August Karl von Goeben
Encyclopedia
August Karl von Göben (10 December 1816 – 1880) was a Prussian
infantry
general
. He was awarded the Iron Cross
for his service in the Franco-Prussian War
.
30 km west of Hamburg
in the Kingdom of Hannover
, he aspired from his earliest years to the Prussian service rather than that of his own country, and at the age of seventeen, obtained a commission in the 24th Regiment of Prussian infantry. But there was little scope for the activities of a young and energetic subaltern, and, leaving the service in 1836, enlisted in the Carlist army
fighting the First Carlist War
in Spain
.
In the five campaigns in which he served Don Carlos
, he had many turns of fortune. He had not fought for two months when he fell, severely wounded, into the hands of the Spanish royalist
troops. After eight months detention, he escaped, but it was not long before he was captured again. This time his imprisonment was long and painful, and on two occasions, he was compelled to draw lots for his life with his fellow captives.
When released, he served until 1840 with distinction. In that year, he made his way back, a man without means, to Prussia. The Carlist lieutenant colonel
was glad to be re-admitted into the Prussian service as a second lieutenant
, but he was still young, and few subalterns could claim five years meritorious war service at the age of twenty four. In a few years, he was a captain on the Great General Staff
, and in 1848, he had the good fortune to be transferred to the staff of the IV Army Corps, his immediate superior being Major Helmuth Graf von Moltke.
The two men became fast friends, and their mutual esteem was never disturbed. In the Baden
insurrection, Göben distinguished himself on the staff of Prince William
, the future emperor. Staff and regimental duty (as usual in the Prussian service) alternated for some years after this, until in 1863, he became major-general commanding the 26th Infantry Brigade.
In 1860, he was present with the Spanish troops in Morocco
, and took part in the Battle of Tetuan.
, Lieutenant-General von Goeben commanded the 13th Division
, of which his old brigade formed part, and, in this higher sphere, once more displayed the qualities of a born leader and skilful tactician. He held almost independent command with conspicuous success in the actions of Dermbach
(in Wartburgkreis
), Laufach
(in Aschaffenburg
), Kissingen, Aschaffenburg
, Gerchsheim
, Tauberbischofsheim
and Würzburg
.
The mobilization of 1870 at the start of the Franco-Prussian War
placed him at the head of the VIII (Rhineland
) Army Corps, forming part of the First Army under von Steinmetz
. It was his resolute and energetic leading that contributed mainly to the victory at the Spicheren
on 6 August, and von Goeben won the only laurels gained on the Prussian right wing at Gravelotte
on 18 August. Under Manteuffel
, the VIII Corps took part in the operations about Amiens
and Bapaume
, and on 8 January 1871, Goeben succeeded that general in the command of the First Army.
A fortnight later, he brought the campaign in northern France
to a brilliant conclusion, by the decisive victory at the Battle of St. Quentin
(19 January 1871). The close of the Franco-Prussian War left Goeben one of the most distinguished men in the victorious army. He was colonel of the 28th Infantry, and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
. He commanded the VIII Corps at Coblenz until his death in 1880.
at Metz
was renamed Goeben after him, and the 28th Infantry bears his name. A statue of Goeben by Schaper was erected at Coblenz in 1884. The , a Moltke class
battlecruiser
of the Kaiserliche Marine
(German Navy) launched in 1911, was also named after him.
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
. He was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
for his service in the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
.
Early career
Born at StadeStade
Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
30 km west of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in the Kingdom of Hannover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
, he aspired from his earliest years to the Prussian service rather than that of his own country, and at the age of seventeen, obtained a commission in the 24th Regiment of Prussian infantry. But there was little scope for the activities of a young and energetic subaltern, and, leaving the service in 1836, enlisted in the Carlist army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
fighting the First Carlist War
First Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
In the five campaigns in which he served Don Carlos
Infante Carlos, Count of Molina
The Infante Carlos of Spain was the second surviving son of King Charles IV of Spain and of his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma. As Carlos V he was the first of the Carlist claimants to the throne of Spain...
, he had many turns of fortune. He had not fought for two months when he fell, severely wounded, into the hands of the Spanish royalist
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
troops. After eight months detention, he escaped, but it was not long before he was captured again. This time his imprisonment was long and painful, and on two occasions, he was compelled to draw lots for his life with his fellow captives.
When released, he served until 1840 with distinction. In that year, he made his way back, a man without means, to Prussia. The Carlist lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
was glad to be re-admitted into the Prussian service as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
, but he was still young, and few subalterns could claim five years meritorious war service at the age of twenty four. In a few years, he was a captain on the Great General Staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
, and in 1848, he had the good fortune to be transferred to the staff of the IV Army Corps, his immediate superior being Major Helmuth Graf von Moltke.
The two men became fast friends, and their mutual esteem was never disturbed. In the Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
insurrection, Göben distinguished himself on the staff of Prince William
William I, German Emperor
William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...
, the future emperor. Staff and regimental duty (as usual in the Prussian service) alternated for some years after this, until in 1863, he became major-general commanding the 26th Infantry Brigade.
In 1860, he was present with the Spanish troops in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and took part in the Battle of Tetuan.
Military Commands
In the first of Prussia's great wars, the 1864 Danish-Prussian War, he distinguished himself at the head of his brigade at Rackebull and Sonderburg. In the 1866 Austro-Prussian WarAustro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
, Lieutenant-General von Goeben commanded the 13th Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, of which his old brigade formed part, and, in this higher sphere, once more displayed the qualities of a born leader and skilful tactician. He held almost independent command with conspicuous success in the actions of Dermbach
Dermbach
Dermbach is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....
(in Wartburgkreis
Wartburgkreis
Wartburgkreis is a Kreis in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Unstrut-Hainich, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Werra-Meißner in Hesse...
), Laufach
Laufach
Laufach is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Location:...
(in Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg (district)
Aschaffenburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach, Main-Kinzig , the districts Main-Spessart and Miltenberg, and the town of Aschaffenburg....
), Kissingen, Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
, Gerchsheim
Großrinderfeld
Großrinderfeld is a village in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located between Tauberbischofsheim and Würzburg....
, Tauberbischofsheim
Tauberbischofsheim
Tauberbischofsheim is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,000. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber district....
and Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
.
The mobilization of 1870 at the start of the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
placed him at the head of the VIII (Rhineland
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
) Army Corps, forming part of the First Army under von Steinmetz
Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz
Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz was a German Generalfeldmarschall, born at Eisenach.-Early life and Napoleonic Wars:...
. It was his resolute and energetic leading that contributed mainly to the victory at the Spicheren
Battle of Spicheren
The Battle of Spicheren, also known as the Battle of Forbach, was a battle during the Franco-Prussian War. The German victory compelled the French to withdraw to the defenses of Metz.- History :...
on 6 August, and von Goeben won the only laurels gained on the Prussian right wing at Gravelotte
Battle of Gravelotte
The Battle of Gravelotte was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine between Metz and the former French–German frontier.-Terrain and armies:...
on 18 August. Under Manteuffel
Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel
Edwin Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German Generalfeldmarschall noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War....
, the VIII Corps took part in the operations about Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
and Bapaume
Bapaume
Bapaume is a commune and the seat of a canton in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming and light industrial town located 10 miles south of Arras at the junction of the A1 autoroute and the N17 and N30 national roads its location is...
, and on 8 January 1871, Goeben succeeded that general in the command of the First Army.
A fortnight later, he brought the campaign in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to a brilliant conclusion, by the decisive victory at the Battle of St. Quentin
Battle of St. Quentin (1871)
The Battle of St. Quentin was a battle of the Franco-Prussian War in which Prussian forces defeated French attempts to relieve the besieged city of Paris....
(19 January 1871). The close of the Franco-Prussian War left Goeben one of the most distinguished men in the victorious army. He was colonel of the 28th Infantry, and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
Grand Cross of the Iron Cross
The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the highest class of the Iron Cross. Along with the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Grand Cross was founded on March 10, 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars. It was...
. He commanded the VIII Corps at Coblenz until his death in 1880.
Writings
General von Goeben left many writings. His memoirs are to be found in his works Vier Jahre in Spanien (Hanover, 1841), Reise-und Lagerbriefe aus Spanien und vom spanischen Heere in Marokko (Hanover, 1863) and in the Darmstadt Allgemeine Militärzeitung.Influence
The former French fort de QueuleuFort de Queuleu
The Fort de Queuleu is a fortification to the southeast of Metz, near Queuleu, France. Construction began while part of Lorraine was under French rule in 1868. After the interruption of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the fort was improved between 1872 and 1875 by the German Empire , which had...
at Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
was renamed Goeben after him, and the 28th Infantry bears his name. A statue of Goeben by Schaper was erected at Coblenz in 1884. The , a Moltke class
Moltke class battlecruiser
The Moltke class was a class of two "all-big-gun" battlecruisersThe German navy classified the ships as Großen Kreuzer . These ships differed from older Großen Kreuzer, such as the Roon class, in that they carried a uniform main battery, instead of four large guns and a mixed array of smaller weapons...
battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
of the Kaiserliche Marine
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
(German Navy) launched in 1911, was also named after him.