Siegmund Freiherr von Pranckh (5 December 1821,

Altötting Altötting (, Bavarian: ; ''Oidäding'') is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by Pope John Paul II i ...

, Upper Bavaria – 8 May 1888, Munich), descendant of the ancient

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

Pranckh Pranckh is the name of an ancient Austrian noble family, descending from Pranckh Castle, near Sankt Marein bei Knittelfeld in the former March and later Duchy of Styria. The family's origins date back to the year 1135, when Wolfkerus de Bra ...

, originally residentiary in the former

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

and later Duchy of Styria, was a Bavarian general and Minister of War.

Life

Pranckh was born in upper Bavaria, as a son of a lieutenant colonel of the Bavarian Army. Pranckh joined the army in Munich in 1840, being in the cadet corps before, and in 1849 (having risen to captain) worked on the staff of the Generalquartiermeister. He remained in the War Department until 1863 before becoming

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 ...

of the 3rd Infantry Regiment; and then in 1865 of the Lifeguards Regiment. With the latter he#d serve in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, participating in the

Battle of Kissingen The Battle of Kissingen was a battle between Bavarian and Prussian troops on 10 July 1866 during the Austrian-Prussian War in and around the town of Kissingen (today: Bad Kissingen) in Bavaria. It was part of the campaign of the Main and ended ...

and the storming of

Nüdlingen Nüdlingen is a municipality in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria in Germany. Divisions of the municipality The municipality is divided into the following towns: *Haard *Nüdlingen History Nüdlingen was first mentioned in 772 in the rec ...

. After the war,

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

chose Pranckh as new Minister of War, disregarding the advice of all the Bavarian generals. Shortly afterwards Pranckh reorganised the Bavarian Army. He overhauled the conscription and replacement system, introduced the modern M1869 Werder Rifle, and changed military training and education. This helped the Bavarian Army to be ready for the Franco-Prussian War. Immediately after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War he was promoted to Lieutenant General, and prudently and effectively organized the Bavarian Army and its munitions after it had suffered considerable losses. He was also significantly involved in the conclusion of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

on 23 November 1870. For his achievements he was granted an endowment of 100,000 Thaler and was honored on the Angel of Peace monument. In 1872 Pranckh initiated a further army reform. In early 1875 he was appointed

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...

and on 4 April 1875 appointed captain-general of the ceremonial Hartschier Guards. On his own request he was released from leading the war ministry in 1876. He is buried in the Old Southern Cemetery in Munich.

External links

Treaty concerning the accession of Bavaria to the Constitution of the German federal government, along with Final Protocol of 23 November 1870

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pranckh 1821 births 1888 deaths Bavarian Ministers of War Bavarian generals People from Altötting People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Burials at the Alter Südfriedhof