(13 February 1848 – 30 July 1918) was a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, later 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 ...

. He was a recipient of with Oak Leaves, one of the highest

orders of merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

in the Kingdom of Prussia and, subsequently,

Imperial Germany The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...

Biography

was born in in the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

(now

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

). His father (1813-1892) was a politician. Both of his grandfathers were notable politicians. He joined the Prussian Army in 1866, and took part in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. He won the

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 es ...

second class during the Franco-Prussian War. He rose through the ranks of the Prussian Army, being appointed chief of the staff of the VI Army Corps at in 1897, commanding the 9th Division from 1901 to 1904 and the XVIII Army Corps from 1904 to 1912. In 1912 he took command of the 7th Army Inspection, the peacetime headquarters for the Imperial German XVI, XVIII, and XXI Army Corps. At the outbreak of

, was incapacitated in consequence of an accident in May 1914, but was able to play a part in the Battle of Soissons in 1915. He became the commanding general of the 10th Army on 21 January 1915, and commanded it until 5 March 1918. This Army engaged in the great battle of the Masurian Lakes in East Prussia in February 1915. In August, he took Kovno and afterwards the fortresses of Grodno and Olita, and continued his advance into Russia. He received the on 18 August 1915 and the oak leaves to the on 28 September 1915. On 30 July 1916, while remaining in command of the 10th Army, became supreme commander of Army Group Eichhorn (') based around 10th Army, which he would command until 31 March 1918. On 18 December 1917, was promoted to . On 3 April 1918, Field Marshal became supreme commander of Army Group Kyiv ( ''Heeresgruppe Kiew'') and simultaneously military governor of Ukraine.Wegner, ''Stellenbesetzung'', p.611.

Death

Eichhorn was assassinated in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

by a member of the Russian Party of

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Rev ...

, Boris Donskoy, threw a bomb at the carriage carrying Field Marshal. He is buried in the in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Awards

* Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class (31 August 1871) * Prussian Order of the Crown, 1st Class (17 January 1904) * Order of Philip the Magnanimous, Grand Cross with Crown (8 September 1905) *

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 ...

, Grand Cross with Oak Leaves (20 August 1907) *

Ludwig Order The Ludwig Order (german: Großherzoglich Hessischer Ludwigsorden), was an order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which was awarded to meritorious soldiers and civilians from 1807 to 1918. History The order was founded by Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse ...

, Grand Cross (15 September 1912) * (18 August 1915), with Oak Leaves (28 September 1915) * Military Order of St. Henry, Commander 2nd Class (25 October 1916) He was also awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

on 18 February 1918.

Wilhelm II, German Emperor 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 Emp ...

, decreed that one of the eight towers of Malbork Castle (' of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

) should be named after him. in the

Marzahn-Hellersdorf Marzahn-Hellersdorf () is the tenth borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Marzahn and Hellersdorf. Geography It is situated in the northeast of Berlin. Marzahn-Hellersdorf borders to the Berlin boroughs of Lichte ...

district of Berlin was named after him during his lifetime.

Notes

External links

Photo of Eichhorn and his adjutant
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eichhorn, Hermann Von 1848 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Wrocław People from the Province of Silesia Field marshals of the German Empire Field marshals of Prussia German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War German military personnel killed in World War I Assassinated German people Assassinated military personnel German people murdered abroad People murdered in Ukraine Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class German Army generals of World War I