Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler
Dietrich Graf (Count) von Hülsen-Haeseler (February 13, 1852 – November 14, 1908) was an infantry general of the German Empire.

Born in Berlin, Germany the son of a Prussian general, Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler in 1870 became a lieutenant in the Prussian Emperor Alexander Guards Grenadiers. He attended the War College and was attached to the German General Staff in 1882. In 1889 he was made aide de camp to Kaiser Wilhelm II, whom he had known since boyhood.
In 1894 von Hülsen-Haeseler was named military attaché at the German embassy in Vienna. In 1897, now a colonel, he returned to Berlin as commander of a guards regiment. In 1899 he was promoted to major general, made chief of general staff in the Guards Corps, and then given command of the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade.
From May 1901 until his death in November 1908 von Hülsen-Haeseler served as Chief of the German Imperial Military Cabinet, during which time he rose to General of Infantry.
DeathEdit
On November 14, 1908, Dietrich Graf von Hülsen-Haeseler died of a heart attack while on a hunting trip in honor of the Kaiser. The hunting party was staying at Donaueschingen Castle in Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg; the Black Forest country estate of Prince Max von Furstenberg. During a formal evening function von Hülsen-Haeseler appeared dressed in the pink tutu and rose wreath of a ballerina, dancing for the Kaiser and his assembled guests.[1] Apparently exhausted by his exertions the general bowed, collapsed and was pronounced dead after hasty medical attention.[2][3] The circumstances were covered up by the officer corps so as not to further inflame public pressure over the homosexually themed Harden–Eulenburg affair. Ironically, it was von Hülsen-Haeseler who had organized the cover up of that scandal.
Honours and awardsEdit
- German honours[4]
- Prussia:
- Iron Cross, 2nd Class, 1870
- Grand Cross of the Red Eagle, with Crown, Oak Leaves and Swords on Ring
- Knight of the Prussian Crown, 1st Class
- Commander's Star of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
- Knight of Justice of the Johanniter Order
- Service Award Cross
- Anhalt: Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, with Crown
- Baden:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Berthold the First
- Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion, with Oak Leaves
- Bavaria:
- Brunswick: Grand Cross of Henry the Lion, 1902[5]
- Ernestine duchies: Grand Cross of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
- Hesse and by Rhine: Grand Cross of Philip the Magnanimous, with Crown
- Hohenzollern: Cross of Honour of the Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, 1st Class
- Lippe-Detmold: Cross of Honour of the House Order of Lippe, 2nd Class
- Oldenburg: Grand Cross of Honour of the Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Collar and Golden Crown
- Mecklenburg:
- Grand Cross of the Wendish Crown, with Golden Crown
- Grand Cross of the Griffon
- Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Grand Cross of the White Falcon
- Saxony: Grand Cross of the Albert Order, with Golden Star
- Schaumburg-Lippe: Cross of Honour of the House Order of Schaumburg-Lippe, 1st Class
- Schwarzburg: Cross of Honour, 1st Class with Crown
- Waldeck and Pyrmont: Cross of Merit, 1st Class
- Württemberg:
- Grand Cross of the Württemberg Crown
- Grand Cross of the Friedrich Order
- Foreign honours[4]
- Austria-Hungary:[6]
- Knight of the Iron Crown, 2nd Class, 1890
- Grand Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph, 1900
- Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Leopold, 1906
- Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold
- Bulgaria: Grand Cross of St. Alexander
- Denmark: Grand Cross of the Dannebrog, 3 April 1903[7]
- Greece: Grand Cross of the Redeemer
- Italy:
- Montenegro: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I
- Netherlands:
- Knight of the Netherlands Lion
- Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
- Norway: Grand Cross of St. Olav
- Ottoman Empire:
- Order of Osmanieh, 2nd Class
- Order of the Medjidie, 1st Class
- Gold and Silver Imtiyaz Medals
- Persia: Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1st Class in Diamonds
- Portugal: Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ
- Romania:
- Russia:
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky
- Knight of St. Anna, 2nd Class in Diamonds
- Knight of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class with Swords
- Siam: Grand Cross of the White Elephant
- Spain: Grand Cross of Military Merit
- Sweden: Commander Grand Cross of the Sword, 16 February 1904; with Collar, 6 June 1908[8]
- United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 12 November 1907[9]
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Massie, Robert K. Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War. pp. 690–691. ISBN 1-8441-3528-4.
- ^ James, Harold (1989). A German Identity: 1770–1990. New York: Routledge. p. 82.
- ^ Manchester, William (1969). The Arms of Krupp. Michael Joseph. p. 265.
- ^ a b Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat fur das jahr 1908, p. 38
- ^ Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Herzogthums Braunschweig für 1908. Bd. 1908. Braunschweig: Meyer, 1908. p. 10
- ^ "Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1908, pp. 70, 104, 166, retrieved 14 January 2021
- ^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1908) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1908 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1908] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 10 February 2021 – via da:DIS Danmark.
- ^ Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens Arkiv, Matriklar (in Swedish), 7, 1900–1909, p. 23
- ^ The London Gazette, issue 28081, p. 7767
External linksEdit
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