Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00363A, Otto Hasse

Otto Hasse (21 June 1871 in Schlawe – 28 September 1942 in

Berlin-Grunewald Grunewald () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Famous for the homonymous forest, until 2001 administrative reform it was part of the former district of Wilmersdorf. Next to Licht ...

) was a German General of the Infantry and from 1923 to 1925 Chief of the

Truppenamt The ''Truppenamt'' or was the cover organisation for the German General Staff from 1919 through until 1935 when the General Staff of the German Army (''Heer'') was re-created. This subterfuge was deemed necessary in order for Germany to be seen ...

Life

Hasse entered the army on 27 September 1890 as a

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establi ...

in the Infantry Regiment "Graf Kirchbach" (1st Lower Silesian) No. 46 of the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

in Posen. Before

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 ...

, he served on the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

and was assigned to inspect military transport. During the war he served on several general staffs. On 12 May 1918, he was awarded the Oak Leaves Order

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 ...

for his work as Chief of Staff in the X Reserve Corps at the

Battle of Kemmel A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. From 1918 until the end of the year, he was Chief of Staff of the 1st Army. He was accepted into the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

and transferred to the Reichswehr Ministry. In 1922, he was appointed Chief of the Troops Office (TA) and promoted to Major General on 1 February 1923. In 1923, as chief of TA, he was in Moscow for the secret agreements on the

Treaty of Rapallo Following World War I there were two Treaties of Rapallo, both named after Rapallo, a resort on the Ligurian coast of Italy: * Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, an agreement between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the later Yugoslav ...

with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

regarding cooperation between the Reichswehr and the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. In 1926, he became lieutenant general in command of the 3rd Division and at the same time commander in Military District III. Promoted to General of the Infantry, Hasse was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Group Command I in Berlin on 1 April 1929. In 1932, he retired from active service. Otto Hasse

Hasse married Anna von Keizer (1873) on 29 October 1903 in Berlin. She was a daughter of the Prussian Lieutenant General Karl von Keizer (1843–1929) and sister of the Major General Karl von Keizer (1871–1929). His grave has been preserved and is buried in the Berlin Invalidenfriedhof.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(1914) II and I Class * Knight's Cross of the

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

with Swords *

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

IV class with crown * Prussian service award cross * Bavarian Military Order of Merit III class with swords and crown * Officer's Cross of the

Order of Albert The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone w ...

with Swords and Crown *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 188 ...

of Hamburg *

Cross for Merit in War The Cross for Merit in War (german: Kreuz für Verdienste im Kriege) was a military decoration of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen established by Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen on 7 March 1915. Criteria The Cross for Merit in War was awarded to ...

Literature

* Dermot Bradley (Hrsg.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Brockmann: ''Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945.'' Band 5: ''v. Haack–Hitzfeld.'' Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, , pp. 164–165.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasse, Otto 1871 births 1942 deaths Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class German people of World War I Reichswehr generals

Life

Awards

Literature

Links

References