Karl Wenninger, from 1914 onwards Ritter von Wenninger, was a German Lieutenant General who commanded the
XVIII Reserve Corps in
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
Family
Karl was the son of the Bavarian Colonel Franz Xaver Wenninger and his wife Mathilde, née Forster.
Wenninger married Kornelie Prins on July 11, 1889 in
Landshut
Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...
. She was the daughter of the Vice-President of the Council for the Dutch East Indies, Ary Prins. The marriage resulted in a daughter and two sons. Like their father, both sons pursued military careers. The youngest son fell as a pilot 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 ...
in 1917 , the older son Ralph initially served in the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...
as a submarine commander and achieved the rank of
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
General in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Like his father, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite order during the First World War. With the exception of princely families, this is the only case in which father and son received the highest Prussian valor award.
Military career
After graduating from a humanistic
Gymnasium on 28 September 1880 he enlisted in the
2nd Bavarian Heavy Cavalry Regiment as part of the
Bavarian Army in Landshut.
[ Othmar Hackl: ''The Bavarian War Academy (1867–1914). '' C.H. Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. . Page. 602. ] He was then made an ensign on March 29, 1881 and promoted to second lieutenant on November 23, 1882. From October 1, 1888 to September 30, 1891, Wenninger studied at the
War Academy, which qualified him for the higher adjutantage and, secondarily, for the general staff.
This was followed by an assignment to the equitation institute where he also received his promotion to premier lieutenant. In October he was transferred to the staff of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
as an adjutant. From September 24, 1895 Wenninger served on the general staff for three years, meanwhile being promoted to captain on October 28, 1897. This was followed by a year-long assignment to the staff of the
I Royal Bavarian Corps before he returned to line duty as a company commander in the 5th Chevaulegers Regiment. This was followed by a tour on the staff of the
3rd Royal Bavarian Division
The 3rd Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as an Infantry Division of the Würzburg General Comm ...
in
Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
. For two years from September 21, 1902, Wenninger worked as a teacher of military history and the history of the art of war at the War Academy, in the meantime he became a major on October 23, 1903 and then transferred again to the staff of the I Bavarian Corps. On April 19, 1906, he became a member of the study commission of the War Academy and at the same time was entrusted with the leadership of the
1st Bavarian Heavy Cavalry Regiment. Wenninger was formally appointed regimental commander on July 20, 1906; in this position promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on March 8, 1907, and to Colonel on March 7, 1909. As such he took command of the 6th Cavalry Brigade in
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
on September 24, 1909. He was appointed to the
Great General Staff
The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (german: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continuou ...
in Berlin on December 15, 1911, serving as Bavarian Military Representative. Here he also was Bavaria's deputy representative on the
Federal Council. Wenninger was promoted to major general on March 7, 1912.
When
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 ...
broke out he initially remained the Bavarian military representative as part of the Great Headquarters. In recognition of his services, Wenninger was awarded the Knight's Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown
The Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown (german: Verdienstorden der Bayerischen Krone) was an order of merit of the Kingdom of Bavaria established by King Maximilian Joseph I on 19 March 1808. The motto of the order is Virtus et Honos ('Courage ...
on September 27, 1914. Associated with this was the elevation to the
personal nobility status and he was accordingly allowed to be known as "Ritter von Wenninger" after his entry in the nobility register.
After his promotion to lieutenant general on September 10, 1914, Wenninger became commander of the
Bavarian Cavalry Division
The Bavarian Cavalry Division (''Bayerische Kavallerie-Division'') was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on the mobilization of the German Army in August 1914. The division was disb ...
on November 7, 1914.
[ Alexandru Ioanițiu (Lt.-Colonel), '' Războiul României: 1916-1918 '', vol. 1, Tipografia Geniului, București, 1929 ] He led the unit in the
First Battle of Ypres and the subsequent trench warfare in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
. In March 1915, Wenninger took over command of the
3rd Royal Bavarian Division
The 3rd Royal Bavarian Division was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army which served alongside the Prussian Army as part of the Imperial German Army. The division was formed on November 27, 1815, as an Infantry Division of the Würzburg General Comm ...
at Artois. In September and October the division was able to prevent multiple breakthrough attempts during the battles taking place near
La Bassée and
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
. During the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
, the division defended the Martinpuich section of the
Foureaux Forest. In April 1917 the division was on the Arras front south of the Scarpe. During the
Battle of Arras, Wenninger succeeded in repelling three attacks by the English and stabilized his front sector.
For this achievement
King Ludwig III rewarded Wenninger with the knighthood of the
Military Order of Max Joseph
The Military Order of Max Joseph (german: Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden) was the highest military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in t ...
on April 23, 1917. Shortly thereafter,
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 ...
awarded him 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 ...
on May 1, 1917.
On June 5, 1917 he was appointed commander of the
XVIII Reserve Corps, which at the time was in front of
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
.
From here it was transferred to the
Romanian Front in July and took part in the German summer offensive in August and September. During the breakthrough battle of Putna and Susita, his troops succeeded in taking Muncelul. Wenninger fell in the aftermath of the
Battle of Mărășești on September 8, 1917.
Karl von Wenninger
''Integrated Authority File'' Accessed on May 11, 2014
References
Bibliography
* Max Spindler (ed.), Walter Schärl: The composition of the Bavarian civil service from 1806 to 1918. Michael Lassleben publishing house, Kallmütz / Opf. 1955, p. 273.
* Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich 1989, , pages. 602-603.
*Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: M-Z. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 488-489.
*Rudolf Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Self-published by the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order, Munich 1966, pp. 185, 428.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenninger, Karl von
1861 births
1917 deaths
Bavarian generals
German military personnel killed in World War I
German Army generals of World War I
Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
Military personnel from Bavaria
People from Starnberg (district)