Fritz von Lossberg
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Friedrich Karl "Fritz" von Lossberg (30 April 1868 – 4 May 1942) was a German colonel, and later general, of World War I. He was a strategic planner, especially of defence, who was Chief of Staff for the Second, Third and Fourth Armies. He was present at the battles of the Somme, Arras, and Verdun
Lossberg was born in Bad Homburg in Hesse-Nassau. Erich Ludendorff refers to him as Loszberg in his memoires.[1] Elsewhere, it is sometimes also spelt Loßberg.
Lossberg was later to become "legendary as the fireman of the Western Front, always sent by OHL to the area of crisis".[2] He was the "foremost German expert on Defensive Warfare. Was made a floating Chief of staff in problem areas with Vollmacht: the right to issue orders in a superior's name".[3]
The British Official History refers to him as a very remarkable soldier.[4]
Lossberg was awarded the Blue Max ("Pour le Mérite") for his work on the Western Front on 24 April 1917).[5][6]
'Throughout the eight months which Colonel von Lossberg spent in Mézières [in early 1915] he was straining at the leash to return to more active work at the front, and the first opportunity, which came by accident, he seized with both hands. His chief, Colonel Tappen, was still away when the French offensive [in the Champagne region] was delivered on the 25th September and von Lossberg deputized for him when General Falkenhayn explained the situation to the Kaiser, William II, the following morning. A message had come through earlier from the chief of staff of the Third Army, Lieut.-General von Hoehn, that the left corps might have to be withdrawn two miles to behind the Dormoise, and Colonel von Lossberg during his account of the situation on the Champagne battlefront expressed strong disapproval of such an action. Within three hours of that interview he was on his way to replace General von Hoehn as chief of staff, a marked honour for a junior colonel of only two months' seniority, as all the other chiefs of staff of armies were at least major-generals.' Von Lossberg was one of the leading proponents of the system of defence-in-depth.[7]
"Aged 71, Major General Fritz von Lossberg retired from the Army in 1927" [8] Elsewhere (see talk) his dates are given as 1868-1942
[edit] Sources and footnotes
- Ludendorff, Erich; My War Memoirs. London: Naval & Military Press, 2005
- Lupfer, Timothy T; The Dynamics of Doctrine: The Change in German Tactical Doctrine during the First World War 1981 Combat Studies Institute, Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
- Oldham, Peter; The Hindenburg Line. London: Leo Cooper, 1997
- Blue Max website
- Time magazine, 25 September 1939 Defense in depth
- Defence in Depth article
- Ties Fritz von Lossberg to Frederick
- Awarded oakleaves Friedrich Karl von Lossberg -- 24 April 1917
- Genealogy site
- Fritz von Lossberg, Meine Tatigkeit im Weltkriege, 1914—1918 (Berlin, 1939), 277. G.O.H., XI, 17.
[edit] External sources
- Wynne, Capt. G. C.; If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West.
- Times, 06 Oct 1917; pg. 5; Issue 41602; col G Through German Eyes. The Western Command., General Von Lossberg
