Erich Paul Weber (born 12 September 1860 in

Kamen Kamen () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the district Unna. Geography Kamen is situated at the east end of the Ruhr area, approximately 10 km south-west of Hamm and 25 km north-east of Dortmund. Neighbouring cities, t ...

; died 29 October 1933 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) 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 l ...

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 ultimately attained the rank of

General of Infantry 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 Impe ...

(General der Infanterie).

Military career

Weber entered 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 ...

and received his commission as Sekondeleutnant on 15 April 1878.Preußisches Kriegsministerium (ed.), ''Rangliste der Offiziere der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergisches) Armeekorps 1917'' ( E.S. Mittler & Sohn: Berlin 1917), p. 6 A successful career as a junior regimental officer culminated in his command of the Schleswig-Holsteinische Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 9, headquartered in Harburg. On 14 April 1907, with the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, he was transferred to Engineer Inspectorate (Ingenieur-Inspektion) IV, where he served as an engineer officer in the Metz Fortification Command (Festung Metz). On 22 March 1910 he was promoted to

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 Swedis ...

.Preußisches Kriegsministerium (ed.), ''Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1911.'' ( E.S. Mittler & Sohn: Berlin 1911), p. 124. His transfer to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

on 22 May 1912 followed his appointment as commanding officer of the Pioneers of the

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) *XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I *15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bavar ...

. In this position he wore the uniform of the 1. Elsässische Pionier-Bataillon Nr. 15. On 19 November 1912 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 ...

. On 3 December 1913 Weber was selected to participate in the newly inaugurated German Military Mission (Militärmission) to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, headed by

Liman von Sanders Otto Viktor Karl Liman von Sanders (; 17 February 1855 – 22 August 1929) was an Imperial German Army general who served as a military adviser to the Ottoman Army during the First World War. In 1918 he commanded an Ottoman army during the Sin ...

. On 8 December Weber was formally granted retirement from active service in the German Imperial Army prior to his transfer to the Ottoman Army, and he was among the first contingent of 10 German officers to arrive in Istanbul later that month. He was initially appointed Inspector-General of Engineers (İstihkam Müfettişi) attached to the Ottoman

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of Defence (Est ...

, with the higher 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) ...

(= German

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

). As a specialist in fortifications, when the Ottoman Empire began preparing to enter World War I, Weber was assigned to strengthen the coastal defences of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

. In late March/April 1915 he was appointed commander of the Ottoman XV Corps on the Asian shore of the Straits. During the Gallipoli Campaign, he distinguished himself in the early stages of the fighting on the Asian side of the Dardanelles. On 18 April 1915 he was promoted to the German rank of

and thus automatically attained the higher Ottoman rank of Ferik (= German

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 O ...

), along with the honorific Ottoman 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 Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

. On 5 May Weber was appointed commander of South Group, on the southern part of the Gallipoli peninsula, during a phase of heavy fighting in this sector. Following criticism of his performance, however, Weber quarreled with Liman von Sanders and was relieved of this command on 8 July. In October 1915 Weber returned to Germany. Formally reinstated in the German Imperial Army, from 22 October to 16 November 1915 he served 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 ...

as commanding officer of 100th Infantry Brigade.G. Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung der Deutschen Heere 1815-1939'', vol. 1: ''Die Höheren Kommandostellen 1815-1939'' (Biblio Verlag: Osnabrück 1990: ), p. 315. On 21 December 1916 he assumed command of 9th Division on the Western Front and remained in this post until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

in 1918. Following the end of the war, Weber was absorbed into the Provisional

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 ...

(Vorläufige Reichswehr). On 16 June 1920 he was promoted to

and appointed commander of

Military District Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

(Wehrkreis) II. After the formation of the

, on 1 October 1920 he was appointed commanding officer of the 2nd Division, based in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

. On 15 June 1921 he retired from the Reichswehr with the

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

rank of General der Infanterie.''Militär-Wochenblatt'' Nr. 52 105 (25 June 1921), col. 1141; Deutscher Offizier Bund (ed.), ''Ehren-Rangliste des ehemaligen Deutschen Heeres auf Grund der Ranglisten von 1914 mit den inzwischen eingetretenen Veränderungen'' (E.S. Mittler & Sohn: Berlin 1926), vol. I, p. 20. Weber's daughter Ingeborg married the later High Admiral

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...

in 1916. The

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population is around 15,000, and with outlying centres, about 30,0 ...

are named after Weber.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Erich 1860 births 1933 deaths People from Kamen German Army generals of World War I Ottoman military personnel of World War I Pashas Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia