Wild von Hohenborn becomes minister of war
On 21 January 1915 Lieutenant-General Adolf Wild von Hohenborn was appointed Prussian minister of war. He replaced General Erich von Falkenhayn, who since September 1914 had combined this post with heading the General Staff of the Field Army. According to German biographies, Falkenhayn resigned from the ministry a day earlier, on 20 January, and at the same time was promoted to General of the Infantry. Many lists, however, give 21 January, the day his successor was appointed, as the end of his tenure. Falkenhayn remained Chief of the General Staff, and thus the de facto commander of the German army.
Formally, Wild von Hohenborn took office in the government of the Kingdom of Prussia, not of the Reich as a whole. The German Empire had no common ministry of war, and Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg kept ministries of their own. The Prussian ministry, however, was responsible for the vast majority of the army, its armament, replacements and supply, and in practice functioned as the ministry of war for the whole of Germany.
Two offices, one man
Falkenhayn had been minister of war since 1913. When in September 1914 he replaced Moltke at the head of the General Staff, he kept the ministry as well. Directing operations on all fronts and at the same time a large administrative apparatus in Berlin was, however, beyond the strength of one man. The combination of the two offices also gave Falkenhayn a power that aroused the resentment of many generals.
At the beginning of 1915 Falkenhayn was opposed by the advocates of a decision in the east. Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and his chief of staff, Erich Ludendorff, demanded reinforcements for the Eastern Front, while Falkenhayn still believed that the war would be decided in France. Hindenburg was supported by Moltke, who had been removed from command. In mid-January Hindenburg demanded Falkenhayn’s dismissal and threatened to resign. Falkenhayn responded by trying to split the pair: Ludendorff was to become chief of staff of the new South Army (Südarmee), being formed to fight in the Carpathians alongside the Austrians.
Emperor Wilhelm II refused to dismiss Falkenhayn, whom he trusted, but neither could he alienate the most popular commander in Germany, and he persuaded Hindenburg to remain in post. The compromise meant that Falkenhayn kept the most important office, but had to give up the ministry of war.
Falkenhayn’s man
The new minister was nonetheless Falkenhayn’s man, recommended to the Emperor by Falkenhayn himself. Wild von Hohenborn was born in 1860 in Kassel into a family of Swiss origin. For many years he served in the Great General Staff, and in 1913 he became head of a department in the ministry of war. After the outbreak of war he was briefly deputy minister, then commanded the 30th Division in the fighting on the Aisne. At the end of November 1914 he became Quartermaster General, responsible for supplying the field army.
As minister, Wild von Hohenborn stayed mainly at headquarters, close to Falkenhayn, while the ministry’s business in Berlin was conducted by his deputy, General Franz von Wandel. The General Staff thus did not lose its influence over the ministry’s affairs. Wild von Hohenborn remained in office until October 1916. He left soon after Falkenhayn’s fall, when command of the army was taken over by Hindenburg and Ludendorff, whom he had criticised.
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