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Moritz von Bissing

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For the German Olympic tennis player, see Moritz von Bissing (tennis).

Moritz von Bissing
Born(1844-01-30)30 January 1844
Ober Bellmannsdorf, Prussia
Died18 April 1917(1917-04-18) (aged 73)
Trois Fontaines near Brussels, Belgium
Allegiance Prussia
 German Confederation
 North German Confederation
 German Empire
Service / branch Prussian Army
 Imperial German Army
Years of service1865–1908
1914–1917
RankGeneraloberst
CommandsGardes du Corps
29th Division
VII Army Corps
Battles / warsAustro-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
World War I

Moritz Ferdinand Freiherr[a] von Bissing (30 January 1844 – 18 April 1917) was a German officer from Prussia.[1]

Life and pre-WWI army career

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Bissing was born at Ober Bellmannsdorf in the Province of Silesia. He was the son of Moritz von Bissing, a member of the landed gentry who was known to speak his mind to the Kaiser. In 1865 Bissing entered the Prussian Army as a lieutenant in the cavalry, and he soon saw active service in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. Gaining steady promotion, in 1887 the young Major was appointed as an aide-de-camp to the crown prince, who later became the Emperor Wilhelm II. He served in the guards cavalry until 1897, when he was given command of the 29th Infantry Division. From 1901 to 1907 Bissing commanded the VII Army Corps in Münster. In 1902 he was promoted to General of the Cavalry, and he retired from the army in 1908.

First World War

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Upon the outbreak of the First World War, Bissing was recalled to active duty as deputy commander of the VII Army Corps, serving in that post from August until November 1914. After the fall of Belgium during the early months of the War, Bissing was promoted to Generaloberst and appointed as Governor-General of occupied Belgium, serving from December 1914 until a few days before his death in 1917.

As governor-general, Bissing executed the German Flamenpolitik, during which he netherlandized the Ghent University to make it the first solely Dutch-speaking university in Belgium. As the German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg encouraged Flemish nationalist leaders to declare independence and to integrate into the German sphere, Bissing convened a commission to organise the division of Belgium, issuing a decree on 21 March 1917 which separated Belgium into two administrative areas, Flanders and Wallonia. This was the first attempt at dividing Belgium along linguistic lines.

Taking into account the decision by Walloon nationalists in 1912 to recognize Namur as the central city of Wallonia, Bissing established the Walloon administration there. Wallonia then consisted of four southern Belgian provinces and the district of Nivelles, part of the province of Brabant, thus realizing another revendication of the Walloon movement, the creation of a Walloon Brabant. The Flemish region had Brussels as its capital and was made up of the four northern provinces of Belgium, as well as the districts of Brussels and Leuven.

Among many others, Bissing signed the warrant for the execution of Edith Cavell.

In April 1917 a chronic lung ailment forced Bissing to resign his post as Governor-General, and he succumbed to his illness a few days later, dying near Brussels on 18 April. He is buried at the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin.

Honours

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a former title (translated as 'Baron'). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

References

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  1. ^ "Von Bissing (General)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Moritz Ferdinand Freiherr von Bissing". the Prussian Machine. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, p. 20 – via hathitrust.org
  4. ^ "Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1895, p. 11 – via hathitrust.org
  5. ^ "Großherzogliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (in German), Karlsruhe, 1910, p. 187{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Sachsen (1901). "Königlich Orden". Staatshandbuch für den Königreich Sachsen: 1901 (in German). Dresden: Heinrich. p. 164, 188 – via hathitrust.org.
  7. ^ "Königliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (in German), Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1907, pp. 164
  8. ^ "Ritter-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, Vienna, 1916, pp. 109, 202, retrieved 15 November 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1903) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1903 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1903] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 23-24. Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via da:DIS Danmark.
  10. ^ Sveriges statskalender (PDF) (in Swedish), 1895, p. 417, retrieved 16 November 2020 – via gupea.ub.gu.se
  • Larry Zuckerman, The Rape of Belgium: The Untold Story of World War I, New York University Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8147-9704-4.
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