Background
ALBRECHT, Duke of Württemberg was born in Vienna on December 23,1865, the grandson of Archduke Albrecht of Austria; as the nephew of the childless King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, Albrecht was regarded as heir apparent to the throne.
ALBRECHT, Duke of Württemberg was born in Vienna on December 23,1865, the grandson of Archduke Albrecht of Austria; as the nephew of the childless King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, Albrecht was regarded as heir apparent to the throne.
Albrecht began studies at Tübingen in 1884, but the following year entered the military.
When Albrecht entered the military, his career became the customary rapid royal climb up the ladder of command: by 1906 head of the XI Army Corps at Kassel, two years later command of the XIII (Württemberg) Corps, and in 1913 inspecor general of the VI Army Inspectorate in the grade of colonel general. The latter post in reality placed Albrecht in charge of the Württemberg army.
On August 2, 1914, Albrecht was given command of the Fourth Army and occupied Luxembourg with this force. Thereafter he entered Belgium and on
August 22 faced the French Fourth Army near Namur; the resulting battle of Neufchateau brought the duke his first victory in the field. Two days later his forces again defeated the French near Sedan, and on Sepbember 5, the Fourth Army reached the River Marne - only to become part of the German retreat four days later.
On October 10, Duke Albrecht was given command of a newly formed Fourth Army in Flanders, which commenced a general advance between the Lys and the English Channel. Within seven days the celebrated race to the sea had started as both sides rushed toward the Channel, each attempting to outflank the other. Thousands died as the Fourth Army stood at Ypres, and when the Belgians opened the flood gates at Nieuport, Albrecht was forced to retreat to the right banks of the Yser. By mid- November the fighting in Flanders had subsided and degenerated into trench warfare. The Fourth Army failed to envelop the enemy's left flank and the year ended with yet another bitter struggle at Nieuport.
Duke Albrecht renewed the attack at Ypres on April 22, 1915, and for the first time used poisonous gas, which cost the enemy about 15,000 casualties. However, the broad assault failed to breach enemy lines and had to be called off by the end of May. In the spring, the Fourth Army again charged the British at Ypres, opening five gaps in the opposing line but failing to break through. On August 1, 1916, Duke Albrecht was promoted field marshal of the Württemberg army.
Transferred to the southern wing of the western front on February 25, 1917, as commander of the new Army Group Duke Albrecht of Württemberg with headquarters at Strassburg, this clear and independent thinker remained German military commander in the Reichsländer Alsace and Lorraine until the end of the war, but saw relatively little action in this theater. General Krafft von Dellmensingen (q.v.) ably served as his chief of staff.
Albrecht retired to Castle Altshausen after the war, and in 1921, on the death of King Wilhelm II, became head of the House of Württemberg. He died at his castle in Upper Swabia on October 29,1939.