|
Martin Wilhelm
Remus von Woyrsch
(04.02.1847 - 06.08.1920)
place of birth: Pilsnitz, Niederschlesien (Wroclaw, Poland)
Königreich
Preußen: OBH,
Generalfeldmarschall
Imperial German Field Marshal and Dr.Phil. h.c., Remus
von Woyrsch entered military service in 1866 and saw action during the
wars of 1866 and 1870-71. He thereafter experienced a distinguished
career and left active duty in 1911. General von Woyrsch was recalled
from retirement as Germany mobilized in the summer of 1914, receiving
command the Landwehr Corps which deployed to the
Eastern Front. His
forces were attached to the Austro-Hungarian Army for a short time
before
becoming part of Army Detachment Woyrsch in
Silesia. Awarded the
Pour
le Merite in 1914 for successful operations conducted in Galicia.
He remained on the
Eastern Front in Poland until the war's end, commanding Army
Group Woyrsch
(1916-17). Von Woyrsch was later promoted to the rank of
Generalfeldmarschall, before once again retiring from active duty at
the age of 70.
Field Marshal von Woyrsch was a member of
an aristocratic family from southern Bohemia, born the son of Karl
Wilhelm von Woyrsch and the former Cäcilie von Websky. He grew up just
outside of modern-day Wroclaw, Poland and enlisted in the Potsdam
Guards in April 1866. Just eight weeks into his enlistment, the still
teenaged Remus found himself in the middle of the Austro-Prussian
War. As a Fähnrich in his Guard Regiment, young
Remus was credited with saving the life of the Prince Anton von
Hohenzollern who had been seriously wounded on the battle field at Königgrätz.
As Remus was tending to the Prince's wounds, both were captured by the
Austrians, the Prince having told von Woyrsch to not resist and thereby
avoiding any senseless bloodshed. The particular scene has been
captured in bronze relief at the Siegesäule in
Berlin.
During the soon to follow Franco-Prussian
War of 1870-71, Woyrsch himself was wounded at Saint
Privat, as was his compatriot, the future Army commander
Friedrich von Scholtz. For his efforts, he received the Iron Cross and
was put in charge of a company within the 1st Guards Regiment after the
war. During this time of peace, he notably instructed the future Kaiser
Prince Wilhelm in field operations. Woyrsch retired from the military
after having risen to corps level commander, but was reactivated prior
to mobilization. He was promoted to field marshal by the end of 1917,
largely due to his leadership in fighting the Russians during the Brussilov
Offensive of 1916. In addition to his Iron Cross, von Woyrsch
was also awarded the Pour le Merite with oak leaves
and the Schwarzer Adler-Orden (Order of the Black Eagle), Prussia's
highest honor.
After the cease of hostilities in November
1918, von Woyrsch retired to Schloß Pilsnitz in his Silesian homeland,
where he died on 6 August 1920 at the age of 73. He had been a member
of the Preussisches Herrenhaus (Prussian House of Lords) from 1908 to
1918. Field Marshal von Woyrsch was also married to the former Thekla
von Massow for 43 years. His nephew Udo von Woyrsch was an S.S. member
and Nazi Police Commander during World War Two.
|
