PEEBLES PROFILES
EPISODE 191
Moriz von Lyncker
Moriz Freiherr von Lyncker was born in the Prussian town of Spandau on January 30, 1853. His family had a rich military heritage; his father Arthur, father-in-law, and both younger brothers were officers.
The military career of Moritz von Lyncker began in March 1870 when he joined the “Emperor Franz” Guard Grenadier Regiment Number Two in Berlin as a cadet. He became an ensign two months after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Prior to that promotion, Moriz was seriously wounded at St. Privat on August 18, 1870. Although he received the Iron Cross, Second Class for bravery, the young Lyncker was put on immediate convalescent leave for the remained of the war. While recuperating in St. Goddard, Switzerland, Lyncker met Paul von Hindenburg, who would become the great field marshal of the German Army. And when the conflict officially ended at Versailles, Moriz (not yet eighteen) was a decorated second lieutenant.
In the summer of 1875, Lyncker became a company adjutant with his regiment. He was promoted to first lieutenant in May 1878 and entered the Prussian War Academy in Berlin later that autumn.
Lyncker then joined Potsdam’s First Guard Foot Regiment in October 1881 and became company commander a couple years later. During that time, he became part of Berlin’s Great General Staff. Another promotion to captain soon followed in March 1884.
In October 1887, Lyncker became an adjutant on Crown Prince Friedrich’s general staff with IV Corps Inspection in Magdeburg. Soon the Crown Prince would become Kaiser Friedrich III… but for a very short period of time!
By June 1888, the new Kaiser was dying of throat cancer. In addition, Lyncker had joined Julius von Bergmann’s general staff with the 18th Infantry Division in Flensburg. As the decade drew to a close, Moriz held the rank of major.
Around the same time, Lyncker married Anna Marie von der Horst. He became an extremely dedicated and loving family man… father of three daughters and three boys. Sadly, two of his sons met their fate in the Great War. Niklas was killed early in the conflict, while Bodo became a pilot and was killed in action over the skies of Macedonia in February 1917.
By June 1892, Lyncker was back in Magdeburg with IV Corps, this time on Karl von Hänisch’s general staff. Two years later, he was a battalion commander with the First Fusilier Guard Regiment in Berlin. Then as 1895 dawned, Lyncker was named military governor and mentor to Crown Prince Wilhelm and Prince Eitel Friedrich (both the sons of Kaiser Wilhelm II). During his service with the royal court, Lyncker would become a lieutenant colonel on January 27, 1896 (the Kaiser’s 37th birthday) and a full colonel in May 1898.
Moriz would get a opportunity to command in the autumn of 1898 with the “Queen Elisabeth” Guard Grenadier Regiment Number Three based in Charlottenburg. Then with the dawn of the 20th century, Lyncker continued his military ascension. On August 19, 1901, he was given the title Offizier von der Armee. Three months later, he became a major general.
Over the next four years, Lyncker would receive two more commands. On the Kaiser’s 43rd birthday (January 27, 1902), Moriz headed the First Guard Infantry Brigade in Potsdam. Then in the spring of 1905, he became leader of the 19th Infantry Division in Hannover. He was also promoted to lieutenant general by year’s end.
In November 1908, General Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler (Chief of the Military Cabinet in the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II) suddenly died. Moriz von Lyncker was promptly appointed to the post. He was responsible for the Prussian Army’s personnel matters. Then in September 1909, Lyncker was given the title of General der Infanterie. He was also present at the famous Imperial War Council of December 8, 1912.
With the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Lyncker remained in the royal court (one of the closest aides to the Kaiser) along with Oskar von Chelius, Hans von Plessen, and Hans von Gontard. Lyncker was later evaluated as “politically innocent, intellectually mediocre, with subservient devotion to Wilhelm II.”
But as the Great War escalated, the Kaiser withdrew into an atmosphere of “fear of the world and flight from reality”. Lyncker then worked with Georg Alexander von Müller (Chief of the Imperial Naval Cabinet) at great lengths to persuade Wilhelm II to spend more time on the business of the government in Berlin.
By August 10, 1914, Lyncker was considering replacing Helmuth von Moltke the Younger with Erich von Falkenhayn as Chief of the German General Staff. After the failure at the Marne, it was Moriz’s duty to convince Moltke to leave.
After 1915, Lyncker was ready to moderate Germany’s aims to achieve peace. However, he still demanded that the Reich should retain Belgium or (at least) the Belgian ports for future use against Britain. Like Falkenhayn, Moriz wanted a compromising peace with Tsarist Russian and a substantial victory over Great Britain and republican France.
In April 1918, Lyncker was promoted yet again to Generaloberst. He had already been decorated with the Pour le Mérite five months earlier. He also received the Order of the Black Eagle.
But Lyncker’s star faded toward the end of the Kaiser’s reign. The death of his two sons and his Anna Marie proved more than the dedicated family man could bear! After the second failure at the Marne, Lyncker was named head of the Imperial Military Court, replacing Graf von Kirchbach. With the signing of the Treaty of Versailles by a two-man German delegation in the summer of 1919, Lyncker retired from military duty.
Morin von Lyncker died in the village of Demnitz (east of Berlin) on January 20, 1932. He was ten days short of his 79th birthday.