Relitivitätstheorien und physikalische Wirklichkeit'' (''Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and Physical Reality'').''Einsteins Relitivitätstheorien und physikalische Wirklichkeit'' (Barth Verlag: Leipzig 1930) Gleich died on 7 April 1938 in Ludwigsburg, following a long and painful illness.


Selected writings

* ''Die alte Armee und ihre Verirrungen; Eine kritische Studie'' (Koehler: Leipzig 1919) * ''Vom Balkan nach Bagdad: militärisch-politische Erinnerungen an dem Orient'' (Scherl Verlag: Berlin 1921) * ''Betrachtungen über die Kriegführung in Mespotamien'', in Jahrbuch des Bundes der Asienkämpfer (1923), 81–105 * ''Die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie und das Merkur Perihel'', in Annalen der Physik (1923). 72, 221-235 * ''Einsteins Relitivitätstheorien und physikalische Wirklichkeit'' (Barth Verlag: Leipzig 1930)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleich, Gerold von 1869 births 1938 deaths People from Ludwigsburg German Army generals of World War I Ottoman military personnel of World War I Pashas