Arthur Arz von Straussenburg

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Arthur Freiherr Arz von Straussenburg (or Straußenburg) June 16, 1857 - June 1, 1935, was an Austro-Hungarian Commander and last Chief of General Staff to the Austro-Hungarian Army.

Early Life

Born among the ancient Saxon settlers of east Translyvania, Arz was the product of a noble "Seven Mountains" family. His grandfather Martin Samuel Arz had been postmaster of Hermannstadt and was raised to the nobility in 1835 with the title "von Straussenburg". His father, Albert Arz von Straussenburg served as an evangelical priest and curate as well as a member of the House of Magnates. Schooled in Dresden and Hermannstadt, Arz graduated "with great achievement", and went on to read law at college as well as become a one year volunteer in a Hungarian feldjäger battalion for the year 1876/1877.

Career

Having successfully completed a year's military service, Arz sat, and passed, the reserve officers examination and went on to apply for and successfully obtain a commission as a regular officer which he achieved in 1878 when he was commission as a Leutnant.

Attaining the rank of Oberleutnant, he attended the Imperial Kriegschule in Vienna 1885 - 1887, which saw him again excel and saw him appointed to the General Staff in 1888. Promoted to Hauptmann, and assigned to a corps staff, Arz was made Adjutant Generaltruppeninspekteur - Feldzeugmeister Baron Schönfelda and then oncemore to the General Staff in 1898 in which he was to remain until 1908.

Already having been promoted to the rank of major, Arz was appointed Oberstleutnant and attached to the 2nd Corps, commanded by Archduke Eugene, following his assignment to the General Staff. Promotion to Oberst on May 1st, 1902 saw him appointed to the management bureau of the General Staff, a department which he was appointed head of in May 1903. In 1903 he also married a Hungarian noblewoman, Stefanie Tomka von Tomkahaza und Falkusfalva, with whom he had a daughter.

World War One

Arz served as a corps commander on the Eastern Front at the outbreak of war in August 1914. Following success at corps level, including participation in the Bug Offensive, he was promoted to command of the First army in 1916.

Chief of General Staff

With the accession of Karl as Emperor in 1916 and Conrad's dismissal as chief of staff, Arz was promoted to the army's chief operational rank. Unlike his predecessor, Arz acted as personal advisor to the Emperor on army matters rather than as a driver of his own strategy as had been Conrad's hallmark. His tenure at the head of the army saw increasing German control over all senior Austro-Hungarian positions and although raised to the nobility in early 1918, his ability to control even his field commanders gradually lessened. Failure of his plans to result in success at the Piave River in June 1918 precipitated the disintegration of the Imperial Army itself.

Post War Career

Following the demise of the empire and without political ambition, Arz retired into private life. He died in 1935.

Service Record

Awards

Works

von Straussenburg, A. Arz, (1924) "The history of the great war 1914-1918", Vienna
von Straussenburg, A. Arz, (1935) "Fight and fall of the empires", Vienna & Leipzig

Notes

Sources

Pope, S. & Wheal, E. (1997) "The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War" Macmillan : London

External Links

http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/straussenberg.htm
http://www.geocities.com/veldes1/arz.html
http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/biog/arz.htm

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Last updated on Wednesday July 16, 2008 at 09:43:49 PDT (GMT -0700)
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