Blasius von Schemua

General

Blasius von Schemua
General; Blasius von Schemua
	Blasius von Schemua in 1912.
Native name	Slovene: Blaž Žemva
Born	January 2, 1856; Klagenfurt, Austrian Empire; (now Austria)
Died	November 21, 1920 (aged 64); Klagenfurt, First Austrian Republic
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary
Service / branch	Austro-Hungarian Army
Years of service	1874–1915
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands	Austro-Hungarian General Staff; 16th Corps; 2nd Corps
Battles / wars	World War I Eastern Front Battle of Galicia Battle of Komarów; ; ;
Alma mater	Theresian Military Academy

Blasius von Schemua (Slovene: Blaž Žemva; Klagenfurt, 2 January 1856 – Klagenfurt, 21 November 1920) was an Austro-Hungarian general of Slovene descent.

Blasius von Schemua^[1] was the son of Blaž Žemva [sl], an army officer. He graduated from the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt in 1874 and the Military High School in Vienna in 1884, where he was also a lecturer from 1893 to 1897.^[2]

In 1879, Schemua was a member of the Austro-Hungarian military mission in Persia for three years, during which period he gained a deep appreciation of Islam. In the eyes of his colleagues, his Persian experience permanently marked his character. He was a Darwinist and a member of the occultist New Templar Order of Lanz von Liebenfels. His Templar name was Fra Gotthard.^[3]

In 1910, Schemua was responsible for nationwide mobilization in the Ministry of War. From 1911 to 1912, he was Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, the highest position in the hierarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Army.^[2] At the beginning of the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, he was appointed commander of the 16th Corps in Dubrovnik and promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant (lieutenant field marshal). In 1913, he was promoted to general of the infantry. At the beginning of World War I in 1914, during the Battle of Galicia, he commanded the 2nd Corps but failed to distinguish himself at the Battle of Komarów. He was replaced by Johann von Kirchbach auf Lauterbach [de]. He was then appointed commander of the defense of the Danube from Krems to Pressburg. In 1915, he retired at his own request.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b (in Slovene) Enciklopedija Slovenije. Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1987–2002
^ ^a ^b (in Slovene) Biografski leksikon Gorenjci. Spletni biografski leksikon. Osrednja knjižnica Kranj.
^ Lawrence Sondhaus, Franz Conrad Von Hötzendorf: Architect of the Apocalypse (Humanities Press, 2000), p. 117.

Military offices
Preceded by Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf	Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff 3 December 1911 – 12 December 1912	Succeeded by Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf