Felix Graf von Bothmer

Infobox Military Person
name=Felix Graf von Bothmer
lived=birth date|1852|12|10 – death date and age|1937|03|18|1852|11|10


caption=Felix Graf von Bothmer
nickname=
placeofbirth=Munich, Bavaria
placeofdeath=Munich, Germany
allegiance=flagicon|German Empire|size=25px German Empire
branch=Army
serviceyears=1871-1918
rank=General
unit=
commands=6. Bayerische Reserve-Division
II. Bayerisches Reservekorps
Südarmee
19. Armee
Heimatschütz Süd
battles=World War I
awards=Military Order of Max Joseph, Grand Cross
Pour le Mérite with oakleaves
Order of the Dannebrog, Knight's Cross
relations=
laterwork=

Felix Graf von Bothmer (10 December 1852) – 18 March 1937) was a German general of the Brusilov offensive. His father was army general and belongs to the german nobility. In 1871 Bothmer joined the Bavarian Army. He spent the next forty years serving in the Bavarian War Ministry or on the Bavarian General Staff, with three years in Berlin with the General Staff. During this time he rose through the ranks, reaching general of infantry in 1910.

In World War I and later life

On 30 November 1914 he was appointed to command the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division at Ypres.On 22 March 1915 he was moved to command Corps Bothmer, a unit raised to help defend the passes of the Carpathian Mountains against Russian attacks that directly threatened Hungary. He’s concored the Zwinin in April 1915 and was thus in the right place to take part in the great German advance after the breakthrough at Gorlice-Tarnow in May 1915. His units to stand firm against the Brusilov Offensive of June 1916. In 1917 he was appointed to command the 19th Army in Lorraine. He remained there until 8 November 1918, while to his north the German front crumbled. Bothmer retired from the army later in November 1918. Count Bothmer died in Munich on March 18, 1937 and, contrary to his family's wishes, Hitler's government ordered a state funeral for the general. He was eulogized by Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria.

Family

Felix Graf von Bothmer married on July 22, 1882 Miss Auguste Baldinger. They had together 2 daughters.

Military ranks

*Sekondlieutenant: November 28, 1971
*Premierlieutenant: November 23, 1882
*Hauptmann: October 31, 1888
*Major: September 22, 1893
*Oberstlieutenant: March 17, 1897
*Oberst: July 21, 1900
*Generalmajor: May 18, 1903
*Generalleutnant: September 15, 1905
*General der Infanterie: May 4, 1810
*Generaloberst: April 9, 1918

Decorations and honors

Bavaria

* Military Order of Max Joseph, Knight's Cross (1915), Commander's Cross (1915) and Grand Cross (1916)
* Military Merit Order, 1. Class, Swords to 1. Class and Grand Cross with Swords
* Service Decoration, 1. Class
* Ludwig Order, Honor Cross
* Jubilee Medal
* Merit Order of St. Michael, 1. Class

Prussia

* Order of the Red Eagle, 1. Class
* Pour le Mérite with Oakleaves
* 1914 Iron Cross 1st Class
* 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class
* 1870-71 Commemorative Medal for Combatants
* Centenary Medal
* Order of the Crown

Other German states

* Anhalt: Friedrich Cross
* Bremen: Hanseatic Cross
* Brunswick: House Order of Henry the Lion, Grand Cross
* Hesse-Darmstadt: Order of Philip the Magnanimous, Grand Cross with Crown
* Hohenzollern: Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1. Class with Swords
* Lübeck: Hanseatic Cross
* Saxony: Albert Order, Grand Cross and Star and Swords to Grand Cross
* Saxony: Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross and Commander's Cross
* Württemberg: Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross

Other countries

* Austria-Hungary: Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold, Grand Cross with War Decoration
* Austria-Hungary: Imperial Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, Knight 1. Class with War Decoration
* Austria-Hungary: Military Merit Cross, 1st Class with War Decoration
* Austria-Hungary: Large Military Merit Medal
* Austria-Hungary: Red Cross Decoration 1st Class with War Decoration
* Denmark: Order of the Dannebrog, Knight's Cross
* Japan: Order of the Sacred Treasure, Grand Officer's Crosss
* Spain: Gran Cruz al Mérito Militar
* Ottoman Empire: Imtiaz Medal in Gold with Swords
* Ottoman Empire: Liakat Medal in Gold with Swords
* Ottoman Empire: Turkish War Medal (so-called "Gallipoli Star")
* Ottoman Empire: Order of Medjidie, 1. Class with Swords

The orders above which were from Allied nations were awarded prior to World War I. [Decorations as of 1914 from the Bavarian War Ministry, "Militär-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern", 1914. World War I decorations from award rolls, Erhard Roth, "Verleihungen von militärischen Orden und Ehrenzeichen des Königreichs Bayern im Ersten Weltkrieg", 1997 (ISBN 3-932543-19-X), and Ferry W. von Péter, "Verleihungen nichtbayerischer Orden und Ehrenzeichen an bayerischer Militärangehörige 1914-1918", 2001 (ISBN 3-932543-25-0)]

Notes

External links

[http://www.geocities.com/veldes1/bothmer.html History]

References

* Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, Friedrichfranz Feeser, "Das Bayernbuch vom Weltkriege 1914-1918", I. Band, Chr. Belser AG, Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1930
* Günter Wegner, Deutschlands Heere bis 1918, Band 10, Bayern, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, 1984
* Rudolf v. Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels, Der königlich bayerische Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden, Selbstverlag des k. b. Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens, München 1966