Eduard Freiherr von Böhm-Ermolli (12 February 1856 – 9 December 1941) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

who rose to the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

. He was the head of the Second Army and fought mainly on the front of Galicia during the entire conflict. On 30 October 1940, Böhm-Ermolli was made a German ''

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

''.

Biography

Early life

Eduard Böhm was born in the Italian city of

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

where his father served with a small representative detachment of the Austrian army. His father, Georg Böhm (1813–1893), had as a sergeant won a battlefield commission for bravery after the battle of Novara in 1849, been promoted to the rank of major upon his retirement in 1877. In June 1885, he received permission to attach his wife's (Maria Josepha Ermolli) maiden name to his family name. He was elevated to hereditary nobility in September 1885, and hence the family was known as "von Böhm-Ermolli". Böhm-Ermolli was trained at the cadet academy in St. Pölten and the Theresian Military Academy in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

and entered the service on 1 September 1875 as a lieutenant in the

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

s. He served in a variety of line and staff positions, steadily rose through the ranks, being promoted to General of the Cavalry on 1 May 1912 and appointed commanding general of the 1st Army Corps in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Service during World War One

At the start of

, Böhm-Ermolli was given command of the Austrian 2nd Army, which was intended for action on the

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n front. After the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

mobilised, the 2nd Army was diverted to the Russian front, where it reinforced the armies of Austria's

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

ally.
In September 1915 he also became commander of the Army Group Böhm-Ermolli which included the German South Army besides his own Second Army. Böhm-Ermolli was promoted to ''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German '' Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

'' in May 1916 and to ''

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several List of states in the Holy Roman Empire, German states and the Holy ...

'' in January 1918. In March 1918, his forces occupied

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. His Army Group was dissolved at

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

at the war's end.

Later life

Böhm-Ermolli then settled in his home town of

Troppau Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Silesia. Administr ...

Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

, which became part of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1919, and the government of Czechoslovakia paid him his pension and honored him as a General 1st Class in the reserve. In 1928 he became an "Army General" of

, even though he never served in the

Czechoslovak Army The Czechoslovak Army (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá armáda'') was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. History In t ...

. When the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

, the predominantly German settled regions along the fringes of Czechoslovakia, was annexed to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

in 1938, he became a German subject. On 31 October 1940 Böhm-Ermolli received an honorary promotion to ''

'' of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

. In addition, he was appointed honorary colonel-in-chief of Infantry Regiment Nr. 38 in his hometown of Troppau (Opava). When he died in December 1941, he was accorded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

with full military honors in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Military service and promotion record

* Cadet, Austrian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt, Class of 1875 * Leutnant, K.u.K. Dragoon Regiment Nr 4, 1875 ** served as a general staff officer, 1870s to 1890s * Oberst (Colonel), K.u.K., 1897 * General-Major, 1903 ** Commander, 16th Cavalry Brigade ** Commander of a cavalry division * Feldmarschall-Leutnant, K.u.K., 1907 ** Commander in chief, K.u.K. 1st Army Corps, November 18, 1911 * General der Kavallerie, K.u.K., May 1, 1912 ** Commander in chief, K.u.K. 2nd Army * General-Oberst, K.u.K., May 1, 1916 ** Commander, Army Group "Böhm-Ermolli", 1916 to 1918 * Feldmarschall, K.u.K., January 31, 1918 ** Commander of occupied Ukraine, to June 17, 1918 Retired, December 1, 1918. * (honorary) Generalfeldmarschall, Wehrmacht, 1940

Decorations and awards

: * Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen – Grand Cross, 1918 (#1687) * Military Merit Cross – I. Class Cross with War Decoration * Order of Leopold – Grand Cross, with War Decoration & Swords *

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown () was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombard ...

– Knight, I. Class, with War Decoration *

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

– Commander * Decoration for Services to the Red Cross – Star of Honor *

– Knight, III. Class * Military Merit Cross – III. Class Cross * Military Merit Medal (Signum Laudis) – in Gold * Military Merit Medal (Signum Laudis) – in Silver * Officer’s Long Service Cross, III. Class (25+ years of service) * 1898 Jubilee Medal (Emperor Franz Joseph I. Golden Jubilee) : * Military Merit Order – Knight, Grand Cross : *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, 2nd Class *

, 1st Class *

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

** Oakleaves to the

Jewison, G. and Steiner, J. : * Ottoman War Medal (“Gallipoli Star”) * Liyakat (Merit) Medal * Imtiyaz (Honor) Medal

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boehm-Ermolli, Eduard Von 1856 births 1941 deaths People from Ancona Field marshals of Austria Austro-Hungarian Army officers K.u.k. War College alumni Theresian Military Academy alumni Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austrian barons Silesian nobility Austrian expatriates in Italy Czechoslovak generals Field marshals of Nazi Germany Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria)