Hermann Albin Josef Freiherr Kövess von Kövessháza ( hu, kövessházi báró Kövess Hermann; 30 March 1854
/ref> – 22 September 1924) was the final, and completely ceremonial, Commander-in-Chief of the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Army. He served as a generally competent and unremarkable commander in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

and was close to retirement in 1914 when 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 ...

broke out and he was given a command post.

Personal life

Kövess' father was a senior

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

living in Temesvár,

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, ...

(now Timișoara,

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 ...

). His mother came from Fogaras (now

Făgăraș Făgăraș (; german: Fogarasch, Fugreschmarkt, hu, Fogaras) is a municipiu, city in central Romania, located in Brașov County. It lies on the Olt (river), Olt River and has a population of 28,330 as of 2011. It is situated in the historical regi ...

), where her

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

n father worked as a pharmacist; her mother was a

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

from Hermannstadt (now

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

). He married the Baroness Eugenie Hye von Glunek in 1892 and they had 3 sons; Adalbert, who was killed in action in 1914 and Géza and Jenő who served as artillery officers.

Military career

He enrolled into a cadet institute at Hainburg in 1865, and, after spending some time there and at the academy in

Znaim Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...

, he moved to the

Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy The Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy (German: ''k.u.k. Technische Militärakademie'') was a military training facility founded in 1717 for certain officer groups of the Habsburg monarchy. The location of the academy changed several ...

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

in 1869. He passed the courses at the academy with fair success and received an accelerated promotion to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He led his first military expedition in 1882 on a mission to suppress a mutiny in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

and was commended by the Emperor

Francis Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

with a Merit Medal and also received a Knights Cross of the Order of the Italian Crown that same year. After the campaign he failed his next examination and was transferred into the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

. His good performance during his service with the infantry provided him with quick promotions to major in 1890 and then to lieutenant colonel in 1894 and soon after to

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 had become one of the youngest colonels in the

and one of the most powerful

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

serving in a generally

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

officer corps. His Protestantism caused a scandal when he was involved in an event where 400 Roman Catholics converted to Protestantism after a dispute. The scandal was generally ignored by the military, but condemned by the Catholic Church. The condemnation led him to believe he would be prematurely retired; however, this turned out to be false due to the onset 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 ...

World War I

At the beginning of World War I, Kövess commanded the XII. (Transylvania) Corps, and fought in the tenacious defense against the superior Russian forces in east and central Galicia, and later in

Russian Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

. During the spring offensive of 1915, he captured by storm the fortress of

Ivangorod Ivangorod ( rus, Иванго́род, p=ɪvɐnˈɡorət; et, Jaanilinn; vot, Jaanilidna) is a town in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Narva river which flows along the Estonia–Russia inte ...

. In the autumn, under the command of

August von Mackensen Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (born Mackensen; 6 December 1849 – 8 November 1945), ennobled as "von Mackensen" in 1899, was a German field marshal. He commanded successfully during World War I of 1914–1918 and became one of the ...

, he led the III. Army during the

Serbian Campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July ...

, with which he captured

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

and penetrated deep into

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. In January 1916, in independent command, he overthrew

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

in the

Montenegrin Campaign The Montenegrin campaign of World War I, in January 1916, was a part of the Serbian campaign of World War I, in which Austria-Hungary defeated and occupied the Kingdom of Montenegro, an ally of Serbia. By January 1916, the Serbian Army had be ...

, and also occupied

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. In the early summer of 1916, Kövess' army cooperated in the operation against

Arsiero Arsiero is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its ...

Asiago Asiago (; Venetian: ''Axiago'', Cimbrian: ''Slege'', German: ''Schlägen'' ) is a minor township (population roughly 6,500) in the surrounding plateau region (the ''Altopiano di Asiago'' or '' Altopiano dei Sette Comuni'', Asiago plateau) in ...

. But after the breakthrough of

Aleksei Brusilov Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov ( rus, Алексе́й Алексе́евич Бруси́лов, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ brʊˈsʲiɫəf; – 17 March 1926) was a Russian and later Soviet general most noted for the developme ...

, he was transported in all haste to the Galician theatre of war. Kövess soon after took over the command of the VII. Army, and defended the ridges of the

Wooded Carpathians The term Wooded Carpathians ( uk, Лісисті Карпати; pl, Karpaty Lesiste; hu, Erdős-Kárpátok; german: Waldkarpaten) refers to a group of mountain ranges that constitute the central section of Eastern Carpathians, covering both '' ...

against Russian attack. In the summer of 1917, Kövess sallied from the mountains with his troops, made himself master of Czernowitz and Radautz, and drove the Russians almost entirely from the Bukovina. He was promoted to the rank 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 5 November 1917. From the middle of January to the beginning of April 1918, he commanded the army front consisting of the I. and VII. Armies, extending from the

Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

to the south-eastern corner of Transylvania. Entrusted after the withdrawal of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

with the thankless task of the command of the troops in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, Kövess could do nothing more than arrange for the evacuation of the occupied territories according to plan, and for the defence of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

line. When Emperor Charles laid down the supreme command, he nominated Kövess as his successor. But the dispersal of the forces closed Kövess's military career. Kövess was one of the most popular army leaders of the old monarchy. After its downfall, he lived in retirement, cultivating his historical and artistic tastes.

Awards

Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started in Takovo, Serbi ...

2nd class, 1900

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovess Von Kovesshaza, Hermann 1854 births 1924 deaths Military personnel from Timișoara Barons of Hungary 19th-century Austrian people 19th-century Hungarian people Austro-Hungarian Army officers Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austrian people of Hungarian descent People of Hungarian German descent Transylvanian-Saxon people Field marshals of Austria Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Gold Imtiyaz Medal Recipients of the Silver Imtiyaz Medal Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy)