Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen
(24.11.1862 - 21.02.1953)
place of birth: Laufen, Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria)
Königreich
Bayern: Generalstabschef,
KG, General der Artillerie
Bavarian General der Artillerie
who was Crown Prince Rupprecht's Chief of Staff (Sixth Army) out War's
outbreak, and is known as the founding father of the Alpenkorps - the
Bavarian Army's mountain troops. Young Konrad grew up in Upper Bavaria
as the son of a royal notary. His mother was the former Anna Winkler.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Bavarian Army in
December 1883, later attending the Bavarian War Academy. During the two
years leading up to World War One, Krafft served as the Bavarian Army's
Chief of General Staff. For his noteworthy actions in the field, 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 24.08.1916 and later received both the
Kommandeur and Grosskreuz class of the MMJO order.
When war broke out, Generalmajor Krafft von
Dellmensingen was Crown Prince Rupprecht's Chief of Staff in the Sixth
Army, largely comprised of Bavarian soldiers. With the Sixth, he
oversaw operations during the Battle of the Frontiers and
participated in the so-called Race to the Sea. As
an expert on mountain warfare, he was sent to Tyrolia in May 1915 to
command the Alpenkorps, an elite mountain unit
which saw action in the Italian Front, at Verdun, as well as operations
in Serbia and Romania. For his efforts, Krafft was awarded the Pour
le Merite. In 1917, appointed Chief of Staff for Army
Group Albrecht and then Chief of Staff for Otto von Below's
Fourteenth Army, where he planned much of the successful Caporetto
Offensive.
Krafft von Dellmensingen remained as Below's Chief of Staff in the
Seventeenth Army where he was involved Germany's Spring
Offensive. In 1918, Krafft was given command of the II.
Bavarian Army Corps and remained on the Western Front until the war's
end. Although Krafft is registered as a
Generalleutnant in the April 1918 edition of the Bavarian Seniority List, he was
promoted to General der Artillerie that same month.
After retirement from the military in December
1918, Krafft von Dellmensingen became an active advocate for the return
of the Bavarian monarchy. He also participated in the 1920s in the
preparation of the official history of the Bavarian Army in the war. In
1937, a barracks complex in Garmisch was named the Krafft-von-Dellmensingen-Kaserne.
In 1945, the Kaserne was taken over by the United States Army and today
houses part of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security
Studies. Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, who with his spouse Helene
Zöhrer had three children, died on 21 February 1953 in Seeshaupt, Upper
Bavaria.
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Generalstabschef |
01.10.1912
- 01.08.1914 |
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General
der Artillerie |
18.04.1918 |
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Pour
le Mérite |
07.09.1916
(Eichenlaub: 11.12.1916) |
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Militär-Max-Joseph |
20.08.1914
Ritter (24.08.1916: Kommandeur; 24.10.1917: Großkreuz) |
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Württemberg
MVO |
11.09.1917 Komtur |
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