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Karl Leo Julius Fürst
von Wedel
(05.02.1842 - 30.12.1919)
place of birth: Oldenburg,
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)
Königreich
Preußen: Botschafter,
Generaladjutant
SM, General der Kavallerie
Royal
Prussian diplomat and general of cavalry who represented
Prussian abroad as military attaché or ambassador. Prince (Fürst) von
Wedel entered the military as a lieutenant in 1860, serving during as
adjutant in the Hessian Cavalry Brigade during the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. As a major in the Great
General Staff, he was the German Empire's military representative
during the negotiations to draw up the border between Bulgaria and
Rumelia. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877 to
1878 he functioned as military observer within Russian Headquarters.
Prince
von Wedel's diplomatic career was launched shortly thereafter
when he was dispatched to the Prussian Embassy in Vienna as military
attaché. Upon returning to Berlin, he entered service in Kaiser Wilhelm
I's court as an aide-de-camp, a career line which would parallel his
diplomatic service until his death in 1919. After commanding a regiment
and brigade in Berlin, von Wedel was promoted in 1889 to Generalmajor
and was called to duty as an adjutant within newly crowned Kaiser
Wilhelm II's military entourage. During this period, he served in the
Prussian Foreign Office and was also kept busy in royal courts
throughout Europe.
Over
the next few years and leading up to the War, von Wedel served in
diplomatic posts in Sweden, Italy, and Austria. During his seven-year
tenure as Reichs-Statthalter (imperial governor) in
Alsace-Lorraine, he was caught up in political unrest there during the
"Saverne Affair". Upon returning to Berlin in April of 1914, he
re-entered full-time service as Adjutant-General in Kaiser Wilhelm's
military retinue, a posting he maintained throughout the Great
War.
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