Albert Otto Walter Mayer was born on April 24, 1892 in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt. His family later moved to the area near Muhlhausen (now Mulhouse) in the then German-held territory of Alsace.
Mayer enlisted into the Imperial German Army in 1912. By August 1914, he held the rank of Leutnant in his local cavalry unit, the Jäger Regt-zu-Pferd Number 5 which was part of the 29th Cavalry Brigade of the 29th Infantry Division… garrisoned in Muhlhausen.
At around 6 A.M. on August 2, 1914 (one day before the formal declaration of war), Leutnant Albert Mayer and his small cavalry patrol crossed the French frontier! They did not meet resistance, as the French had moved their troops back six miles from the border (to avoid provoking the Germans and to show good faith in their attempts to avoid war).
As the Germans advanced further into enemy territory, they exchanged fire with small groups of French infantry. At 9:50 A.M., Mayer slashed a French Army sentry with his sabre. The sentry was on lookout at the entrance to Joncherey.
A French surveillance unit (comprising of leader Corporal Jules-André Peugeot and four other soldiers) was in the area. These men were at their billet eating breakfast at the time. The daughter of the owner of the house came back inside from fetching water and reportedly said, “The Prussians! The Prussians are coming!” Just before 10 A.M., Peugeot and his four comrades went to face the Teutonic invaders… and upon meeting them, he shouted a command to stop and placed them under arrest.
But Leutnant Mayer pulled out his pistol and fired three shots at Peugeot. One bullet hit the French corporal in the shoulder… but as he was falling, Peugeot fired back. His comrades also fired at the German patrol with their pistols.
In the exchange of gunfire, Mayer was shot in the stomach. Seconds later, he was killed by a shot to the head. When the struggle was over, three Germans were injured and one managed to escape and hide in the woods (he was eventually captured days later). One other soldier was never seen again… and two more escaped back to Germany.
Peugeot managed to stumble back to the billet house, but his time was short. He succumbed to his wounds at 10:37 A.M.
The body of Leutnant Albert Mayer was buried in Joncherey on the day Imperial Germany declared war on republican France. It was later relocated to the German military cemetery at Illfurth near Mulhouse. His gravestone is marked with the inscription, ‘First German Casualty of the World War 1914-18′.
Mayer’s helmet was retrieved by French authorities. Today, it is on display at the Musée de l’Armée in Paris.
Albert Mayer was just twenty-two years old.