Everything about Erich Von Falkenhayn totally explained
Erich von Falkenhayn (
11 September 1861 –
8 April 1922) was a
German soldier and
Chief of the General Staff during
World War I. He became a
military writer after the war.
Early life
Born in Burg Belchau near
Graudenz in the
Province of Prussia, Falkenhayn was a career soldier. Between 1896 and 1903, he served in
Qing China, and saw action during the
Boxer Rebellion. Afterwards, he was stationed in
Braunschweig,
Metz, and
Magdeburg, with ever-increasing rank. In 1913, he became
Prussian Minister of War, in which capacity he was one of the key players in the genesis of
World War I when the
assassination of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand in
Sarajevo took place. Like most German military, he didn't then count on an overall war, but he very soon embraced it and belonged to those pushing
Kaiser Wilhelm II to declare war.
Chief of Staff
Falkenhayn succeeded
Moltke as Chief of Staff after the
Battle of the Marne on
14 September 1914. Confronted with the failure of the
Schlieffen Plan, Falkenhayn attempted to outflank the British and French in what has been called the "
Race to the Sea", a series of engagements throughout northern France and Belgium with the aim to reach the
North Sea coast. The Germans were eventually stopped by the British and French at the
First Battle of Ypres.
Falkenhayn preferred an offensive strategy on the Western Front while conducting a limited campaign in the east in the hope that Russia would accept a separate armistice much more easily if it hadn't been humiliated too much. This brought him into conflict with
Hindenburg and
Ludendorff, who favored massive offensives in the east. Eventually, either in the hope that a massive slaughter would lead Europe's political leaders to consider ending the war, or that losses would in the end be less harmful for Germany than for France, Falkenhayn staged a massive
battle of attrition at
Verdun in early 1916. Although more than a quarter of a million soldiers eventually died — for which Falkenhayn was sometimes called "the Blood-Miller of Verdun" — neither side's resolve was lessened, because, contrary to Falkenhayn's assumptions, the Entente was able to replace their dead with fresh "human material" (the term comes from that time). After the failure at Verdun, coupled with several reverses in the east and incessant lobbying by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, Falkenhayn was replaced as Chief of Staff by
Hindenburg.
Later career
Falkenhayn then assumed command of the Ninth Army in
Transylvania, and in August launched a
joint offensive against Romania with
Mackensen. Falkenhayn's forces captured the Romanian capital of
Bucharest in less than four months.
Following this success, Falkenhayn went to take military command in then-
Turkish Palestine, where he eventually
failed to prevent the British under General
Edmund Allenby from conquering
Jerusalem in December 1917.
In February 1918, Falkenhayn became commander of the Tenth Army in
Belarus, in which capacity he witnessed the end of the war. In 1919, he retired from the Army and withdrew to his estate, from where he wrote several books on war, strategy, and his autobiography. He died at
Schloss Lindstedt near
Potsdam.
Assessment
Falkenhayn was in many ways a representative of the Prussian generals; he was a
militarist in the literal sense, he'd undeniable political and military competence but he was contemptous toward
democracy and
parliament. The most recent book on his strategy (Foley 2005) argues that his
blood-mill approach was copied and successfully used by the Allies, who had larger resources; in that sense, Falkenhayn's method would, indirectly, have led to Germany losing the war.
Militarily, Falkenhayn had a mixed record. His offensive at Verdun was a strategic failure. His defence of Palestine in 1917 was also a failure - though it must be admitted that his forces were both outnumbered and out-classed. On the other hand, his planning and subsequent conquest of Romania was a near perfect example of how to conduct an offensive against superior forces.
Winston Churchill considered him to be the ablest by far of the German generals in World War I. Dupuy also ranks him near the top of the German commanders, just below
Paul von Hindenburg and
Erich Ludendorff (The Encyclopedia of Military History, p.915).
All sources indicate that Falkenhayn was a loyal, honest, and punctilious friend and superior. His positive legacy is his conduct during the war in Palestine in 1917. As his biographer Afflerbach claims, "An inhuman excess against the Jews in Palestine was only prevented by Falkenhayn's conduct, which against the background of the German history of the 20th century has a special meaning, and one that distinguishes Falkenhayn." (1994, 485)
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