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Wolf
Rudolf Freiherr Marschall von Altengottern
(26.09.1855 - 20.11.1930)
place of birth: Lyck, Ostpreußen (Elk, Poland)
Königreich
Preußen: KG,
Generaladjutant
SM, General der Kavallerie
German baron and cavalry officer Wolf
Marschall functioned during the Great War as one of Kaiser Wilhelm II's
adjutant generals. He additionally commanded Austrian troops in the
Carpathian Mountains, as well as the Guards Reserve Corps on the
Western Front. Freiherr Marschall was also a member of Prussian House
of Lords from 1908 to 1918.
At mobilization in August 1914,
Generalleutnant z.D. Freiherr von Marschall was initially detached to
the Kaiser's Great Headquarters in his function as General à la suite.
At Christmas that same year, he was sent to the Eastern theater to
replace General Litzmann as commander of 3rd Guard Division. His troops
fought alongside their Austrian counterparts in the Carpathians, and in
1915 were resubordinated as part of Germany's Sudarmee.
In February 1915, the General was selected to command the
newly-established Korps Marschall, formed from various Austrian
infantry divisions and fighting in the Bukovina
region in support of Armeegruppe Pflanzer-Baltin.
Following a few months of positional skirmishing along the River
Dniestr, Korps Marschall moved across the
River Pruth where they were engaged along the
Gnila-Lipa. His corps reformed in July 1915
and successfully broke through the Zlota-Lipa line
to pursue their Russian enemy to the Tarnapol area.
On his birthday in January 1916, Kaiser
Wilhelm II selected General Marschall as one of his adjutant generals.
In April, he was transferred to the Western Front to replace General
von Gallwitz as commander of the Guards Reserve Corps. Over the next
few months, his soldiers were engaged in the Artois
region in support of Sixth Army, and during the Battle of the
Somme in support of Second Army and later the First
Army. His outstanding leadership during this time frame
earned General Freiherr Marschall the coveted Pour le Merite
honor. In the Spring months of 1917, the Guards reservists joined with
Sixth Army forces in heavy fighting versus English troops in the Arras
region. That summer, the reservists additionally supported Germany's
Fourth Army in defensive actions in Flanders.
In April 1918, Marschall's Garde-Reserve-Korps
aggressively pushed forward as part of Imperial Germany's Great Spring
Offensive. General Marschall and his men successfully defeated the
British during the Battle of Armentières along
France's northern border with Belgium. General Freiherr Marschall was
again recognized for his military achievements during this time by
adding the Oak leaves to his PLM. Towards the end of the War, Marschall
was charged with leading troops subordinate to Fourth Army as they
fought an orderly retreat out of Flanders and along to
Antwerp-Meuse line. After the Armistice was signed, General
Freiherr Marschall was tasked with leading Fourth Army forces back to
the German homeland for demobilization. He soon thereafter retired from
the German Armed Forces, having served with distinction for over 43
years.
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