Thadeus von Sivers

Thadeus von Sivers
General of the Infantry Thadeus von Sivers, c. 1914.
Born16 October [O.S. 4] 1853
Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire
Diedunknown
Allegiance Russian Empire
Service / branch Imperial Russian Army
Years of service1871 – 1915
Rank General of the Infantry
Commands16th Mingelian Grenadier Regiment
27th Infantry Division
16th Army Corps
10th Army Corps
10th Army
20th Army Corps
Battles / wars

Thadeus Ferdinand Ludwig von[1] Sivers (Russian: Фадде́й Васи́льевич Си́верс, tr. Faddey Vasil'evich Sivers; 16 October [O.S. 4] 1853 – ?), always falsely referred to as Thadeus von Sievers, was a Baltic German general who served in the Imperial Russian Army.

Sievers was most notable for his role in the Invasion of East Prussia during the initial stage of World War I, in which he commanded the 10th Army against the Germans and succeeded in taking the East Prussian towns of Stallupönen (now Nesterov, Russia) and Goldap (now Poland) in October 1914.

Further major successes for the Russian Army in East Prussia failed to materialize. In the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in February 1915, the 10th Army commanded by Sivers, was largely destroyed. After the defeat, Sivers was ousted as Commander of the Army, even though he had been among those who had been warned beforehand of the unfavorable strategic situation that had arisen.[2]

On 25 April 1915, Sievers was sent into retirement. His further fate was unknown, some speculate he fell into depression and committed suicide, while other claimed he survived into the Russian Civil War and took command on the White Movement's side.

  1. ^ In German personal names, von is a preposition which approximately means 'of' or 'from' and usually denotes some sort of nobility. While von (always lower case) is part of the family name or territorial designation, not a first or middle name, if the noble is referred to by their last name, use Schiller, Clausewitz or Goethe, not von Schiller, etc.
  2. ^ Buttar, Prit (2017). Germany Ascendant, The Eastern Front 1915. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 33, 127. ISBN 9781472819376.