Hermann Karl Bruno von François (31 January 1856 – 15 May 1933) was a German ''

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 Impe ...

'' 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 ...

, and is best known for his key role in several German victories on the Eastern Front in 1914.

Early life and military career

Born in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

to a noble family of partial

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

extraction, François was exposed to a military life from an early age. His father was a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n major general and commander of the who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

leading his men during the

Battle of Spicheren The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the ''Battle of Forbach'', was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz. The Battle of Spicheren, on 6 August, was the second of ...

on 6 August 1870.Hanns Möller-Witten: Geschichte der Ritter des "Ordens pour le mérite" im Weltkrieg, Band I: A–L,Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 320-24. After attending cadet schools in Wahlstatt and in Berlin, François entered the Prussian Army on 15 April 1875 as a ''Seconde-Lieutenant'' (2nd Lieutenant) in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards (''1. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß'') in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

.''Offizier-Stammliste des Ersten Garde-Regiments zu Fuß, 1869-1913'', E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1913, pp. 87-88 (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnx5t4) On 25 March 1884, he was transferred to

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

as a company officer in the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Grenadier Regiment No. 89 (''Großherzoglich Mecklenburgisches Grenadier-Regiment Nr 89''), with a predated patent of 16 October 1874. On 14 August 1884, he was promoted to ''Premier-Lieutenant'' (1st Lieutenant). From 14 October 1884 to 21 July 1887, he attended the War Academy (''Kriegsakademie'') in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. On 1 April 1888, he was commanded to the Great General Staff and on his promotion to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' (Captain) on 22 March 1889 transferred to the general staff. On 23 April 1889, François was posted as a general staff officer to the XV Corps based in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

( Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine). On 27 January 1891, he was assigned as general staff officer on the staff of the 31st Division. On 29 March 1892, François was appointed commander of the 6th Company of the 2nd Lorraine Infantry Regiment (''2. Lothringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 131'') in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. On 1 February 1894, François was transferred to the general staff of the 8th Division in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

as the chief of operations (''1. Generalstabsoffizier'' or Ia). He was promoted to Major on 18 October 1894. On 17 December 1896, he was appointed Ia on the general staff of the

IV Corps 4 Corps, 4th Corps, Fourth Corps, or IV Corps may refer to: France * 4th Army Corps (France) * IV Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * IV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperi ...

, based in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. He returned to troop command on 25 March 1899 as commander of the I. Battalion of the 2nd Baden Grenadier Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm I" No. 110 (''2. Badisches Grenadier-Regiment „Kaiser Wilhelm I.“ Nr. 110'') in

in the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. On 25 June 1900, François returned to Magdeburg as Chief of the General Staff of the IV Corps, which from 27 January 1903 was commanded by ''General der Infanterie''

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919� ...

. On 18 April 1901, François was promoted to ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) 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, ...

'' (lieutenant colonel) and on 18 April 1903 to ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

'' (colonel). In 1901, François's mother, Marie took the family to

German South-West Africa German South West Africa () was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German rule over this territory was punctuated by ...

to follow her youngest son, Hugo von François who was a ''Hauptmann'' (captain) in the

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned a ...

. The family was based in the region during the

Herero Wars The Herero Wars were a series of colonial wars between the German Empire and the Herero people of German South West Africa (present-day Namibia). They took place between 1904 and 1908. Background Pre-colonial South-West Africa The Hereros we ...

, in which Hugo fought and was killed in action 13 March 1904 near Owikokorero. François' other brother,

Curt von François Curt Karl Bruno von François (2 October 1852 – 28 December 1931) was a German geographer, cartographer, Schutztruppe officer and commissioner of the German colonial empire, imperial colonial army of the German Empire, particularly in German So ...

, was a Prussian Major in the General Staff, later a well-known scientist and researcher specialising in Africa. On 24 August 1904, François was seconded as acting commander to the 3rd Guards Grenadier Regiment "Queen Elisabeth" (''Königin Elisabeth Garde-Grenadier-Regiment Nr. 3'') in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

and on 15 September 1904 he was named commander of the regiment. On 18 November 1907, he was named acting commander of the in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

and with his promotion to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' on 27 January 1908 he was named commander of the brigade. François was promoted to ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...

'' on 20 March 1911 and given command of the 13th Division. On 1 October 1913, he took command of the I Corps based in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

in the province of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

.''Vervollständigung der Offizier-Stammliste des Ersten Garde-Regiments zu Fuß, 1869-1913 und Fortsetzung bis zum 1. April 1935'', Verlag Robert Müller, Potsdam 1935, p. 10

World War I

François began the war in August 1914 as commander of the I Corps under the 8th Army and was soon promoted to ''

'' on 19 August 1914. His task was to defend the easternmost regions of East Prussia against a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

attack directed at the key city of

. The 8th Army would be expected to hold out against significantly larger Russian forces until it could be reinforced by troops coming from the west after the expected quick defeat of France, in accordance with the

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on 4 August 1914. Schlieffe ...

, which would guide German forces in the opening phase of a war in which Germany faced both France and Russia. When war broke out, François' corps faced the right wing of a two-pronged Russian invasion of East Prussia, led by Paul von Rennenkampf's Russian First Army. On 17 August the overall German theater commander, General Maximilian von Prittwitz und Gaffron, nervously eying the advance of the Russian left wing far to the south, ordered François to retreat while under heavy attack from Rennenkampf.''The Kaiser's Warlords: German Commanders of World War I'', Ronald Pawly, Patrice Courcelle, 2003, p 45. François, reluctant to surrender any territory, and naturally pugnacious, also felt breaking off while engaged would be deadly, and so he ignored Prittwitz' order, responding with the famous reply "General von François will withdraw when he has defeated the Russians!" He counterattacked Rennenkampf's massive army, bringing on the Battle of Stalluponen, and won a surprising victory while inflicting 5,000 casualties and taking 3,000 prisoners. After winning the battle, François obeyed Prittwitz's order and withdrew to the west, where three days later he fought Rennenkampf to a draw at the Battle of Gumbinnen. François' aggressiveness resulted in the cautious Rennenkampf halting his advance westward. Hermann-von-francois-2

Following that battle and a change of overall commanders (Prittwitz was judged to have lost his nerve by the German High Command), François' corps was transferred by rail to the southwest, to confront the Russian Second Army advancing into southern East Prussia under the command of General Alexander Samsonov. Although not trusted by the new German commanders

and

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (; 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general and politician. He achieved fame during World War I (1914–1918) for his central role in the German victories at Battle of Liège, Liège and Battle ...

due to his previous disobedience, François played the decisive role in the upcoming

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 23 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russ ...

. On 27 August, François attacked the lead elements of Samsonov's army and began to make steady advances into their rear. Ludendorff, fearing a Russian counterattack by Rennenkampf, now ordered him to break off the advance. However, François twice ignored his direct orders and played a decisive role in the following encirclement and defeat of Samsonov's army. When Hindenburg and Ludendorff went south to lead the 9th Army in Russian Poland, François remained with his corps in East Prussia and led it with much success in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes the following month. When General Richard von Schubert, the new commander of the 8th Army, ordered him to retreat, he dispatched a telegram to the Supreme Army Command (''

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, "Supreme Army Command", OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

'' or OHL) describing his success and stating "the commander is badly counselled." The telegram impressed the

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

so much that he immediately relieved Schubert and, on 3 October, gave François temporary command of the 8th Army. He did not hold it for long. When Hindenburg and Ludendorff prepared their counter-attack from Thorn in the direction of Łódź, François was reluctant to send the requested I Corps, sending the badly trained and ill-equipped XXV Reserve Corps instead. That was too much for his superiors. In early November 1914 von François was removed and replaced by General Otto von Below. After some time spent "on the shelf", François received the command of the XXXXI Reserve Corps on 20 December 1914, and after a spell in the West, he returned to the Eastern Front in April 1915 where he took part in the Spring Offensive that conquered Russian Poland. He continued to distinguish himself. He was awarded the ''

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 ...

'', Germany's highest military decoration, on 14 May 1915 for his performance in the breakthrough at Gorlice. On 30 June 1915 he was transferred back to the Western Front to take command of the Westphalian

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

in France, and in July 1916 a task force known as Meuse Group West (''Maasgruppe West'') in the Verdun sector. He added the Oak Leaves to his ''Pour le Mérite'' on 27 July 1917, for outstanding performance during the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. During the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

of 1918, in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne () was part of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in French Third Republic, France. It w ...

, he led another task force, the Attack Group on the Oise (''Angriffsgruppe an der Oise''). Due to a conflict with Ludendorff, François was on 6 July 1918 placed on the standby list until 14 October 1918 when he retired.

Post-war

After the war ended, François returned home and wrote several books on

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

, including the best-seller (in Germany) '' Marneschlacht und Tannenberg'' in 1920. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tübingen on 20 May 1925 for his scholarship in military history. He died on 15 May 1933 in Berlin of a kidney infection.

Decorations and awards

Note: *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: ** Order ''

'' (14 May 1915) ** Oakleaves to the Order ''Pour le Mérite'' (27 July 1917) **

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () 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 service to the kingdom, o ...

*** Grand Cross with Oakleaves and Swords (14 October 1918) *** 1st Class with Oakleaves and Swords (8 June 1918) *** 2nd Class with Star, Oakleaves and the Royal Crown **** 2nd Class with Oakleaves (19 August 1909) **** Crown to the 2nd Class with Oakleaves (25 April 1910) **** Star to the 2nd Class with Oakleaves and the Royal Crown (18 January 1913) ** Order of the Crown, 1st Class (18 January 1914) **

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 ...

, 1st and 2nd Class ** Officer's Service Decoration Cross for 25 years' service (18 June 1900) ** Kaiser Wilhelm I Memorial Medal (Centenary Medal) (22 March 1897) ** China Commemorative Medal in Steel (25 July 1902) ** Southwest Africa Commemorative Medal in Steel (2 September 1907) ** Commemorative Badge for the Silver Anniversary of the Imperial Couple (27 February 1906) *

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

: Princely

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of 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 versions of the order were crosses an ...

, Commander's Cross of Honor (26 March 1908) *

Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...

Order of Albert the Bear The House Order of Albert the Bear (German: ''Hausorden Albrechts des Bären'' or ''Der Herzoglich Anhaltische Hausorden Albrechts des Bären'') was founded in 1836 as a joint House Order by three dukes of Anhalt from separate branches of the fam ...

, Commander 2nd Class (3 May 1899) *

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, in memory of the Dukes of Zähringen from whom he was descended. Classes It had five classes: *Grand Cross *Commander, First Class *Commander, ...

, Commander 1st Class (5 May 1909) * : ** Military Merit Order, 2nd Class (17 May 1909) ** Military Merit Order, 1st Class with Swords (6 November 1915) * Free and Hanseatic City of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross () was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design ...

(25 January 1916) * Free and Hanseatic City of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

: Order of Philip the Magnanimous, Commander 1st Class (12 September 1910) *

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

: ** House Order of the Cross of Honor, 1st Class (9 February 1912) ** House Order of the Cross of Honor, 1st Class with Swords (18 October 1915) **

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

(19 January 1915) Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen, Abteilung Detmold, L 75, VIII. Abt. 10 Nr. 9 Bd. III ** War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds (15 April 1915) * Free and Hanseatic City of

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

* Principality of Reuß jüngere Linie: Princely Reuss Honor Cross, 2nd Class (29 December 1896) *

Saxon Duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose number ...

: Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Commander 2nd Class (29 December 1896) *

Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a populati ...

: Jubilee Medal (3 August 1903) * Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe: Cross for Loyal Service 1914 (1 March 1916) *

Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

and

Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with its capital at Sondershausen. History Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a county (earldom) until 1697. In that year, it became a principality ...

: Princely Schwarzburg Honor Cross, 2nd Class (combined award from both principalities, 13 January 1897) *

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

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 ...

, 1st Class with War Decoration (21 May 1915) *

Republic of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Oce ...

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

, 1st Class (28 September 1912) *

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

, Commander's Cross * :

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

, Commander's Cross (31 January 1903)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Hanns Möller-Witten: ''Geschichte der Ritter des "Ordens pour le mérite" im Weltkrieg, Band I: A–L'',Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935. * Ronald Pawly, Patrice Courcelle: ''The Kaiser's Warlords: German Commanders of World War I'', 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Francois, Hermann Von 1856 births 1933 deaths People from Luxembourg City German Army generals of World War I Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus German military writers German male non-fiction writers German people of French descent