Hans von Seeckt

From Kaiserreich

Hans von Seeckt (born 22 April 1866) is the current chief of the German Großer Generalstab (Great General Staff).

Born in Schleswig, he entered the army in 1885 and was seconded into the General Staff. During the Weltkrieg, von Seeckt served in various high-level staff positions on the Eastern Front, including Chief of Staff to August von Mackensen while the latter commanded the Eleventh Army.

In 1925, Chancelor Tirpitz appointed von Seeckt as commander in chief of all German expeditionary forces during the intervention in China. Serving under him were several famous officers like Alexander von Falkenhausen, Günther Plüschow and Hellmuth von Mücke, many of which would stay in China as officers and advisors for the Qing Empire and the Allgemeine Ostasiatische GmbH.

Von Seeckt spend the next seven years as military governour in China. Not only was he successful in surpressing the various republican resistance groups, and driving the Milinarians and various warlords into China's interior, he also wrote the new constitution for the chinese empire and helped to set up and organise the Allgemeine Ostasiatische GmbH.

In 1932 von Seeckt was recalled from China, and returned to Germany. The victorious general received a hero's welcome in Berlin. His Majesty Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded von Seeckt with the Pour le Merité medal, and made him a Marschall of the Reich.

One year later, after Feld Marschall von Hindenburg finally retired as chief of staff, von Seeckt was designated as his sucessor.