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Friedrich
Siegmund Georg Freiherr Kreß
von Kressenstein
(24.04.1870 - 06.04.1948)
place of birth: Nürnberg, Mittelfranken (Bavaria)
Königreich
Bayern: AOK-Stabschef,
Oberst (Art)
Royal Bavarian colonel Friedrich
Kreß von
Kressenstein spent most of the Great War as a
German officer in Liman von Sanders military mission to Turkey. He
headed the German military mission in Turkey with Fourth Army when
Turkey declared war on Britain (1914). Von Kressenstein was tasked by
Enver Pasha in January 1915 to advance across the Sinai and capture the
Suez Canal (First Suez Offensive). The British
were aware of their approach and so the Turkish forces were easily
repulsed after two days of fighting. More than a year later, the Turks
once again unsuccessfully assaulted a well-defended British
fortification during the Battle of Romani. For his bravery and
meritorious leadership in battle, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross) of
Bavaria's highest military order - the Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden. He
was officially presented with the decoration on 01.09.1917 and later received the Kommandeur
class of the MMJO order.
Oberst Kress
von Kressenstein was in charge of the Ottoman defenses along with an
Ottoman General Tala Bey. In the First Battle of Gaza
(March 1917), the British were defeated due in large part to their own
errors. In the Second Battle of Gaza of April 1917,
the British were defeated again, with credit mainly going to von
Kressenstein. After former Chief of the German General Staff Erich
von Falkenhayn arrived on the scene, Kreß von Kressenstein remained in command
of Eighth Army's coastal defenses until being transferred to the
Caucasus in May 1918. While there, he led the German-Turkish column
occupying Tbilisi and took part in defending Abkhazia from an invasion
by the Red Army. He was also awarded Prussia's highest order, the Pour
le Merite in September 1917. After the war, he had various
commands in the German Reichswehr and retired in
1929 as General of Artillery. Kreß
von Kressenstein died in Munich in 1948.
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Oberst |
14.12.1917 |
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Pour
le Mérite |
04.09.1917 |
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Militär-Max-Joseph |
23.04.1916
Ritter (19.04.1917: Kommandeur) |
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