Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg

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Albrecht
Crown Prince of Württemberg
Duke Albrecht c. 1905
Head of the House of Württemberg
Tenure2 October 1921 - 31 October 1939
PredecessorKing Wilhelm II
SuccessorDuke Philipp Albrecht
Born(1865-12-23)23 December 1865
Vienna, Empire of Austria
Died31 October 1939(1939-10-31) (aged 73)
Altshausen, State of Württemberg, Nazi Germany
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1893; died 1902)​
Issue
See
Names
Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph
HouseWürttemberg
FatherDuke Philipp of Württemberg
MotherArchduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
ReligionRoman Catholic
Military career
Allegiance German Empire
Service/branch Imperial German Army
Years of service1885–1919
RankGeneral field marshal
Commands heldGerman 4th Army (1914–1917)
Army Group Albrecht (1917–1918)
BattlesFirst World War

Albrecht, Duke and Crown Prince of Württemberg (Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph; 23 December 1865 – 31 October 1939) was the last heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Württemberg, a German military commander of World War I, and the head of the House of Württemberg from 1921 to his death.

Early life[edit]

Duke Albrecht was born in Vienna as the eldest child of Duke Philipp of Württemberg and his wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen.[1]

Albrecht entered the armies of the Kingdom of Württemberg and the German Empire in 1883, rose quickly through its ranks, and became the heir apparent to the throne of Württemberg.[1]

In 1910, Albrecht attended the funeral of Edward VII.[2][3] He was a third cousin of Mary of Teck, who was the Queen consort of George V.

World War I[edit]

When World War I began, Duke Albrecht's VI Inspectorate Corps was formed into the 4th Army,[4] 123 battalions strong. As King William II had no sons, Albrecht was appointed the army's commander and assigned to the Ardennes, with Walther von Lüttwitz serving as his chief of staff. This army he led to victory alongside Crown Prince Wilhelm's 5th Army at the Battle of the Ardennes in August 1914. Following that victory, the 4th Army saw action in the First Battle of the Marne before being transferred to Flanders in October, where Albrecht commanded them during the Battle of the Yser. Albrecht also commanded the German forces during the Second Battle of Ypres, where poison gas was used on a large scale for the first time.[5]

Albrecht was awarded the Pour le Mérite in August 1915 and promoted to Generalfeldmarschall in August 1916. The new Army Group Duke Albrecht was placed under his command in February 1917, and he was responsible for the southern sector of the Western Front until the Armistice.

Postwar[edit]

Albrecht had become heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Württemberg following the death of his father in October 1917, but the German Empire's World War I defeat and the abdication of his cousin King Willhelm II of Württemberg following the German Revolution prevented him from ever succeeding to the throne. He became head of the House of Württemberg after the death of Wilhelm on 2 October 1921.

Albrecht died at Altshausen Castle. His son Duke Philipp Albrecht succeeded him as head of the House of Württemberg.

Family[edit]

Albrecht and Margarete Sophie in 1893

Albrecht was married in Vienna on 24 January 1893 to Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria,[6] a daughter of Archduke Carl Ludwig. They had seven children:

Decorations and awards[edit]

Ancestry[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Pawly 2003, p. 30.
  2. ^ Tuchman 2014, p. 16.
  3. ^ Hopkins 1910, p. 372.
  4. ^ Pawly 2003, p. 11.
  5. ^ Zabecki 2014, p. 1504.
  6. ^ born 13 May 1870 in Artstetten Castle; died 24 August 1902 in Gmunden.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1908), "Departement des Kriegswesen" p. 216
  8. ^ a b "Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph Herzog von Württemberg". the Prussian Machine. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Boettger, T. F. "Chevaliers de la Toisón d'Or – Knights of the Golden Fleece". La Confrérie Amicale. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  11. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1910), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 41
  12. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 9
  13. ^ Sovereign Ordonnance of 12 February 1889
  14. ^ "Ludewigs-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 6 – via hathitrust.org
  15. ^ The London Gazette, issue 28058, p. 6149
  16. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36043. London. 19 January 1900. p. 7.
  17. ^ Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901. Dresden: Heinrich. p. 4 – via hathitrust.org.

References[edit]

Wikisource has the text of the 1922 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Albert, Duke of Württemberg".

External links[edit]

Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
Born: 23 December 1865 Died: 31 October 1939
Titles in pretence
Preceded by — TITULAR —
King of Württemberg
2 October 1921 – 31 October 1939
Reason for succession failure:
Kingdom abolished in 1918 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by
Formed from VI Army Inspectorate
(VI. Armee-Inspektion)
 Commander, 4th Army
2 August 1914 – 25 February 1917 		Succeeded by
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