Hans_von_Plessen

Hans von Plessen

Hans von Plessen

Prussian military general (1841–1929)

Hans Georg Hermann von Plessen (26 November 1841 – 28 January 1929) was a Prussian Colonel General with the rank of Generalfeldmarschall and Canon of Brandenburg. He held the office of His Majesty's Orderly Adjutant General (German: SM diensttuender Generaladjutant) to Kaiser Wilhelm II, thus making him one of the Emperor's closest confidants. During World War I he simultaneously served as Commandant of the Imperial Grand Headquarters.[1]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

By 1918 he was the oldest serving officer in the Imperial German Army, although Paul von Hindenburg falsely claimed this for himself.[2] Von Plessen also was a recipient of the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest military honor. He remained devoted to the Kaiser until the collapse of the monarchy in November, 1918.[1]

Life

Hans von Plessen was born in 1841 as the son of General Hermann von Plessen.[3] He joined the military in 1861 as an officer cadet. He was on duty during the Second Schleswig War but didn't participate in the war, serving in the Rhineland as a Second-Lieutenant. During the Austro-Prussian War he fought in the Battle of Königgrätz. As a brigade adjutant, Plessen served in the Franco-Prussian War and participated in the Loire Campaign and the Battle of Le Mans. After the war he became a general staff officer. In 1872 he was promoted to Hauptmann. Plessen married Elisabeth von Langenbeck in January 1874, a marriage resulting in two sons. Elisabeth was the daughter of Bernhard von Langenbeck.[4] In 1877, Plessen then became a staff officer in the 1st Guards Infantry Division under Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape. In 1879 Plessen was promoted to Major and in December became an aide-de-camp of German Emperor Wilhelm I. In 1885 Plessen became an Oberstleutnant. In 1888, Plessen became the commander of the 1st Foot Guards, being promoted to Oberst on 4 August 1888.

He was made a Generalmajor on 9 February 1891 and received command of the 55th Infantry Brigade. In 1892 he became an adjutant general to Emperor Wilhelm II. He was promoted to Generalleutnant in 1894 and to General der Infantrie in 1899. In 1907, Plessen replaced Berhard von Werder as largely ceremonial head of the Mounted Feldjäger Corps, a company-strength unit of officers serving as couriers. In 1908, he received the rank of Generaloberst. During World War I Plessen continued to serve as adjutant general and was Commandant of the Imperial Grand Headquarters in the field. He was awarded the prestigious Pour le Mérite on 24 March 1918.[5] On 17 November 1918, after accompanying the emperor into exile, he was retired with the rank of Generaloberst mit dem Range als Generalfeldmarschall.

General von Plessen (center) observes Wilhelm II speaking with General Otto von Emmich, victor of the Battle of Liège, 1914

Awards

German honours[1][6]
Foreign honours[1][17]

Dates of rank

References

  1. [1]
    M. Naumann: Die Plessen. Stammfolge vom XIII. bis XX. Jahrhundert. Limburg an der Lahn: Starke Verlag, 1971]
  2. [2]
    Hans von Plessen Archived 2012-11-12 at the Wayback Machine at The Prussian Machine, retrieved 08-Aug-2012
  3. [3]
    "Hermann von Plessen". geneee.org. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  4. [4]
    "Elisabeth von Langenbeck". geneee.org. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  5. [5]
    Brazier, Kevin (2013-08-19). The Complete Blue Max: A Chronological Record of the Holders of the Pour le Mérite, Prussia's Highest Military Order, from 1740 to 1918. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78383-057-2.
  6. [6]
    Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1918, p. 36
  7. [7]
    "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1895, p. 10 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. [8]
    "Foreign Pour le Mérite Awards: Foreign Awards During World War I". pourlemerite.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  9. [9]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1902), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 128
  10. [10]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1902), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 83
  11. [11]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1910), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 43
  12. [12]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 27
  13. [13]
    Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 10
  14. [14]
    Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogthums Braunschweig für 1908. Bd. 1908. Braunschweig: Meyer, 1908. p. 10
  15. [15]
    Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, pp. 11, 129 – via hathitrust.org
  16. [16]
    "Königliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg, Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1907, pp. 50, 122
  17. [17]
    "Hans Georg Hermann von Plessen". the Prussian Machine. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  18. [18]
    "Ritter-Orden: Kaiserlich-Österreichischer Franz Joseph-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, p. 261, retrieved 5 February 2021
  19. [19]
    "Ritter-Orden: Oesterreichsch-kaiserlicher Orden der Eisernen Krone", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, p. 133, retrieved 5 February 2021
  20. [20]
    "Ritter-Orden: Oesterreichsch-kaiserlicher Leopold-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, p. 74, retrieved 5 February 2021
  21. [21]
    "Ritter-Orden: Königlich-ungarischer St. Stephan-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1918, p. 55, retrieved 5 February 2021
  22. [22]
    Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1926) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1926 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1926] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 22. Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via da:DIS Danmark.
  23. [23]
    "Den kongelige norske Sanct Olavs Orden", Norges Statskalender (in Norwegian), 1910, p. 915-916 – via hathitrust.org
  24. [24]
    "Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III", Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish), 1907, p. 150, retrieved 13 January 2021
  25. [25]
    "Kungl. Svenska Riddareordnarna", Sveriges statskalender (in Swedish), 1915, p. 671, retrieved 10 February 2021 – via runeberg.org
  26. [26]
    "No. 27140". The London Gazette. 1 December 1899. p. 8089.
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