Felix Graf von Bothmer
Felix Graf von Bothmer | |
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![]() Felix Graf von Bothmer | |
Born |
Munich, Bavaria | December 10, 1852
Died |
March 18, 1937 84) Munich, Germany | (aged
Allegiance |
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Service/branch | Army |
Years of service | 1871–1918 |
Rank | Colonel General |
Commands held |
6th Bavarian Reserve Division II Bavarian Reserve Corps South Army 19th Army Heimatschütz Süd |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Awards |
Military Order of Max Joseph, Grand Cross Pour le Mérite with oakleaves Order of the Dannebrog, Knight's Cross |
Felix Graf[1] von Bothmer (10 December 1852 – 18 March 1937) was a German general, notably during the Brusilov offensive of 1916.
Military Career and After
In 1871 Bothmer joined the Bavarian Army. He spent the next forty years serving in the Bavarian War Ministry or on the Royal Bavarian Army General Staff, with three years in Berlin with the Prussian General Staff. During this time he rose through the ranks, reaching General der Infanterie in 1910. On 30 November 1914 he was appointed to command the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division at Ypres. On 22 March 1915 he was given the command of Corps Bothmer, a unit raised to help defend the passes of the Carpathian Mountains against Russian attacks that directly threatened Hungary. He won the Battle of Zwinin which took place from 5 February – 9 April 1915, and was thus in the right place to take part in the great German advance after the breakthrough during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive in May 1915.
After 6 July 1915, Hans Ritter von Hemmer was his Chief of General Staff. On 7 July, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite for outstanding leadership and distinguished military planning and successful operations during the battles of Dniester, Gnila-Lipa, and Zlota-Lipa. He was awarded Oakleaves on 25 July 1917 for his actions during the battle around the city of Brzezany during the German summer offensive on the eastern front, as well as for his outstanding leadership and organization during the battle at the bridgehead at Zbrucz . He received the Grand Cross of the Bavarian (Bayern) Military Order of Max Joseph.
His units stood firm against the Brusilov Offensive of June 1916. In 1917, he was appointed to command the 19th Army in Lorraine. He remained there until 8 November 1918, while to the north the German front crumbled. Bothmer retired from the army in November 1918. Bothmer’s last job in the army, again along with von Hemmer, was as an adviser for the Bavarian Ministry for Military Affairs from November to December 1918, mostly overseeing the demobilization of the soon-to-be-disbanded Bavarian Army.
Count Bothmer died in Munich on March 18, 1937 and, contrary to his family's wishes, Adolf Hitler's government ordered a state funeral. He was eulogized by Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria.
Family
Bothmer's father was an army general and belonged to the German nobility. Felix Graf von Bothmer married Auguste Baldinger on July 22, 1882. They had 2 daughters together.
Military ranks
- Leutnant: November 28, 1871
- Oberleutnant: November 23, 1882
- Hauptmann: October 31, 1888
- Major: September 22, 1893
- Oberstleutnant: March 17, 1897
- Oberst: July 21, 1900
- Generalmajor: May 18, 1903
- Generalleutnant: September 15, 1905
- General der Infanterie: May 4, 1910
- Generaloberst: April 9, 1918
Decorations and honors
![](../I/m/BASA-237K-1-361-2-General_Graf_von_Bothmer%2C_1915.jpg)
Bavaria
- Military Order of Max Joseph, Knight's Cross (1915), Commander's Cross (1915) and Grand Cross (1916)
- Military Merit Order, 1st Class, Swords to 1st Class and Grand Cross with Swords
- Service Decoration, 1st Class
- Ludwigsorden, Honor Cross
- Jubilee Medal
- Merit Order of St. Michael, 1st Class
Prussia
- Order of the Red Eagle, 1st Class
- Pour le Mérite with Oakleaves
- 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class
- 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class
- 1870-71 Commemorative Medal for Combatants
- Centenary Medal
- Order of the Crown
Other German states
- Anhalt: Friedrich Cross
- Bremen: Hanseatic Cross
- Brunswick: House Order of Henry the Lion, Grand Cross
- Hesse-Darmstadt: Order of Philip the Magnanimous, Grand Cross with Crown
- Hohenzollern: Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class with Swords
- Lübeck: Hanseatic Cross
- Saxony: Albert Order, Grand Cross and Star and Swords to Grand Cross
- Saxony: Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross and Commander's Cross
- Württemberg: Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross
Other countries
- Austria-Hungary: Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold, Grand Cross with War Decoration
- Austria-Hungary: Imperial Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, Knight 1st Class with War Decoration
- Austria-Hungary: Military Merit Cross, 1st Class with War Decoration
- Austria-Hungary: Large Military Merit Medal
- Austria-Hungary: Red Cross Decoration 1st Class with War Decoration
- Denmark: Order of the Dannebrog, Knight
- Japan: Order of the Sacred Treasure, Grand Officer's Cross
- Spain: Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit (Spain)
- Ottoman Empire: Imtiaz Medal in Gold with Swords
- Ottoman Empire: Liakat Medal in Gold with Swords
- Ottoman Empire: Turkish War Medal (so-called "Gallipoli Star")
- Ottoman Empire: Order of Medjidie, 1st Class with Swords
The orders above which were from Allied nations were awarded prior to World War I.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as Count, not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names.
- ↑ Decorations as of 1914 from the Bavarian War Ministry, Militär-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern, 1914. World War I decorations from award rolls, Erhard Roth, Verleihungen von militärischen Orden und Ehrenzeichen des Königreichs Bayern im Ersten Weltkrieg, 1997 (ISBN 3-932543-19-X), and Ferry W. von Péter, Verleihungen nichtbayerischer Orden und Ehrenzeichen an bayerischer Militärangehörige 1914-1918, 2001 (OCLC 163144588)
External links
- Felix Graf von Bothmer at Austrian Commanders
References
- Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, Friedrichfranz Feeser, "Das Bayernbuch vom Weltkriege 1914-1918", I. Band, Chr. Belser AG, Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1930
- Günter Wegner, Deutschlands Heere bis 1918, Band 10, Bayern, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1984
- Rudolf v. Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels, Der königlich bayerische Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden, Selbstverlag des k. b. Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens, München 1966
Military offices | ||
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Preceded by New Formation |
Commander, II Royal Bavarian Reserve Corps December 1914 – 7 July 1915 |
Succeeded by Upgraded to new South Army |
Preceded by General der Infanterie Alexander von Linsingen |
Commander, South Army 8 July 1915 – 25 January 1918 |
Succeeded by Dissolved |
Preceded by New Formation |
Commander, 19th Army 4 February 1918 – 8 November 1918 |
Succeeded by General der Infanterie Karl von Fasbender |