List of German field marshals
Field marshal (German: Generalfeldmarschall) was usually the highest military rank in various German armed forces. It had existed, under slightly different names, in several German states since 1631.[1] After the unification of Germany it was the highest military rank of the Imperial German Army and later in the Wehrmacht[a][b] until it was abolished in 1945.[2]
The vast majority of the people promoted to field marshal won major battles in wars of their time. Field marshals played a compelling and influential role in military matters, were tax-exempt, members of the nobility, equal to government officials, under constant protection or escort, and had the right to directly report to the royal family.[3] In the Prussian military tradition, which set the tone for the 19th century and the German Empire, field marshals could only be promoted in wartime and the royal family was excluded, both resulting in the creation of the rank of colonel general with the rank of general field marshal (German: Generaloberst mit dem Range eines Generalfeldmarschalls) in 1854. Both restrictions would eventually end with the first royals being promoted during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, and later honorary promotions to foreign monarchs would follow. Adolf Hitler effectively disregarded the wartime prerequisite by two promotions in 1936 and 1938, though all subsequent promotions were during wartime.
Electorate (1356–1806) and Kingdom of Saxony (1806–1918)
[edit]Name | Date of promotion | Birth and Death | Portrait | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg | 21 June 1631 | 1583–1641 | ![]() |
[4] |
Francis Albert of Saxe-Lauenburg | 24 November 1632 | 1598–1642 | ![]() |
|
Rudolf Graf von Marzin | 19 October 1638 | 1585–1645 | ![]() |
[5] |
Ernst Albrecht von Eberstein | 1 January 1666 | 1605–76 | ![]() |
|
Joachim Rüdiger of Goltz | 28 August 1681 | 1620–88 | ![]() |
[6] |
Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming | 8 September 1688 | 1632–1706 | ![]() |
|
Hans Adam von Schöning | 9 April 1691 | 1641–96 | ![]() |
|
Jeremias of Chauvet | 10 May 1693 | Unknown–1699 | —
|
[7] |
Heinrich VI Reuß zu Obergreiz | 30 September 1697 | 1649–97 | ![]() |
|
Adam Heinrich von Steinau | 27 August 1699 | Unknown–1712 | —
|
|
Georg Benedikt von Ogilvy | 3 December 1706 | 1651–1710 | ![]() |
|
Jacob Heinrich von Flemming | 22 February 1712 | 1667–1728 | ![]() |
|
Christoph August of Wackerbarth | 17 April 1730 | 1662–1734 | ![]() |
[8] |
Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels | 26 November 1735 | 1685–1746 | ![]() |
[9] |
Frederick Augustus Rutowsky | 11 January 1749 | 1702–64 | ![]() |
|
Johann Georg, Chevalier de Saxe | 27 July 1763 | 1704–74 | ![]() |
[10] |
Frederick of Anhalt-Dessau | 6 January 1775 | 1705–81 | ![]() |
|
Albert of Saxony | 11 July 1871 | 1828–1902 | ![]() |
[11] |
Georg of Saxony | 14 June 1888 | 1832–1904 | ![]() |
Brandenburg-Prussia and the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1870)
[edit]German Empire (1871–1918)
[edit]Weimar Republic (1918–33)
[edit]After the loss of the First World War, Germany was transformed into what became known as the Weimar Republic, which was subject to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. It required the reduction of the German Army to 100,000 men,[78] a reduction of the German Navy,[78] and the abolition of the German Air Force.[78] As a result of the new military arrangements, there were no field marshals created during the Weimar Republic.
Third Reich (1933–45)
[edit]See also
[edit]- Field marshal (United Kingdom)
- Field marshal (Russian Empire)
- List of Swedish field marshals
- List of German colonel generals
Notes
[edit]- ^ The Imperial German Navy and the Kriegsmarine used the rank of Grand Admiral (German: Großadmiral) instead.
- ^ In 1940 Hermann Göring was promoted to Reichsmarschall, a rank higher than that of field marshal and was the only one to hold this rank. This was done so as to make Göring superior to other field marshals and recognize him as the second man in Hitler's Reich.[100]
- ^ a b Until 1915
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Wawro 1997, p. 310.
- ^ Hakim 1995, pp. 100, 105.
- ^ Snyder 1976, p. 111.
- ^ Irmer 2005, pp. 5, 35.
- ^ Guthrie 2003, p. 48.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 790.
- ^ Glozier & Onnekink 2007, p. 209.
- ^ Phillips 1871, p. 943.
- ^ Long 1844, p. 360.
- ^ Carlyle 2002, p. 709.
- ^ a b Riley 2014, p. 232.
- ^ a b c Citino 2005, p. 428.
- ^ Gruyter 2006, p. 355.
- ^ Paret & Morgan 2014, p. 391.
- ^ König 1789, p. 434.
- ^ Johannes 2004, p. 34.
- ^ a b MacDonogh 2001, p. 436.
- ^ Colby & Williams 1906, p. 620.
- ^ Tucker 2009, p. 239.
- ^ Ohm & Boehlke & Boehlke 1997, p. 6.
- ^ Lund 1999, p. 182.
- ^ Alexeevna 2007, p. 236.
- ^ Siebigk 1883, pp. 352, 356.
- ^ Siebigk 1883, pp. 364, 365.
- ^ a b c Anton Balthasar König, Henning Alexander von Kleist,Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militärpersonen: T. G-L, A. Wever, 1789, pp. 275–276. Accessed 26 September 2015.
- ^ MacKillop & Murdoch 2003, p. 103.
- ^ Siebigk 1883, pp. 166, 167.
- ^ Ross 1997, p. 134, 135.
- ^ Ballard 2011, p. 54.
- ^ Debrett 1836, p. 151.
- ^ Stoker 2014, p. 52.
- ^ Bruce & Stanard 1958, p. 88.
- ^ Phillips 1871, p. 378.
- ^ Fischer 1907, p. 50.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. 535.
- ^ James William Edmund Doyle (1886). "Wellington". The Official Baronage of England: Showing the Succession, Dignities, and Offices of Every Peer from 1066 to 1885. Vol. 3. London: Longmans Green and Co. pp. 615–620.
- ^ Siebigk 1883, p. 127.
- ^ Droysen 1851, p. 158.
- ^ Gneisenau & Marston 1815, pp. 1, 8.
- ^ Veve 1992, p. 30.
- ^ Muffling 1997, p. 174.
- ^ Parkinson 2000, p. 259.
- ^ Jensen & Rothstein 2000, p. 110.
- ^ Siborne 1895, p. 96.
- ^ Röhl 1996, p. 274.
- ^ Chisholm & Garvin 1926, p. 405.
- ^ Hughes 2009, p. 423.
- ^ Heal 2012, p. 206.
- ^ Maitland 1762, p. 24.
- ^ Large 2007, p. 2.
- ^ Marrs 2010, p. 25.
- ^ Darmstaedter 2008, p. 414.
- ^ Burke 2012, p. 17.
- ^ Hakim 1995, p. 65.
- ^ Murad 1968, p. 61.
- ^ Clarke 2000, p. 12.
- ^ Ross 1997, p. 452.
- ^ Hahnke 2012, p. 47.
- ^ Steinberg 2011, p. 407.
- ^ Browne 2013, p. 105.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, pp. 666, 667.
- ^ Ehlert 2014, pp. 1, 2.
- ^ Vatikiotis 2014, p. 1.
- ^ Hargreaves 2010, p. 20.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 243.
- ^ Riley 2013, p. 471.
- ^ Sandler 2002, p. 523.
- ^ Pawly 2012, p. 63.
- ^ Rothenburg 1976, p. 143.
- ^ Tague 2011, p. 359.
- ^ Blumberg 1990, p. 238.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 1007.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 687.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 82.
- ^ Wheatcroft & Keegan, 2014. p. 62.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 390.
- ^ Pope & Wheal 2007, p. 476.
- ^ a b c Kershaw 2008, pp. 80, 90, 92.
- ^ Tague 2011, p. 62.
- ^ Alford 2003, p. 67.
- ^ Wheeler-Bennett 1967, p. 497.
- ^ Biesinger 2006, p. 288.
- ^ Kesselring 1970, p. 64.
- ^ Goldensohn 2010, p. 157.
- ^ Biesinger 2006, p. 510.
- ^ Mineau 2004, p. 109.
- ^ Williamson 2006, p. 109.
- ^ Wright 2009, p. 110.
- ^ Tague 2011, p. 28.
- ^ Wood 2014, p. 35.
- ^ Frankel 2004, p. 14.
- ^ Mitcham 2006, p. 14.
- ^ Roberts & Tucker 2005, p. 216.
- ^ Breuer 2002, p. 131.
- ^ a b c d e f Matthews 2013, p. 349.
- ^ Tague 2011, p. 326.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, p. 200.
- ^ Pawly 2012, p. 289
- ^ Wistrich 1982, p. 84
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 198.
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