Hermann von François
Encyclopedia
Hermann von François was a German
General der Infanterie
during World War I
, and is best known for his key role in several German victories on the Eastern Front
in 1914.
to a noble family of Huguenot
extraction, François was exposed to a military life from an early age. His father Bruno von François was a Prussia
n general and commander of the 27. (Preußische) Infanterie-Brigade. He was killed in action leading his men during the Battle of Spicheren
on 6 August 1870, only a few days before the Battle of Sedan
.
François, who had enrolled as an officer cadet, was by 1875 based in Potsdam
as Leutnant of the 1.Garde-Regiment zu Fuß. From 1884 - 87, he attended the Military Academy at Berlin
, and by 1889 had been promoted to Hauptmann
(Captain) and had joined the General Staff
.
By the early 1890s, François was posted to the XV.Armeekorps as a general staff officer based in Strasbourg
. After a brief stint as company commander in 151. Infanterie-Regiment of the 31.Division, François devoted all his energies to the General Staff. In 1894 he was promoted to major and transferred to the 8. Division in Mannheim
. By 1899, François was the Chief of Staff for the IV Corps
, commanded by General der Infanterie Paul von Hindenburg
and based in Magdeburg
.
In 1901, François's mother, Marie took the family to German South-West Africa
to follow her youngest son, Hugo von François who was a Hauptmann (Captain) in the Colonial Army. The family was based in the region during the Herero Wars, in which Hugo fought. François' other brother, Curt von François
, was a well known scientist and researcher specialising in Africa.
In 1908, François was promoted to Generalmajor and placed in command of the Hessischen-Brigade in Darmstadt
. François was promoted to Generalleutnant in 1911 and given command of the 13. Division for a brief period before his promotion to General der Infanterie and posting to command of I Corps
under the 8th Army
based in Königsberg
.
, where he was commander of the I Corps of the German Eighth Army. His task was to defend the easternmost regions of East Prussia against a Russian
attack directed at the key city of Königsberg
. The Eighth Army would be expected to hold out against significantly larger Russian forces until it could be reinforced by troops coming from the west after the expected quick defeat of France, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan
, which would guide German forces in the opening phase of a war in which Germany faced both France and Russia.
When war broke out in August 1914, François' corps faced the right wing of a two-pronged Russian invasion of East Prussia, led by Paul von Rennenkampf
's Russian First Army. On August 17, the overall German theater commander, General Maximilian von Prittwitz
, nervously eying the advance of the Russian left wing far to the south, ordered Von François to retreat while under heavy attack from Rennenkampf.
François, reluctant to surrender any of his beloved Prussia, and naturally pugnacious, also felt breaking off while engaged would be deadly, and so he ignored Prittwitz' order, responding with the famous reply "General von François will withdraw when he has defeated the Russians!" He counterattacked Rennenkampf's massive army, bringing on the Battle of Stalluponen
, and won a surprising victory while inflicting 5,000 casualties and taking 3,000 prisoners.
After winning the battle, François obeyed Prittwitz's order and withdrew 15 miles (24 km) to the west, where three days later he fought Rennenkampf to a draw at the Battle of Gumbinnen
. Von François' aggressiveness resulted in the cautious Rennenkampf halting his advance westward.
Following that battle and a change of overall commanders (Prittwitz was judged to have lost his nerve by the German High Command), François' corps was transferred by rail to the southwest, to confront the Russian Second Army advancing into southern East Prussia under the command of General Alexander Samsonov
. Although not trusted by the new German commanders Paul von Hindenburg
and Erich Ludendorff
due to his previous disobedience, François played the decisive role in the upcoming Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
. On August 27, François attacked the lead elements of Samsonov's army and began to make steady advances into their rear. Ludendorff, fearing a Russian counterattack by Rennenkampf, now ordered him to break off the advance. However, François twice ignored his direct orders and played a decisive role in the following encirclement and defeat of Samsonov's army.
When Hindenburg and Ludendorff went south to lead the 9th Army in Russian Poland, François remained with his corps in East Prussia and led it with much success in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes the following month. When General von Schubert, the new commander of the 8th Army, ordered him to retreat, he dispatched a telegram to the OHL
describing his success and stating "the Commander is badly counselled." The telegram impressed the Kaiser so much that he immediately relieved Schubert and, on 3 October, gave von François the command of the 8th Army. He did not hold it for long. When Hindenburg and Ludendorff prepared their counter-attack from Thorn in the direction of Łódź, François was reluctant to send the requested I Corps, sending badly trained and ill-equipped XXV Reserve Corps instead. That was too much for his superiors. In early November 1914 von François was removed and replaced by General Otto von Below
.
After some time spent "on the shelf", François received the command of the XLI Reserve Corps on 24 December 1914, and after a spell in the West, he returned to the Eastern Front in April 1915 where he took part in the Spring Offensive that conquered Russian Poland. He continued to distinguish himself. He won the Pour le Mérite
, Germany's highest military decoration, on 14 May 1915 for his performance in the breakthrough at Gorlice, and had the Oak Leaves attached to it in July 1917, for outstanding performance during the Battle of Verdun
. In July 1915 he was transferred back to the Western Front to take command of the Westphalian VII Corps in France, and in July 1916 Meuse Group West in the Verdun sector. However he never received any further promotion or serious commands under Ludendorff, and gave up his command in July 1918 and was placed on the standby list until October 1918 when he retired.
, including the best-seller (in Germany) Marneschlacht und Tannenberg in 1920.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
General der Infanterie
General of the Infantry (Germany)
General of the Infantry is a rank of general in the Imperial Army, Reichswehr or Wehrmacht - the second-highest regular rank. The same rank spread to the Imperial Russian Army and the Defence forces of Finland between the world wars...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and is best known for his key role in several German victories on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
in 1914.
Early life and military career
Born in LuxembourgLuxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
to a noble family of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
extraction, François was exposed to a military life from an early age. His father Bruno von François was a Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n general and commander of the 27. (Preußische) Infanterie-Brigade. He was killed in action leading his men during the Battle of 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 1870, only a few days before the Battle of Sedan
Battle of Sedan
The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870. It resulted in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and for all intents and purposes decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, though fighting continued under a new French...
.
François, who had enrolled as an officer cadet, was by 1875 based in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
as Leutnant of the 1.Garde-Regiment zu Fuß. From 1884 - 87, he attended the Military Academy at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and by 1889 had been promoted to Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
(Captain) and had joined the 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....
.
By the early 1890s, François was posted to the XV.Armeekorps as a general staff officer based in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. After a brief stint as company commander in 151. Infanterie-Regiment of the 31.Division, François devoted all his energies to the General Staff. In 1894 he was promoted to major and transferred to the 8. Division in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
. By 1899, François was the Chief of Staff for the IV Corps
IV Corps (German Empire)
The IV Army Corps was a formation of the Imperial German Army. It was established on October 3, 1815 as the General Command in the Duchy of Saxony and became the IV Army Corps on August 30, 1818...
, commanded by General der Infanterie Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
and based in Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
.
In 1901, François's mother, Marie took the family to German South-West Africa
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
to follow her youngest son, Hugo von François who was a Hauptmann (Captain) in the Colonial Army. The family was based in the region during the Herero Wars, in which Hugo fought. François' other brother, Curt von François
Curt von Francois
Curt Karl Bruno von François was a military and political figure in the early days of German colonialism in Africa. He is remembered as one of the pioneers of German Southwest Africa ....
, was a well known scientist and researcher specialising in Africa.
In 1908, François was promoted to Generalmajor and placed in command of the Hessischen-Brigade in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
. François was promoted to Generalleutnant in 1911 and given command of the 13. Division for a brief period before his promotion to General der Infanterie and posting to command of I Corps
I Corps (German Empire)
The I Corps was a formation of the Imperial German Army. The headquarters of the corps were located in Königsberg. At the beginning of World War I, the corps was attached to the 8th Army and transferred to the Eastern Front....
under the 8th Army
German Eighth Army
The 8th Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-World War I:At the outbreak of World War I, the 8. Armee was stationed in East Prussia to defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. After the scrappy Battle of Gumbinnen, 8. Armee commander Generaloberst Maximilian von...
based in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
.
World War I
François began the war stationed in the province of East PrussiaProvince of East Prussia
The Province of East Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773–1829 and 1878-1945. Composed of the historical region East Prussia, the province's capital was Königsberg ....
, where he was commander of the I Corps of the German Eighth Army. His task was to defend the easternmost regions of East Prussia against a Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
attack directed at the key city of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
. The Eighth Army would be expected to hold out against significantly larger Russian forces until it could be reinforced by troops coming from the west after the expected quick defeat of France, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan
Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff's early 20th century overall strategic plan for victory in a possible future war in which the German Empire might find itself fighting on two fronts: France to the west and Russia to the east...
, which would guide German forces in the opening phase of a war in which Germany faced both France and Russia.
When war broke out in August 1914, François' corps faced the right wing of a two-pronged Russian invasion of East Prussia, led by Paul von Rennenkampf
Paul von Rennenkampf
Paul von Rennenkampf was a Russian general who served in the Imperial Russian Army for over 40 years, including during World War I.-Early career:...
's Russian First Army. On August 17, the overall German theater commander, General Maximilian von Prittwitz
Maximilian von Prittwitz
Maximillion Von Prittwitz was a German General.-Family:Prittwitz came from an extremely old aristocratic Silesian family in Bernstadt...
, nervously eying the advance of the Russian left wing far to the south, ordered Von François to retreat while under heavy attack from Rennenkampf.
François, reluctant to surrender any of his beloved Prussia, and naturally pugnacious, also felt breaking off while engaged would be deadly, and so he ignored Prittwitz' order, responding with the famous reply "General von François will withdraw when he has defeated the Russians!" He counterattacked Rennenkampf's massive army, bringing on the Battle of Stalluponen
Battle of Stalluponen
The Battle of Stallupönen, fought between Russian and German armies on August 17, 1914, was the opening battle of World War I on the Eastern Front...
, and won a surprising victory while inflicting 5,000 casualties and taking 3,000 prisoners.
After winning the battle, François obeyed Prittwitz's order and withdrew 15 miles (24 km) to the west, where three days later he fought Rennenkampf to a draw at the Battle of Gumbinnen
Battle of Gumbinnen
The Battle of Gumbinnen, initiated by forces of the German Empire on August 20, 1914, was the first major German offensive on the Eastern Front during the First World War...
. Von François' aggressiveness resulted in the cautious Rennenkampf halting his advance westward.
Following that battle and a change of overall commanders (Prittwitz was judged to have lost his nerve by the German High Command), François' corps was transferred by rail to the southwest, to confront the Russian Second Army advancing into southern East Prussia under the command of General Alexander Samsonov
Alexander Samsonov
Aleksandr Vassilievich Samsonov was a career officer in the cavalry of the Imperial Russian Army and a general served during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.-Biography:...
. Although not trusted by the new German commanders Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
and Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
due to his previous disobedience, François played the decisive role in the upcoming Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
The Battle of Tannenberg was an engagement between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in the first days of World War I. It was fought by the Russian First and Second Armies against the German Eighth Army between 23 August and 30 August 1914. The battle resulted in the almost complete...
. On August 27, François attacked the lead elements of Samsonov's army and began to make steady advances into their rear. Ludendorff, fearing a Russian counterattack by Rennenkampf, now ordered him to break off the advance. However, François twice ignored his direct orders and played a decisive role in the following encirclement and defeat of Samsonov's army.
When Hindenburg and Ludendorff went south to lead the 9th Army in Russian Poland, François remained with his corps in East Prussia and led it with much success in the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes the following month. When General von Schubert, the new commander of the 8th Army, ordered him to retreat, he dispatched a telegram to the OHL
Oberste Heeresleitung
The Oberste Heeresleitung or OHL was Germany's highest echelon of command of the German Army in World War I, while the Navy was led by the Seekriegsleitung or SKL ....
describing his success and stating "the Commander is badly counselled." The telegram impressed the Kaiser so much that he immediately relieved Schubert and, on 3 October, gave von François the command of the 8th Army. He did not hold it for long. When Hindenburg and Ludendorff prepared their counter-attack from Thorn in the direction of Łódź, François was reluctant to send the requested I Corps, sending badly trained and ill-equipped XXV Reserve Corps instead. That was too much for his superiors. In early November 1914 von François was removed and replaced by General Otto von Below
Otto von Below
Otto von Below was a Prussian general. He was born at and died at Danzig .Before World War I, Otto von Below became major-general in 1909 and lieutenant-general in 1912. On August 1, 1914 he took command of the I. Reserve Corps, which on the outbreak of the war was to be assigned to the Eight Army...
.
After some time spent "on the shelf", François received the command of the XLI Reserve Corps on 24 December 1914, and after a spell in the West, he returned to the Eastern Front in April 1915 where he took part in the Spring Offensive that conquered Russian Poland. He continued to distinguish himself. He won the Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, Germany's highest military decoration, on 14 May 1915 for his performance in the breakthrough at Gorlice, and had the Oak Leaves attached to it in July 1917, for outstanding performance during the Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
. In July 1915 he was transferred back to the Western Front to take command of the Westphalian VII Corps in France, and in July 1916 Meuse Group West in the Verdun sector. However he never received any further promotion or serious commands under Ludendorff, and gave up his command in July 1918 and was placed on the standby list until October 1918 when he retired.
Post-war
After the war ended, François returned home and wrote several books on military historyMilitary history
Military history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
, including the best-seller (in Germany) Marneschlacht und Tannenberg in 1920.