PEEBLES PROFILES
EPISODE 167
Erich Weber
EARLY YEARS
Erich Paul Weber was born in Kamen (a town in North Rhine-Westphalia) on September 12, 1860. At seventeen, he entered the Prussian Army and received his commission on April 15, 1878 with the rank of second lieutenant. Weber witnessed success as a junior regimental officer. In doing so, he took command of the Schleswig-Holstein Pioneer Battalion Number 9 based in Harburg.
On April 14, 1907, Weber (now a major) was transferred to the Fourth Engineer Inspectorate. In that capacity, he served as an engineer officer in the Metz Fortification Command. Then on March 22, 1910, Weber was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Two years later, Weber was appointed commanding officer of the pioneers of XV Corps. This was soon followed by his transfer
to Strassburg on May 22, 1912. In this position, Weber donned the uniform of the First Alsatian Pioneer Battalion Number 15. Six months later, he was made a full colonel.
On December 3, 1913, Weber was selected to participate in the newly-formed German Military Mission to the Ottoman Empire (headed by Otto Liman von Sanders). On December 8th, Weber formally retired from active service in the Imperial German Army before leaving for Ottoman Turkey. He was among the first contingent of ten German officers to arrive in Constantinople by the end of the year. Initially, Weber was appointed Inspector-General of Engineers attached to the Ottoman Ministry of War, with the higher Ottoman rank of Mirliva (the equivalent of major general).
THE GREAT WAR
As a specialist in fortifications when Ottoman Turkey began preparing for war in 1914, Weber was assigned to strengthen the coastal defenses of the Dardanelles. In the early spring of 1915, he was appointed commander of the Ottoman XV Corps on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles Straits.
During the Gallipoli Campaign, Weber distinguished himself in the early stages of the fight at Kum Kale. In doing so, he was promoted to the German rank of major general on April 18, 1915. Thus, Weber automatically attained the higher Ottoman rank of Ferik (the equivalent of lieutenant general). In addition, he was honored by Sultan Mehmed V with the title of Pasha.
On May 5th, Weber was appointed commander of South Group )on the southern part of the Gallipoli peninsula), which experienced a phase of heavy fighting. However, he was criticized for his performance in the new role. After quarreling with Liman von Sanders, Weber was relieved from command on July 8, 1915.
Three months later, Weber returned to Germany. Soon, he was formally reinstated to the Imperial German Army. Weber served on the Western Front as commanding officer of 100th Infantry Brigade from October 22nd to November 16, 1915. He took part in the Second Battle of Champagne.
In early 1916, Weber was involved in the plan to capture the fortress of Verdun (also known as Operation Gericht). On December 21, 1916 (three days after the “hell of Verdun” concluded), he assumed command of the Ninth Division. Weber would hold that post until the signing of the armistice at Compiegne on November 11, 1918.
FINAL YEARS
After the Treaty of Versailles was signed in mid-1919, Weber was absorbed into the provisional Reichswehr. On June 16, 1920, he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed commander of Military District II. With the official formation of the Reichswehr in October 1920, Weber was appointed commanding officer of the Second Division based in Stettin. But just over eight months later, he retired from the Reichswehr with the brevet rank of General der Infanterie (General of Infantry).
Erich Weber died in Berlin on October 29, 1933 at the age of seventy-three.
In 1916, Weber’s daughter Ingeborg married the future High Admiral and Supreme Commander of the Navy Karl Dönitz.
The Bundeswehr barracks in Höxter are named in honor of Erich Weber.