Alexander von Kluck
Encyclopedia
Alexander Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck (20 May 1846 – 19 October 1934) was a German
general
during World War I
.
n army in time to serve in the seven-week Austro-Prussian War
of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War
, where he was wounded twice in the Battle of Colombey-Neuilly. He was made a general of infantry in 1906, and in 1913 was appointed Inspector General
of the Seventh Army District.
revisions of the Schlieffen Plan
, the First Army was part of the strong right wing and positioned on the outer western edge of the German advance through Belgium
and France
. This western flank was to advance alongside Karl von Bülow
's Second Army to Paris
. Upon reaching Paris in concert, the First and Second armies were to threaten Paris from both the west and east.
After fighting the British
at Mons
and Le Cateau
, the First Army pursued Lanrezac
's French Fifth Army during the great retreat
. However, thirty miles from Paris and anticipating an encounter with the French Fifth Army (commanded by Lanrezac), the cautious von Bulow halted his Second Army's advance and demanded von Kluck's direct support. By this time, the aggressive Kluck had advanced his First Army well south of von Bulow's position to 13 miles north of Paris. On August 30, Kluck decided to wheel his columns to the east of Paris, discarding entirely the Schlieffen Plan. Although frustrated by Bülow's caution, on 31 August Kluck turned his army southeast to support the Second Army. In so doing, Kluck created a 30-mile gap in the German line extending toward Bülow's stalled Second Army. Critically, the move exposed Kluck's right flank in the direction of Paris where (unknown to Kluck) General Michel-Joseph Maunoury's new Sixth Army was being created. The French learned of Kluck's change in course on September 1, when a French patrol captured a German dispatch car, containing a map showing the changed position. The following events were critical to the future course of the war.
Passing to the east of Paris, Kluck exposed his right flank to the new French Sixth Army (General Maunoury
). On 5 September, Maunoury attacked Kluck's right flank, marking the opening of the First Battle of the Marne
. Kluck parried the blow by borrowing two corps in the space between the First and Second army. A surprise attack on 8 September by Franchet D'Esperey's (who had replaced Lanrezac) Fifth Army against Bülow's Second widened the gap which the British Expeditionary Force marched to exploit. The attack, as Winston Churchill said, "probed its way into the German liver." On 9 September a representative of the German Headquarters, Hentsch, considered the situation of Bülow's Army as very dangerous and ordered a retreat of all the armies, even though by that time von Kluck had overcome most of his own problems, (except presumably, the problem of keeping in contact with his headquarters and letting his chief of Staff, and therefore Hentsch, from knowing how he had solved his problems). The Germans retreated in good order to positions forty miles behind the River Aisne
. There, the front would remain for years in the form of entrenched positions as World War I continued.
Kluck and Bülow's lack of coordination and the ensuing failure to maintain an effective offensive line was a primary contribution to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan which was intended to deliver a decisive blow against France. Instead, the long stalemate of trench warfare
was ready to begin. The British at the time called him "old one o'clock". Many German experts, however, hold Kluck and especially his Chief of Staff, Kuhl, in the highest esteem. Germany could have won the Battle of the Marne, they think, if only Bülow had matched the courageous initiatives of Kluck's Army, although this doesn't explain the near encirclement of his army.
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Military career
He enlisted in the PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n army in time to serve in the seven-week Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, where he was wounded twice in the Battle of Colombey-Neuilly. He was made a general of infantry in 1906, and in 1913 was appointed Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
of the Seventh Army District.
World War I
With the outbreak of World War I, Kluck was placed in command of the German First Army. According to the MoltkeHelmuth von Moltke the Younger
Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke , also known as Moltke the Younger, was a nephew of Field Marshal Count Moltke and served as the Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914. The two are often differentiated as Moltke the Elder and Moltke the Younger...
revisions of the Schlieffen Plan
Schlieffen Plan
The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff's early 20th century overall strategic plan for victory in a possible future war in which the German Empire might find itself fighting on two fronts: France to the west and Russia to the east...
, the First Army was part of the strong right wing and positioned on the outer western edge of the German advance through Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. This western flank was to advance alongside Karl von Bülow
Karl von Bülow
Karl von Bülow was a German Field Marshal commanding the German 2nd Army during World War I from 1914 to 1915.-Biography:...
's Second Army to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Upon reaching Paris in concert, the First and Second armies were to threaten Paris from both the west and east.
After fighting the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at Mons
Battle of Mons
The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British army attempted to hold the line of the...
and Le Cateau
Battle of Le Cateau
The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on 26 August 1914, after the British, French and Belgians retreated from the Battle of Mons and had set up defensive positions in a fighting withdrawal against the German advance at Le Cateau-Cambrésis....
, the First Army pursued Lanrezac
Charles Lanrezac
Charles Lanrezac was a distinguished general of the French army at the outbreak of World War I.-Early life:...
's French Fifth Army during the great retreat
Great Retreat
The Great Retreat, also known as the Retreat from Mons, is the name given to the long, fighting retreat by Allied forces to the River Marne, on the Western Front early in World War I, after their holding action against the Imperial German Armies at the Battle of Mons on 23 August 1914...
. However, thirty miles from Paris and anticipating an encounter with the French Fifth Army (commanded by Lanrezac), the cautious von Bulow halted his Second Army's advance and demanded von Kluck's direct support. By this time, the aggressive Kluck had advanced his First Army well south of von Bulow's position to 13 miles north of Paris. On August 30, Kluck decided to wheel his columns to the east of Paris, discarding entirely the Schlieffen Plan. Although frustrated by Bülow's caution, on 31 August Kluck turned his army southeast to support the Second Army. In so doing, Kluck created a 30-mile gap in the German line extending toward Bülow's stalled Second Army. Critically, the move exposed Kluck's right flank in the direction of Paris where (unknown to Kluck) General Michel-Joseph Maunoury's new Sixth Army was being created. The French learned of Kluck's change in course on September 1, when a French patrol captured a German dispatch car, containing a map showing the changed position. The following events were critical to the future course of the war.
Passing to the east of Paris, Kluck exposed his right flank to the new French Sixth Army (General Maunoury
Michel-Joseph Maunoury
Michel-Joseph Maunoury was a commander of French forces in the early days of World War I.-Biography:He was born on 17 December 1847....
). On 5 September, Maunoury attacked Kluck's right flank, marking the opening of the First Battle of the Marne
First Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...
. Kluck parried the blow by borrowing two corps in the space between the First and Second army. A surprise attack on 8 September by Franchet D'Esperey's (who had replaced Lanrezac) Fifth Army against Bülow's Second widened the gap which the British Expeditionary Force marched to exploit. The attack, as Winston Churchill said, "probed its way into the German liver." On 9 September a representative of the German Headquarters, Hentsch, considered the situation of Bülow's Army as very dangerous and ordered a retreat of all the armies, even though by that time von Kluck had overcome most of his own problems, (except presumably, the problem of keeping in contact with his headquarters and letting his chief of Staff, and therefore Hentsch, from knowing how he had solved his problems). The Germans retreated in good order to positions forty miles behind the River Aisne
Aisne River
The Aisne is a river in northeastern France, left tributary of the river Oise. It gave its name to the French département Aisne. It was known in the Roman period as the Axona....
. There, the front would remain for years in the form of entrenched positions as World War I continued.
Kluck and Bülow's lack of coordination and the ensuing failure to maintain an effective offensive line was a primary contribution to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan which was intended to deliver a decisive blow against France. Instead, the long stalemate of trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
was ready to begin. The British at the time called him "old one o'clock". Many German experts, however, hold Kluck and especially his Chief of Staff, Kuhl, in the highest esteem. Germany could have won the Battle of the Marne, they think, if only Bülow had matched the courageous initiatives of Kluck's Army, although this doesn't explain the near encirclement of his army.
Retirement and later life
Kluck was seriously injured in the leg in March 1915 and retired from active service in October 1916. General von Kluck wrote of his participation in the War in the volume entitled Führung und Taten der Erste (1920). His post war memoirs, The March on Paris and the Battle of the Marne, were published in 1920. Kluck died in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In popular culture
Von Kluck's name was mentioned in a British army song that used rhyming slang:- "Kaiser Bill is feeling ill,
- The Crown Prince, he's gone barmy.
- We don't give a cluck for old von Fluck
- And all his bleedin' army."