Hans von Seeckt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 2nd Chief of the German Army Command | |
| In office 26 March 1920 – 9 October 1926 | |
| President | Friedrich Ebert Paul von Hindenburg |
| Chancellor | Hermann Müller Constantin Fehrenbach Joseph Wirth Wilhelm Cuno Wilhelm Marx Hans Luther |
| Preceded by | Walther Reinhardt |
| Succeeded by | Wilhelm Heye |
| 1st Chief of the German Troop Office | |
| In office 11 October 1919 – 26 March 1920 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Wilhelm Heye |
| Chief of the German General Staff | |
| In office 7 July 1919 – 15 July 1919 | |
| Preceded by | Wilhelm Groener |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Johannes Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt 22 April 1866 Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig, German Confederation |
| Died | 27 December 1936 (aged 70) Berlin, Nazi Germany |
| Resting place | Invalidenfriedhof |
| Nickname | 'The Sphinx' |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service |  Imperial German Army Reichsheer German Army |
| Years of service | 1885–1926 1933–1935 |
| Rank | Generaloberst |
| Commands | Eleventh Army |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite Military Order of Max Joseph |
Johannes "Hans" Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt (22 April 1866 – 27 December 1936) was a German military officer who served as Chief of Staff to August von Mackensen and was a central figure in planning the victories Mackensen achieved for Germany in the east during the First World War.
During the years of the Weimar Republic he was chief of staff for the Reichswehr from 1919 to 1920 and commander in chief of the German Army from 1920 until he resigned in October 1926.[N 1] During this period he engaged in the reorganization of the army and laid the foundation for the doctrine, tactics, organization, and training of the German army.[1] By the time Seeckt left the German Army in 1926 the Reichswehr had a clear, standardized operational doctrine, as well as a precise theory on the future methods of combat which greatly influenced the military campaigns fought by the Wehrmacht during the first half of the Second World War.[2] While Seeckt undertook multiple programs to get around the military limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles which formally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers after World War I, he has been criticized for failing to expand the reserves of officers and trained men available to the army, the main obstacle to rearmament during the Republic.[3]
Seeckt served as a member of parliament from 1930 to 1932. From 1933 to 1935 he was repeatedly in China as a military consultant to Chiang Kai-shek in his war against the Chinese Communists and was directly responsible for devising the encirclement campaigns, that resulted in a string of victories against the Chinese Red Army and forced Mao Zedong into a 9,000 km retreat, also known as the Long March.
A large military barracks in Celle was built in 1935 and named after von Seeckt. After the Second World War it was renamed Trenchard Barracks by BAOR as part of the Bergen-Hohne Garrison.
Cite error: There are <ref group=N> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=N}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Corum 1992, p. 79.
- ^ Corum 1992, p. 34.
- ^ Liedtke, Gregory (2016). enduring the whirlwind. Helion And Company. p. 3.