Otto von Stetten

Otto von Stetten(16 March 1862 – 7 August 1937) was aGermanGeneral of the CavalryinWorld War I.

Otto von Stetten (1862–1937)

Family background

Otto was the son of theBavarianKammerjunkerFriedrich von Stetten and his wife Adele (née Hohe). In 1915, he married Marie, Baroness von Weinbach.

Military career

Peacetime career

Having completed his secondary education, Stetten joined the3rd Royal Bavarian Chevau-légers "Herzog Karl Theodor"of theBavarian ArmyinDieuzeas aFour-year volunteer.On 18 March 1880, he was promoted toFähnrichand on 29 April 1882 he becamesecond lieutenant.Stetten then received training at the Riding School inMunichbetween 1889 and 1891 and at theBavarian War Academyin the three years up to 1894.In the meantime, he had been promoted tofirst lieutenanton 25 March 1891 and on 4 April 1895 was seconded to theGeneral Stafffor a year. For the following three and a half years, Stetten served as the personal aide toRupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria.Together, the two undertook extensive travels to theMiddle East,India,JapanandChina.In this function, on 7 November 1896, Stetten was promoted toRittmeister.As such, he assumed command of aSquadronof the2nd Royal Bavarian Chevau-légers "Taxis"on 6 November 1899, then stationed inRegensburg.Then, on 13 September 1901, Stetten was again assigned to theGeneral Staffof the2nd Royal Bavarian Divisionbased in Augsburg, and on 28 October 1902 he was promoted to the senior rank ofmajor.

In 1904, Stetten applied for leave of absence and shortly after, he was granted permission to take part in theRusso-Japanese Waron the side of theEmpire of Japan,where he also fought in the 1905Battle of Mukden,the most decisive major land battle of the entire conflict. At the time, his participation in the war was even noted by theMunich town chronicle.

After the war had ended, Stetten returned to Bavaria on 17 September 1905 and on 17 October of the same year he was appointedChief of Staffof theI Royal Bavarian Corps.Following his promotion toOberstleutnanton 15 August 1906, he assumed command of the2nd Royal Bavarian Heavy Cavalry "Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria"on 12 July 1908. This was a heavy cavalry regiment with its peacetime location atLandshut.Precisely one month later, on 12 August 1908, Stetten was promoted tocolonel.On 26 March 1909, he was appointed commander of the5th Royal Bavarian Cavalry Brigadeand a year later of the1st Royal Bavarian Cavalry Brigade.After his promotion toGeneralmajoron 16 October 1911, Stetten becameUndersecretaryin the recently foundedBavarian Ministry of Warand at the same time was appointedBavarian Counsellor of State,thus becoming a close advisor ofOtto of Bavaria.Between 18 March 1913 and 1 August 1914 he further served as inspector of the Bavarian Cavalry. In this function, Stetten directly reported to theGerman EmperorWilhelm II.On 17 December 1913, he was promoted toGeneralleutnant.

Wartime career

At the outbreak of the First World War, Stetten was appointed the new commander of theBavarian Cavalry Division,a key tactical formation of theGerman 6th Armyemployed on theWestern Front.On 11 August 1914, the division was already involved in combat operations near Lagarde. Although theUhlansof the division lost 235 soldiers, the village ofLagardewas successfully taken by assault. As a result, the division was able to capture a French flag, eleven units of heavy weaponry, six machine guns and 1400 prisoners. Perhaps most importantly, Stetten could seize documents from a fallenbrigadier generalrevealing crucial information about the French plan of action forLorraine.The encounter atLagardewas the last successful large-scale cavalry attack on theWestern Front.

In October, the division was engaged in the border region of northern France and Belgium and already managed to advance onHazebrouck,when it had to be taken back because of the advance of British troops. On 11 October 1914, Stetten was awarded the Knight's Cross of theMilitary Order of Max Joseph.On 5 November 1914, he was assigned to the temporary command of theII Royal Bavarian Corpsto deputize for General Karl Ritter von Martini. Five days later, on 10 November 1914, the Corps managed to captureSint-Elooiduring theFirst Battle of Ypres.During theBattle of the Somme,some positions of the3rd Royal Bavarian Divisionwere overrun by the enemy. At the same time, the4th Royal Bavarian Divisionwas able to decelerate the AlliedCapture of Martinpuichwith machine gun fire. For his leadership, Stetten was awarded thePour le Mériteon 22 September 1916.

On 5 January 1917, Stetten officially took over the Corps as Commanding General (CG) and was promoted toGeneral of the Cavalry.At this time he commanded the3rd Royal Bavarian DivisionunderGeneralleutnantKarl von Wenningerand the4th Royal Bavarian DivisionunderGeneralmajorPrince Franz of Bavaria.

During theBattle of Passchendaele,the Corps was assigned to the southern section of the front of the4th Armyas group "Lille" and was able to hold its positions.

On the morning of 21 May 1917, theBritish Second Armyinitiated theBattle of Messines (1917)with a massive bombardment with over 2,000 canons. Although destroying the majority of Germany's defence facilities in this sector, the bombardment also warned Stetten of a potential imminent large-scale attack. The kind of attack, however, had not been foreseen by Stetten and his staff. The British began their attack on 7 June with the detonation of 19 mines they had deployed below the German front line. At the time, the detonation was the loudest sound so far created by humans and still is one of the largest non-nuclear explosions of all times. The explosion immediately killed up to 10,000 of Stetten's soldiers belonging to the3rd Royal Bavarian Division.Using barrage, toxic gas and 72 tanks, British units managed to make extensive advances into the German defence lines and capture thousands of German soldiers. Without doubt, theBattle of Messines (1917)was one of the most successful Allied advances of World War I and Stetten's greatest defeat.

For theBattle of the Lys (1918),Stetten was assigned the central attacking position. Furthermore, his task force also included the 10th Ersatz-Division, the32nd Divisionand the38th Division.The right wing of Stetten's formation succeeded in capturing the forest of Grenier and the village of Fleurbaix, while also establishing access to the Lys river at Bac St. Maur. This area could then be used by other units to cross the river when parts of his units were still engaged in heavy fighting at Pont Mortier. The Corps then further advanced, culminating in the capture of the city ofArmentières.The successes of this battle outweighed the 1917 losses inFlandersand created a basis for further advancements. The Allies had to take heavy losses in the form of 20,000 prisoners, 400 canons and thousands of machine guns.

Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingenreplaced Stetten on 18 April 1918. He retired from active service on 12 May 1918. At the same time,Ludwig III of Bavariaawarded him the Commander's Cross of theMilitary Order of Max Josephto honour his achievements.

The3rd Royal Bavarian Divisionand the4th Royal Bavarian Division,both de facto under Stetten's command since the end of 1914, were recognized as outstanding units by the Allies. Regarding the3rd Royal Bavarian Division,Allied intelligence rated the division as one of the best German divisions.In the same way, the4th Royal Bavarian Divisionwas seen as first class and of the highest quality.

Decorations and awards

A barracks in Munich was named after Otto von Stetten in 1938 in recognition of his military valour. Furthermore, Stetten held the following awards:

• The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosetteawarded on 19 February 1906
• Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown, Commander's Crossawarded in 1913
• Order of St. Michael, 4th Class with Crown and Swords
• Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd Class
• Order of the Crown, 4th Class
• Iron Cross, 2nd Classawarded on 13 October 1914
• Iron Cross, 1st Classawarded on 14 November 1914
• Military Merit Order, Grand Cross with Swordsawarded on 21 October 1915
• Albert Order, Grand Cross with Swords
• Pour le Meriteawarded on 22 September 1916

Literature

• Rudolf von Kramer, Otto von Waldenfels:VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. Der königlich bayerische Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden. Kriegstaten und Ehrenbuch 1914-1918.Selbstverlag des königlich bayerischen Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens, München 1966, S. 419–420.
• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng:Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs.Band 3:P-Z.Biblio Verlag. Bissendorf 2011.ISBN3-7648-2586-3.S. 360–361.
• Hanns Möller:Geschichte des Ritter des Ordens »pour le mérite« im Weltkrieg.Band II:M–Z.Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, S. 373–374.

References

• Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919, (1920), pp. 80–82.
• Histories of Two Hundred and Fifty-One Divisions of the German Army which Participated in the War (1914-1918), compiled from records of Intelligence section of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, at General Headquarters, Chaumont, France 1919, (1920), pp. 101–103.
• http:// muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtverwaltung/Direktorium/Stadtarchiv/Chronik/1904.html