Two Generals to identify (again)

[Robert Noss]

Here are two portraits of Generals coming out of a Reichswehr photoalbum from a musician of the Prussian Infantry Regiment 2.

I have already posted this question earlier ( some years ago when I got the album ) and I got satisfying infos, but I have lost the files and can not find the older thread, which probably has been deleted.

So - could You please give me the information again, I need it for the Photosammler-DVD which is in work.

First this "Heavy Metal" General, master of all medal-bars:

And this friendly looking fellow:

Many thanks in advance

Robert

Edited April 25, 2008 by Robert Noss

[Guest Rick Research]

First one with all the was Axel von Platen (1876-1928).

He's in the newly published Hohenzollern and Ernestine Duchies and will feature in the Detmold rolls to be printed later this year.

[Komtur]

First this "Heavy Metal" General, master of all medal-bars:

Amazing, he looks quite young for that mass of decorations!

Thanks for showing, Komtur.

[VtwinVince]

The Germans would call von Platen a real "Weihnachtsbaum". I count 23 orders on his spange, perhaps only outdone by the Kaiser himself.

[W McSwiggan]

Hi,

Would love a little more information on our ?Christmas Tree?.

Can anyone list all of Axel von Platen?s stuff?

Looks like he was popular in Mecklenburg! Prussians seemed to like him and I see Thuringia in the mix as well as Schaumburg and all three Hanseatic Crosses.

Was he a staff officer and hence in all the right places for trick-or-treat (to continue our holiday metaphor) or simply a stud?

Thanx in advance.

wem

[Guest Rick Research]

Nobody accumulated glitter like that who had dirty fingernails. He was General Staff

Pour le Merite 21.4.18

HOH3X gazetted 25.11.16

BMV4XmKr 6.12.14

from rolls with actual assignments:

HE3aX 27.11.17 as Major iG, Gen Staff Chief of the Gardekorps

SA3aX 22.8.16 as major iG IX Armeekorps (hence the Hanseatics, BH, HH, L?H)

SMK: Major iG 30.8.16 same as above (and quite a disappointment-- he'd normally have rated an Ernestine-Commander X

LDH3X 3.10.14 as Major iG 13th Division, 7th Army Corps (his pre-war posting-- and hence the Lkr and SLK)

Don't know where or why he got Hessian Bravery. Turkish War Medal star probably a Fr?hstucksorden. Both classes of Schwerin and Strelitz Crosses from the Mecklenburgs also probably while with IX Corps.

SekLt 9.2.94

Oberlt 18.4.03 from 3rd Garde Regiment zu Fuss to General Staff

Hptm iG 21.3.08

Major iG 19.8.14

Oberstlt circa 1920

Oberst 1.4.22

Generalmajor circa 1925/26?

He'd have gone further if he hadn't died.

[W McSwiggan]

Thanks for the information Rick.

With a load of eye candy like that - dirty fingers or not he was either really good or really connected.

"Von" & Johanniter suggest "C" - all the above...

Death has a way of messing up a promising career!

Must say - Major in 20 years was most likely not a record! And they call them the good old days!

Nobody accumulated glitter like that who had dirty fingernails. He was General Staff

Pour le Merite 21.4.18

HOH3X gazetted 25.11.16

BMV4XmKr 6.12.14

from rolls with actual assignments:

HE3aX 27.11.17 as Major iG, Gen Staff Chief of the Gardekorps

SA3aX 22.8.16 as major iG IX Armeekorps (hence the Hanseatics, BH, HH, L?H)

SMK: Major iG 30.8.16 same as above (and quite a disappointment-- he'd normally have rated an Ernestine-Commander X

LDH3X 3.10.14 as Major iG 13th Division, 7th Army Corps (his pre-war posting-- and hence the Lkr and SLK)

Don't know where or why he got Hessian Bravery. Turkish War Medal star probably a Fr?hstucksorden. Both classes of Schwerin and Strelitz Crosses from the Mecklenburgs also probably while with IX Corps.

SekLt 9.2.94

Oberlt 18.4.03 from 3rd Garde Regiment zu Fuss to General Staff

Hptm iG 21.3.08

Major iG 19.8.14

Oberstlt circa 1920

Oberst 1.4.22

Generalmajor circa 1925/26?

He'd have gone further if he hadn't died.

[Daniel Krause]

He was a "Fast Track" General staffer.

Promotion time was 9 years as a 2nd Lt, 4-5 years as 1st Lt, 10-12 years as Captain for "normal front line Officers".

The General staffers won around 5 years in the promotion to Major.

Best regards

Daniel

[Andwwils]

Anybody know what von Platen died from? He was only 52, which was young even for those days.

[W McSwiggan]

Thanks for the excellent information Daniel.

Think I was vaguely aware but the slowness of promotions in the Imperial Army was shockingly slow.

Might I ask if you are able to expand this information to the "threshold of politics (general officer grades)" at the higher ranks?

My appreciation is that one could not directly enter the general staff but first had to serve in the "line" and then attend special schooling before entry "iG".

What was the normal rank for entry in school and rank upon acceptance to the General Staff"?

How did line versus iG compare for time in grade as Major, Oberstleutnant and Oberst?

It has just occurred to me that I've somewhat Hijacked the original intent for this thread and for that I apologize.

I will start one if necessary.

Is there a good reference for this information other than studying patterns in the rank lists?

He was a "Fast Track" General staffer.

Promotion time was 9 years as a 2nd Lt, 4-5 years as 1st Lt, 10-12 years as Captain for "normal front line Officers".

The General staffers won around 5 years in the promotion to Major.

Best regards

Daniel

[Daniel Krause]

Every officer had to serve at least 3 years in th "frontline" before he could apply for the War Academy.

There they took around 1910 the best 120 Lt / 1st Lt per Year. You had 4 times a chance to apply.

After the 3 years in the War Academy the General staff took the best 20 of a year to a 2-3 years command to the General staff. The best ones from them were taken directly over after their command and promoted to Captain.

The other ones who did not qualify for the General staff went normally in the Adjutant service, Division and later Corps level.

Nearly all the General staffers and Adjutants served as well for a time in nearly every level of frontline service like their "mortal" colleagues. Every Captain got Company, every Major a Bataillon, every Colonel a Regiment and a Major General a brigade.

The higher promotions are quite easy. You did not have to serve until whatever retirement age as it is nowadays in Germany, You could always retire with the pension You earned until then.

The big mass of frontline officers retired as Captain or Major after around 25 Years of service.

For the frontline guys who stayed in I would say 6-8 years as Major, 3-4 as Half-Colonel, 2 as full Colonel.

General staffer got promoted around 2 years earlier to LtCol and maybe 1 year earlier to Col.

From that grade it could go very fast, all 2 years a promotion until the rank of General der Infanterie / Artillerie / Kavallerie.

This rank could easily last for 8 Years and was regularly the end of th line. There are just a handful of guys who made Generaloberst or Field Marshal.

Best regards

Daniel

Edited May 3, 2008 by Daniel Krause

[W McSwiggan]

Wonderful - thank you very much for sharing these insights Daniel.

Regards,

Wayne

[VJK]

Hi!

The identity of the second General has been bugging me all this time, because his face was so familiar. Finally today I cracked it - Siegfried Haenicke.

Best regards,

VJK

[Guest Rick Research]

:cheers: I have to see awards to identify them.

[Guest Rick Research]

And nowwwwwww, Axel von Platen will also appear in the Mecklenburg-Strelitz rolls, just received today for transcription and eventual publication. :catjava:

[Deruelle]

Here is the photo of Haenicke.

Christophe

[freiherr]

Valdis (aka VJK) is right that it was Haenicke. But Christophe your pic was not him as you can see from this WW2 pic that he was man 2nd from right, pretty skinny tall man. Georg Lindemann (3R) was commonly spotted enough to be sure he was not short and stout.

Cheers

Freiherr