Erich von Falkenhayn
"If we do not lose the war, we have won it”
On September 11, 1861 Prussian Army officer Fedor von Falkenhayn and his wife Franziska gave birth to their fourth child, Erich, in the Prussian town of Burg Belchau (now Białochowo, Poland). Just under a decade later, Prussia would become the nucleus of the new German Empire, and in 1880 young Erich would be enrolled in a military school, eventually graduating to join the Imperial German Army as an officer, intending to be a career military man.
German troops in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion - German Federal Archives/Wikimedia
After serving in various posts, von Falkenhayn would eventually be posted to China as a military instructor, setting up a Prussian-style academy in Wuhan. After briefly returning to Germany to serve as a general staff officer, he was sent back to China in late 1900, as the Boxer Rebellion was now underway and he had been recalled to serve on the staff of Field Marshal Alfred von Waldersee, commander of the German forces sent to put down the rebellion.
With the end of the rebellion in 1901 von Falkenhayn would spend time in Korea and Manchuria before returning to Germany in 1903, taking command of an infantry regiment, eventually being promoted to Oberstleutnant and being posted again to the general staff in 1906. He would rapidly advance both in rank and command, being promoted to Generalmajor (Brigadier General) in 1912.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on the day of his assassination in Sarajevo
A year later, in 1913, von Falkenhayn was named War Minister, a post he would hold during the turbulent events of the summer of 1914. Following the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, von Falkenhayn joined with other senior officers, such as Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke in pressuring the Kaiser to declare war, with original belief that it would be a fairly short conflict resulting in German victory.
Following a short period of German advance on the new Western Front in 1914, the Entente managed to defeat the German Army at the Marne, and with the situation taking a turn von Moltke suffered a breakdown, leading to his removal. The Kaiser in turn summoned von Falkenhayn and named him the new Chief of Staff of the Oberste Heeresleitung.
German soldiers in a trench - German Federal Archives
The first task that awaited the incoming Chief of Staff was what was known as the Race to the Sea, as both sides attempted to outflank the other before finally being trapped against the English Channel and incapable of such movement. The resulting stalemate of trench warfare would set in, and von Falkenhayn was forced to deal with the ensuing, and long, two front war.
As Chief of Staff, von Falkenhayn found himself clashing with the two men considered to be the saviors of the German Empire after their victory at Tannenberg, Hindenburg and Ludendorff. They favored aggressive action against Russia and holding action on the Western Front. This was in direct opposition to the plans of Falkenhayn, who intended to focus his efforts in the West and only undertake limited action in the East, as he felt it likely that the Russians would accept a negotiated peace if they were not humiliated.
As 1915 began, Falkenhayn was promoted to General of Infantry and replaced as War Minister, allowing him to focus entirely on his duties as Chief of Staff. Shocked by the loss of life that occurred at the end of the race to the sea at the Battle of Ypres, Falkenhayn was convinced that the war could no longer be won by either side, it was simply a matter of attrition and who broke first.
A shell explodes on the battlefields of Verdun - German Federal Archives
Falkenhayn now believed that the only way for the German Empire to survive the war, let alone emerge victorious, was to create a situation where, due to appalling casualties, the continuation of the conflict became politically untenable for both sides. As a result, he directed German efforts toward maintaining the stalemate, despite large attacks by the Entente throughout 1915, although some good news would come as the Ottomans successfully repelled the Gallipoli landings, and the collapse of Serbia. The entry of Italy into the war on the side of the Entente was not helpful, as it strained the already weakened Austrians, but as 1916 dawned the Falkenhayn felt that the time had come for the massive battle that would accomplish his goal of ending the war through massive attrition.
On Februrary 21, 1916 Falkenhayn’s grand plan was put into action with a massive bombardment of the French lines near the fortress city of Verdun, with almost a million shells being fired over ten hours. Despite initial German gains, the fighting there would grind into a stalemate as the battle raged on, with Falkenhayn continuing to send more men into the meat grinder. The Battle of Verdun would rage for 302 days, and consume almost a million men from both sides.
With the failure of the Battle of Verdun, and as the Russians gained ground with an offensive in the East, Falkenhayn was replaced as Chief of Staff by Hindenburg in August of 1916, and reassigned to the newly opened Romanian front as commander of the German 9th Army.
Falkenhayn at his headquarters in Romania during a visit from Austrian Archduke Frederick
In Romania, Falkenhayn led his 9th Army on an assault toward Bucharest, supported by August von Mackensen’s Army Group, capturing the capitol against a superior Romanian force on December 6th.
By 1917, Falkenhayn had been reassigned again, sent to take command of an Ottoman Army Group in Palestine, and according given the rank of Ottoman Field Marshal. His forces were intended to prevent a British breakthrough toward Jerusalem, and potentially launch a counteroffensive against Baghdad, but this never materialized. Instead, the British were able to break through at Gaza and take the Holy City, leading to his replacement and reassignment yet again. It should be noted, however, that he was able to prevent the mass deportation of Jews from Ottoman Palestine by Governor Djemal Pasha, architect of the Armenian Genocide, who likely had similar plans for the Jews as for the Armenian Christians.
Falkenhayn with Ottoman and German officers and dignitaries in Palestine
Following his failures in Palestine, Falkenhayn was reassigned to command the 10th Army on the now closed Eastern Front in 1918, where he remained until the end of the war. A loyal Prussian nobleman, he reacted with horror at the proclamation of the Weimar Republic and the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, with some sources reporting he supported a possible military coup, but if he did nothing came of it.
Suffering from kidney failure, Falkenhayn retired from the Army in 1919, retreating to his estate and out of the public eye as he wrote his memoirs, The German General staff and Its Critical Decisions, 1914–1916, in which he attempted to justify his actions during the war, as well as the German declaration of war in 1914. On April 8, 1942 Erich von Falkenhayn died at Schloss Lindstedt in Potsdam, and was buried in the Bornstedter Friedhof cemetery in that city.
Falkenhayn has a mixed reputation to this day, with the disaster of Verdun being his most infamous legacy. His other failures in Palestine are also notable, although it should be noted that the Ottoman troops under his command were thoroughly outclassed by the British forces there. His campaign in Romania, by contrast, was a massive success against the superior numbers of the Romanian Army, and Falkenhayn was considered to be the best German commander of the conflict by Winston Churchill, among others. He is further remembered for his actions to save the Jewish population there from extermination by the Ottomans, which has particular significance regarding the actions of the German government two decades after his death.
