Manfred von Richthofen (general)

Manfred von Richthofen
von Richthofen coat of arms
Born	24 May 1855 Gut Barzdorf, Silesia (now Bartoszówek, Poland)
Died	28 November 1939 (aged 84) Bersdorf, Silesia (near Targoszyn, Poland)
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1874–1918
Rank	General der Kavallerie
Commands held	Guards Cavalry Division 6th Infantry Division I Cavalry Corps XXXVIII Reserve Corps XXV Reserve Corps 53rd Corps Deputy commander of Guards Corps
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of the Frontiers First Battle of the Marne Battle of Łódź
Awards	Pour le Mérite Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John
Relations	Karl von Grolman (grandfather) Manfred von Richthofen (great nephew) Wolfram von Richthofen (nephew and adoptive son) see Richthofen for more

Karl Ernst Manfred Freiherr^{[lower-alpha 1]} von Richthofen (24 May 1855 – 28 November 1939) was a German General der Kavallerie (General of the Cavalry) during World War I and recipient of the order Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max.

Early life

Manfred von Richthofen was born on 24 May 1855 in Gut Barzdorf, Silesia (now Bartoszówek, Poland).^[1] He entered the Imperial German Army in 1874 as an Ensign in the 4th (Westphalian) Cuirassier Regiment. By April 1902 he had risen to Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the Gardes du Corps Cavalry Regiment, personal bodyguard of the German Emperor Wilhelm II; and was assigned as his aide-de-camp in the following year.

In 1906 he was promoted to Oberst (Colonel), and in March 1908 took command of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Brigade in Potsdam.^[2] In 1910, he was promoted to Generalmajor (Brigadier-General), and in February 1913 he took command of the Guards Cavalry Division with a promotion to Generalleutnant (Major-General). In February 1914 he moved on to command the 6th Infantry Division at Brandenburg.

World War I

At the beginning of World War I, Richthofen became commander of I Cavalry Corps (composed of 5th Cavalry and Guards Cavalry Divisions) preceding 3rd Army.^[3] These formed part of the right wing of the forces for the Schlieffen Plan offensive in August 1914 on the Western Front and took part in the Battle of the Frontiers and the First Battle of the Marne.^[4]

The Corps was transferred to the Eastern Front on 6 November 1914^[5] and joined the newly formed 9th Army. Richthofen and his corps played an important role in the Battle of Łódź, where his corps took part in breaking out the encircled XXV Reserve Corps.

In September 1916, Richthofen became commander of XXXVIII Reserve Corps until November when he became commander of the XXV Reserve Corps. In March 1917, Richthofen was given command of 53rd Corps (z.b.V.) until January 1918,^[6] when he became Kommandierender General (Deputy commander) of the Guards Corps^[7] in Berlin, his highest rank. He surrendered the Berliner Stadtschloss without a fight in order to keep intact the building and the works of art contained in it.^[8]

On 18 January 1918, Richthofen was awarded the Order Pour le Mérite,^[6] known informally as the Blue Max.^[9]

Later life

On 10 November 1918, Richthofen handed in his resignation, which was accepted. He died on 28 November 1939^[10] on his Barzdorf estate in Silesia, aged 84. Richthofen was a great uncle of his more famous namesake Manfred von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron, who was his godson and named after him.^[11][12] As he had no children and he wished to keep his estate in the family, he legally adopted his nephew Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, later a Generalfeldmarschall of the Luftwaffe in the Second World War.^[13]

Awards

• Order of the Red Eagle, II Class with Oak Leaves^[14]
• Order of the Crown (Prussia), II Class with Star^[14]
• Order of Saint John, Knight of Justice^[14]
• Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz (Prussian Service Award)^[14]
• Reußisches Ehrenkreuz, I Class with Crown^[14]
• Waldecksches Militär-Verdienstkreuz, III Class^[14]
• Waldecksches Verdienstkreuz, I Class^[14]
• Knight's Cross of the Order of the Crown (Württemberg) with Lions^[14]
• Commander of the Order of St Alexander (Bulgaria)^[14]
• Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy^[14]
• Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph (Austria-Hungary)^[14]
• Commander of the Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persia)^[14]
• Order of St. Anna I Class (Russia)^[14]
• Military Merit Order III class (Spain)^[14]
• Iron Cross (1914) II and I Class
• Pour le Mérite awarded 18 January 1918

See also

• German Army (German Empire)
• German Army order of battle (1914)
• German cavalry in World War I

Notes

1. Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as Baron), which is now legally a part of the last name. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

1. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (in German) 7. Deutsches Adelsarchiv; Ausschuss für Adelsrechtliche Fragen der Deutschen Adelsverbände; Deutscher Adelsrechtsausschuß / C.A. Starke, Glücksburg am Ostsee. 1953. p. 321. ISSN 0435-2408. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
2. "Veränderungen in der Ordensliste 49" (in German). Johanniter-Ordensblatt: amtliche Monatschrift der Balley Brandenburg. 1908. p. 32. OCLC 237228674. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
3. Cron 2002, p. 299.
4. Ellis & Cox 1993, p. 176
5. Cron 2002, p. 94.
6. "German War History". Retrieved 15 June 2012.
7. Cron 2002, p. 262, As the peacetime Corps Commanders were mobilised in August 1914, they left behind a Deputy. The Deputy Corps Commanders were responsible for keeping the peace in their area, maintain order and morale, and in procuring, training and despatching recruits to the field army. Not to be confused with a Reserve Corps Commander.
8. Viser, Jonathan. "Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen". The Prussian Machine. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
9. American History. 2003. p. 9. ISSN 1076-8866. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
10. Günter Wegner (1992). Stellenbesetzung der Deutschen Heere 1815–1939 / Die Stellenbesetzung der aktiven Infanterie-Regimenter sowie Jäger- und MG-Bataillone, Wehrbezirkskommandos und Ausbildungsleiter von der Stiftung bzw. Aufstellung bis 1939 (in German) 2. Formationsgeschichte und Stellenbesetzung der deutschen Streitkräfte, Biblio, Osnabrück. p. 38. ISBN 9783764817824. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
11. Peter Kilduff (2007). Red Baron: The Life and Death of an Ace (in German). David & Charles, Newton Abbot. p. 23. ISBN 9783764817824. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
12. Manfred von Richthofen (1917, repr. Outlook/Books on Demand, 2011). Der rote Kampfflieger (in German). Ullstein. p. 3. ISBN 9783864030222. Retrieved 25 June 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. Corum, James (2008). Wolfram von Richthofen: Master of the German Air War (in German). University Press of Kansas, Lawrence. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-7006-1598-8. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
14. Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914 (in German). Preußisches Kriegsministerium, Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, Berlin. 1914. p. 61. Retrieved 25 June 2012.

Bibliography

• Cron, Hermann (2002). Imperial German Army 1914–18: Organisation, Structure, Orders-of-Battle [first published: 1937]. Helion & Co. ISBN 978-1-874622-70-3.
• Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (1993). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
• Möller, Hanns (1935). Geschichte der Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite im Weltkrieg (in German) II. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin. pp. 193–194.
• Hildebrand, Karl-Friedrich; Zweng, Christian (2002). Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs (in German). 3: P–Z. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf. pp. 119–120. ISBN 3-7648-2586-3.

External links

• Literature by and about Manfred von Richthofen (general) in the German National Library catalogue
• Manfred von Richthofen / Lt. General, Commander of the 6 Division at Brandenburg. pourlemerite.org
• Prätorius von Richthofen roskildehistorie.dk (Danish)