| The Prussian Machine - Generals |
Hermann von Eichhorn
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(13.2.1848 - 30.7.1918) place of birth: Breslau, Niederschlesien (Wroclaw, Poland) Generalfeldmarschall: 18 December 1917 German field marshal and commander of the Tenth Army throughout the greater part of the war. He began his military career as a Fahnenjunker in 2nd Foot Guards Regiment, with whom he saw action in 1866 war with Austria, first at Soor, then at Königinhof and Königgrätz. Von Eichhorn also also served during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, chiefly as battalion adjutant for the Foot-Guards. Prior to the Great War, he served in several general staff positions, eventually becoming the Inspector General for Seventh Army Inspectorate - Saarbrücken - and earning in 1912 the Order of the Black Eagle. Von Eichhorn would have been slated to command a field army as the sabers rattled throughout Europe, but in May 1913 he was seriously injured in a horseback riding accident in the vicinity of Metz. Although he was completely healthy by July 1914 mobilization, all high command positions had already been filled. He thus whiled away the first few months of the war but finally got approval from the Kaiser himself to temporarily command a Leib-Grenadier regiment in January 1915, seeing heavy action at Soissons. Later that month he was transferred to command Tenth Army on the Eastern Front, where he was awarded the Pour le Merite in 1915 for the storming of the Fortress of Kovno; he likewise successfully commanded Landwehr and Landsturm troops during the winter battle at Masurian Lakes. Von Eichhorn remained in command of the Tenth until 1918, also concurrently serving as commander of his own army group. For the final months of the war, he lead the troops of Army Group Kiev as they occupied Ukraine and thus received the moniker of "Uncrowned King of Ukraine."
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