Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin

Sixt von Armin
General Sixt von Armin, portrait by Hugo Vogel.
Born	27 November 1851(1851-11-27) Wetzlar
Died	30 September 1936(1936-09-30) (aged 84) Magdeburg
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1870-1919
Rank	General
Commands held	13th Division IV Corps Fourth Army
Awards	Pour le Mérite
Relations	Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Armin

Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin (27 November 1851 – 30 September 1936) was a German general during the First World War.

Early life

Sixt von Armin was born in Wetzlar, an exclave of the Rhine Province. After leaving school in 1870, he joined the 4th Grenadier Guards Regiment as a cadet, and was seriously wounded in the Franco-Prussian War at the Battle of Gravelotte. He was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, and promoted to lieutenant. He subsequently served as adjutant of the regiment, and also held other positions on the regimental staff.

In 1900, Sixt von Armin was promoted to Oberst (colonel) and given command of the 55th Infantry Regiment. The following year, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Gardekorps. He was promoted to major general in 1903, and to lieutenant general in 1906.

Following a period of service at general headquarters, in 1908 Sixt von Armin was appointed as commander of the 13th Division, then stationed in Münster. In 1911, he succeeded Paul von Hindenburg as commanding officer of the IV Corps in Magdeburg. In 1913, Sixt von Armin was promoted to general.

World War I

Sixt von Armin

At the beginning of the First World War, Sixt von Armin and the IV Corps were a part of the First Army on the Western Front, where they were heavily involved in the trench warfare that defined the first years of the conflict. For his handling of combat operations on the Western Front, particularly at Arras and on the Somme, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite in 1916. The following year he was appointed commander of the Fourth Army, and also served as commander-in-chief in the Flanders region. During his time as commander, the Fourth Army withstood several significant assaults from British and Commonwealth forces, notably the Third Battle of Ypres. For his performance as commander, Sixt von Armin was awarded the Order of the Black Eagle, as well as the oak leaf cluster to the Pour le Mérite.

Sixt von Armin was still in command of the Fourth Army during the Spring Offensive of 1918. On 25 April, his troops captured the Kemmelberg, although they were later forced to retreat to the Antwerp-Maas defensive line.

With the signing of the Armistice on 11 November, Sixt von Armin took command of Army Group A and returned with it to Germany, where, following the demobilisation of his troops, he resigned.

Later life

After the war, Sixt von Armin lived in Magdeburg, where he was a popular speaker and made frequent appearances at public events. When he died in 1936, he was buried with full military honors.

Following his death, a barracks and a street in Magdeburg were named after him, although these were both renamed in 1945. There is also a street named after him in Wetzlar.

References

• Jörn Winkelvoß, Magdeburger Biographisches Lexikon, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1

Military offices
Preceded by Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg	Commander, 4th Army 25 February 1917–28 January 1919	Succeeded by Dissolved