Fritz von Lossberg

Who was Fritz von Lossberg?

Friedrich Karl "Fritz" von Lossberg was a German colonel, and later general, of World War I. He was a strategic planner, especially of defence, who was Chief of Staff for the Second, Third and Fourth Armies. He was present at the battles of the Somme, Arras, and Verdun

Lossberg was born in Bad Homburg in Hesse-Nassau. Erich Ludendorff refers to him as Loszberg in his memoires. Elsewhere, it is sometimes also spelt Loßberg.

Lossberg was later to become "legendary as the fireman of the Western Front, always sent by OHL to the area of crisis". He was the "foremost German expert on Defensive Warfare. Was made a floating Chief of staff in problem areas with Vollmacht: the right to issue orders in a superior's name".

The British Official History refers to him as a very remarkable soldier.

Lossberg was awarded the Blue Max for his work on the Western Front on 24 April 1917.

'Throughout the eight months which Colonel von Lossberg spent in Mézières [in early 1915] he was straining at the leash to return to more active work at the front, and the first opportunity, which came by accident, he seized with both hands. His chief, Colonel Tappen, was still away when the French offensive [in the Champagne region] was delivered on 25 September and von Lossberg deputized for him when General Falkenhayn explained the situation to the Kaiser, William II, the following morning. A message had come through earlier from the chief of staff of the Third Army, Lieut.-General von Hoehn, that the left corps might have to be withdrawn two miles to behind the Dormoise, and Colonel von Lossberg during his account of the situation on the Champagne battlefront expressed strong disapproval of such an action. Within three hours of that interview he was on his way to replace General von Hoehn as chief of staff, a marked honour for a junior colonel of only two months' seniority, as all the other chiefs of staff of armies were at least major-generals.' Von Lossberg was one of the leading proponents of the system of defence-in-depth.