Manfred
Karl Ernst Freiherr von Richthofen
(24.05.1855 - 28.11.1939)
place of birth: Gut Barzdorf, Schlesien (Bartoszcówek, Poland)
Königreich
Preußen: KG,
Stellv KG, General der Kavallerie
Prussian cavalry officer Manfred
von Richthofen commanded a cavalry corps and reserve corps during the First
World War. Prior to the hostilities, Baron von Richthofen
simultaneously served as head of the prestigious Regiment der
Gardes du Corps and aide-de-camp in Kaiser Wilhelm II's
imperial entourage. Prussian Chief of General Staff Karl von Grolman
was Freiherr von Richthofen's grandfather. In turn,
Richthofen was the adoptive father and uncle of Second World War
Luftwaffe Commander, Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen. He was also
the great uncle of his more famous namesake and world renowned fighter
pilot, the Red Baron.
On Germany's day of mobilization,
Generalleutnant von Richthofen was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Corps
(HKK1) which initially fought in support of Exzellenz von Hausen's
Third Army as they advanced through Belgium and on southward toward the
River Marne. In
November 1914, Richthofen's HKK1 was transferred to the Eastern
Front. There his troops played a key role during the Battle
of Lodz as von Scheffer-Boyadel's encircled XXV. Reserve
Corps was able to punch through the Russian First and Second Armies and
secure a costly victory for the German Ninth Army.
As the War
progressed, von Richthofen also had charge of the XXV. Reserve Corps
and later Generalkommando Nr. 53. At War's end, Baron von
Richthofen surrendered the Berlin Palace without defending it,
preferring rather to preserve the edifice and artwork therein. General
von Richthofen died in November 1939 at his Barzdorf estate near
present-day Targoszyn, Poland.
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General
der Kavallerie |
16.09.1917 |
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Pour
le Mérite |
18.01.1918 |
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