William George Haan

Background

William George Haan was born on October 4, 1863, on a farm near Crownpoint, Indiana, United States, the son of Nicholas and Anna Marie (Weins) Haan, who had emigrated from Germany in 1850.

Education

After elementary preparation at a country school and near-by high school, William received appointment to West Point in 1885 and graduated four years later near the head of his class.

Career

In 1898 William Haan accompanied his battery to the Philippines, and for distinguished conduct in action during the attack on Manila, August 13, 1898, and against insurgents near Manila, February 5, 1899, he received silver-star citations and was recommended for brevet promotion to a captaincy. He was selected as a member of the original General Staff Corps, 1903-1906, and during 1903-1904 was on important duty in Panama as confidential representative of the government.

At the outbreak of the World War Haan was promoted brigadier-general, and assigned to command the 57th Field Artillery Brigade at Camp MacArthur, Texas; but on December 17, 1917, he was advanced to major general and to the command of the 32nd Division, largely made up of soldiers from the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. The Red Arrow Division, as it came to be known, was the sixth American division sent overseas, and though at first somewhat disorganized by use as labor and replacement troops, the division took an active part in the defensive-sector operations in Alsace, and in the major offensives of the Marne-Aisne, Oise-Aisne, and Meuse-Argonne.

On November 30, 1918, while leading the VII Corps into Germany, Haan was promoted brigadier-general in the Regular Army. Returning to the United States with his division, he became director of the War Plans Division, General Staff, and with marked ability handled many difficult problems attending army reorganization. He was promoted major-general on July 3, 1920.

After his retirement from active service March 31, 1922, Haan made his home in Milwaukee and engaged in special writing for the Milwaukee Journal. An article by him, “The Division as a Fighting Machine, " appeared in the Wisconsin Magasine of History for September 1920. He died at Mount Alto Hospital, Washington. Interment, with high military honors and in the presence of a distinguished gathering, was at Arlington; and some five years later, November 9, 1929, an impressive granite monument, erected by General Haan’s wartime division, was unveiled by the Governor of Wisconsin with fitting ceremonies.

Achievements

• William Haan is best remembered for his meritorious service in connection with the great San Francisco fire and earthquake in 1906, as acting chief of staff of the Pacific Division. Battery Haan, a defensive work of Fort Bruja, Panama Canal, was named by the War Department in his honor.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Division as a Fighting Machine (Paperback) - Common

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Connections

William George Haan was married to Margaret (Hawes) Haan, daughter of an officer of the army transport service, on August 16, 1905.

Father:

Nicholas Haan

Mother:

Anna Marie (Weins) Haan

Spouse:

Margaret (Hawes) Haan

References

• Who's Who in America, 1922-1923, Vol. 12: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women in the United States