Friedrich von Bernhardi 
(22.11.1849 - 10.07.1930)
place of birth:  St Petersburg, Russland  (St Petersburg, Russia)
Königreich Preußen:  General der Kavallerie


Imperial German General der Kavallerie Friedrich von Bernhardi served during the Great War as a divisional and corps-level commander. He was also an internationally respected military historian. Born of Estonian-German parents, his family moved from Russia to Germany when he was two years old. His father Theodor was a diplomat and Prussian historian with close connections at the highest levels of Prussia's military and political elite. Friedrich's mother was the daughter of Russian Admiral Krusenstern. 

General von Bernhardi began his military career as a Prussian cavalry officer serving in the 14th Husar-Regiment in Kassel. With that unit, he later saw action in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, and was reputed to be the first German to ride through the Arc de Triomphe when the Prussians entered Paris. He served on the general staff as head of war history section (1898-1901). Still during peacetime, General von Bernhardi commanded both at the division and corps level and then in 1909 went on inactive reserve status. Bernhardi took this opportunity to travel the world, chronicling his visits to Egypt, Asia, and the Americas.

As Germany mobilized for War, General der Kavallerie von Bernhardi was reactivated to function initially as Hermann von Strantz' acting commander at V. Army Corps Headquarters in Posen. In September 1915 he was transferred to the Eastern Front to head up 49th Reserve Division engaged at Slonim. In the summer of 1916, he was urgently called to the Austro-Hungarian front near Volhynia to lead a multi-national force defending against the Brusilov Offensive. Under his leadership, German and Austrian troops were able to fend off the Russians in the area of the Styr and Stochid rivers, earning Bernhardi the Pour le Merite medal. His "Korps Bernhardi" was reformed in October 1916 into Generalkommando z.b.V. Nr. 55, remaining on the Eastern Front until early 1918. They deployed west in February and were engaged at Armentieres. As the Germans retreated, General von Bernhardi ultimately had a physical breakdown and was forced to retire from active duty to his family estate in Cunnersdorf near Hirschberg, Silesia (present-day Poland).

	General der Kavallerie ....	27.01.1908
	Pour le Mérite ....................	20.08.1916  (Eichenlaub:  25.05.1918)