Martin Wilhelm Remus von Wojrsch ( German: Martin Wilhelm Remus von Woyrsch ; February 4, 1847 , Pilsnitz Castle near Breslau - August 6, 1920 , Pilsnitz Castle) - German military commander, Field Marshal .
| Martin Wilhelm Remus von Wojrsch | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date of Birth | February 4, 1847 | |||||
| Place of Birth |  Pilsnitz Castle near Breslau , Kingdom of Prussia | |||||
| Date of death | August 6, 1920 ( 73) | |||||
| Place of death |  ibid., Germany (Weimar Republic) | |||||
| Affiliation | Kingdom of Prussia , German Empire | |||||
| Type of army | infantry | |||||
| Years of service | 1866 - 1917 | |||||
| Rank | Field Marshal (1917) | |||||
| Commanded | Army Group Voirs, Army Group Voirs | |||||
| Battles / wars | Austro-Prussian War of 1866 Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 World War I | |||||
| Awards and prizes |
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| Retired | since 1917 | |||||
Content
Young years
Born in the family of a major Prussian government official, in the family castle Pilsnitz. Coming from an old (known since the beginning of the 16th century) South Bohemian aristocratic family. He graduated from a privileged gymnasium in Breslau . In April 1866 he was enlisted in Prussian military service in the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment in Potsdam with the rank of ensign .
First Wars
Eight weeks after Voirsch was accepted for service, the Austro-Prussian War began , and he and his regiment were at the front. In one of the battles, saving the seriously wounded General Prince Anton von Hohenzollern , he was surrounded by the Austrians and captured. In 1870 - 1871 he fought in the Franco-Prussian war , was wounded.
Officer and General Service
From 1873 - regimental adjutant in the same regiment, since 1876 - adjutant of the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade. In 1878 - 1879 he served in the General Staff . Since 1879 - company commander. In 1882 - 1889 he again served in the General Staff . Since 1889 - the battalion commander of the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment. Since 1892 - Chief of Staff of the VII Army Corps. Since 1894 - Chief of Staff of the Guards Corps. Since 1896 - commander of the Guards Fusilier Regiment.
In 1897 he was appointed commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade and promoted to major general . Since 1901 - commander of the 12th Infantry Division. In 1903 - 1910 - commander of the VI Army Corps in Breslau , general from infantry (1905). In 1911, he retired after 45 years of service.
World War I
When mobilized before the start of World War I, he was returned to service. On August 2, 1914 he was appointed commander of the Silesian landver corps (2 landver divisions, 72 guns). The Vojrs Corps occupied positions on the Eastern Front between the German and Austro-Hungarian forces. It was constantly used by the command to support the actions of the Austro-Hungarian troops . So, already in the course of the Battle of Galicia, the Voyrsch corps on August 22 aimed at strengthening the right flank of the 1st Austro-Hungarian army, and on August 28 (September 9) suffered a heavy defeat and was forced to retreat, having lost almost all the artillery of the 4th Landver Division and 5,000 people captured. However, the higher command appreciated the actions of Wojrsch in a difficult situation positively, he was awarded the order and promoted.
From November 3, 1914 to December 31, 1917, he commanded the Vojrsh army group deployed on the basis of the landver corps. In operational terms, the 1st (General V. Dankl ) and 2nd (General E. Böhm-Ermoli ) Austro-Hungarian armies obeyed him. He distinguished himself during the Gorlitsky breakthrough and subsequent offensive in Poland . In June-July 1916, the position of the Vojrs army group (three Austro-Hungarian and one German corps) accounted for the main blow of the Russian Western Front during the Baranavichy operation . The troops of Vojrs retained their positions and inflicted great damage to the enemy.
From August 29 to December 31, 1916 he was the Commander-in-Chief of the “Group of Armies of Wojrsch” in the central sector of the front, while retaining the post of commander of his army group. Throughout 1917 he continued to command the army group. When, after the actual cessation of hostilities on the Eastern Front, the Vojrs army group was disbanded, and a significant part of its troops was transferred to other fronts, Vojrs filed a resignation report and was dismissed on December 31, 1917 with the production of the rank of Field Marshal .
He returned to his family castle Pilsnitz, where he died.
During the Second World War , the nephew of Field Marshal Obergruppenführer SS and police general Udo von Wojrsch was one of the leaders of Nazi terror in Poland and the leader of the SS and police on the Elbe (headquarters - Dresden), twice convicted of war crimes after the war.
Rewards
- Iron Cross (Germany, 1871)
- Order of the Black Eagle (Germany)
- Order “Pour le Mérite” (10/25/1914) and oak leaves to it (7/23/1915)
- Military Order of St. Heinrich (Saxony)
Sources
- Zalessky K. A. Who was who in the First World War. - M .: AST ; Astrel, 2003 .-- S. 124-125.