Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein (1870 - 1948) was a German General and a member of the group of German officers who directed the Ottoman Army during World War I. 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... A General is an officer of high military rank. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Military dead: 4 million The First World War, also known as The Great War, The War to End All Wars, and World War I (abbreviated WWI) was...

Von Kressenstein was part of Otto Liman von Sanders military mission to Turkey. This German misson arrived in Turkey shortly before World War I broke out. Otto Liman von Sanders (February 17, 1855 - August 22, 1929) was a German general who served as adviser to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V during World War I. He was born in Stolp in Pomerania. ...

He joined Djemal Pasha's army in Palestine as a military engineer and later chief of staff. Djemal Pasha was given the job by the Turkish leader Enver Pasha of capturing or disabling the Suez Canal. This effort is called the First Suez Offensive and it occurred in January 1915. Kress von Kressenstein was responsible for creating special boats for crossing the canal (pontoons) as well as organizing the crossing of the Sinai desert. While the desert was crossed with little loss of life, the British were aware of their approach and their attack on the Suez came as no surprise to the defenders. The Turkish forces were repulsed easily and after two days of fighting, they retreated. Von Kressenstein's special pontoons were never used. Ahmed Djemal Pasha Ahmed Djemal Pasha (Turkish: Ahmet Cemal PaÅŸa) (May 6, 1872 - July 21, 1922) was born in Midilli. ... Ismail Enver Ismail Enver, known to Europeans during his political career as Enver Pasha ( Istanbul, November 22, 1881 - August 4, 1922) was a military officer and a leader of the Young Turk revolution in the closing days of the Ottoman Empire. ... 1881 drawing of the Suez Canal. ... The first Suez Offence was an offence in 1915 in World War One. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ...

More than a year passed when the Turks tried a second attack on the Suez. With Djemal Pasha directing affairs from his base in Damascus, Von Kressenstein lead a larger Ottoman army across the Sinai desert, again. This attack ran into a strong British defensive fortification at Romani, some 25 miles east of the canal. The Ottoman army prepared a major set-piece assault on Romani, scheduled for August 3, 1916 (see the Battle of Romani for a detailed description). The attack was beaten off and again the Turks retreated back to their bases in Palestine. Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: Also commonly: الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Battle of Romani Conflict First World War Date 3– 5 August 1916 Place Sinai peninsula, Egypt Result Allied victory The Battle of Romani took place near the Egyptian town of Romani which lies 23 miles east of the Suez Canal near the Mediterranean shore of the Sinai peninsula. ...

The British responded with an attack of their own. They captured some small Turkish forts in the Sinai, built a railroad and water pipe across the desert and then launched an assault on the Ottoman fort at Gaza. Kress von Kressenstein was in charge of the Ottoman defences along with an Ottoman General Tala Bey. In the First Battle of Gaza (March 1917), the British were defeated, largely due to their own errors. In the Second Battle of Gaza in April of 1917, the British were defeated again, the credit for this victory largely going to von Kressenstein. First Battle of Gaza Conflict First World War Date 26 March 1917 Place Gaza, southern Palestine Result Turkish victory The First Battle of Gaza was a World War I battle on the southern border of Palestine. ... Second Battle of Gaza Conflict First World War Date 19 April 1917 Place Gaza, southern Palestine Result Turkish victory The Second Battle of Gaza, fought in southern Palestine during World War I, was the second attempt mounted by the British to break the Turkish defences along the Gaza-Beersheba line. ...

The British removed their unsuccessful generals and replaced them with General Allenby. The Ottomans also replaced their top leadership, bringing in the former Chief of the German Staff, General von Falkenhayn. Von Kressenstein was kept on as commander of the Turkish 8th Army defending Gaza and he was also awarded Germany's highest medal the Pour le Merite. Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO (April 23, 1861 - May 14, 1936) was a British soldier and administrator most famous for his role during World War I, in which he led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the conquest of Palestine and Syria in 1917... Erich von Falkenhayn Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn (11 November 1861 - 8 April 1922) was a German soldier and Chief of the General Staff during World War I. Falkenhayn was a career soldier. ... The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max, was Germanys highest military order awarded during World War I. The award was first founded in 1740, named in French, the language of the royal court, for merit. ...

In November of 1917, the British under General Allenby shattered the Ottoman defensive positions at the Battle of Beersheba and the Third Battle of Gaza. Von Kressenstein was able to withdrew his defeated troops in fairly good order to new defensive positions in the north. The Battle of Beersheba took place on October 31, 1917, as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during World War I. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, under Brigadier General William Grant, charged more than four miles at the Turkish trenches, overran them and captured the wells at Beersheba. ... Third Battle of Gaza Conflict First World War Date 31 October–7 November 1917 Place Gaza, southern Palestine Result Allied victory The Third Battle of Gaza was fought in 1917 in southern Palestine during World War I. The British forces under the command of General Edmund Allenby successfully broke the...

In the middle of 1918, with the Ottoman-German alliance breaking down, Von Kressenstein was sent with a small German force to the Russian Caucasus, most likely to Georgia (country). Motto: Georgian: ძალა ერთობაშია (Transliteration: Dzala ertobashia (Translation: Strength is in Unity) Anthem: Tavisupleba (Freedom) Capital Tbilisi Largest city Tbilisi Official language(s) Georgian Government Republic  - President Mikheil Saakashvili  - Prime Minister of Georgia Zurab Noghaideli  - Speaker of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze Independence From the USSR   - Date 9 April 1991  Area    - Total 69...

He retired from the German army in 1929 and died in Munich in 1948.

He wrote at least one paper 'The Campaign in Palestine from the Enemy's Side' published in the Royal United Services Institute Journal.

Note

Note regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. The female forms are Freifrau and Freiin. Freiherr (German for Free Lord) is a title of lower nobility in Germany, the Baltic states and Austria-Hungary, considered equal to the title Baron. ... Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ... Freifrau (German for Free Lady) is a title of lower nobility in Germany, and Austria-Hungary, considered equal to the title Baronin. ... Freiherr (German for Free Lord) is a title of lower nobility in Germany, the Baltic states and Austria-Hungary, considered equal to the title Baron. ...

See also

• The Campaign in the Sinai and Palestine

Sinai and Palestine Campaign during World War I: Combatants Great Britain Ottoman Empire Commanders Sir John Maxwell,Archibald Murray,Henry George Chauvel,Philip Chetwode,Charles Dobell,Edmund Allenby Djemal Pasha,Kress von Kressenstein Strength  ? Casualties  ? // Sinai campaign The Ottoman Empire, at the urging of their German ally, chose to attack...

References

• "Biography of Kress von Kressenstein from First World War.com" (downloaded January 9, 2006)
• "The Great War and the only Triumphant Campaign of 1917" About Allenby's Palestine campaign of 1917 (downloaded January 9, 2006)
• "Journal of the T. E. Lawrence Society - Autumn 1997" Lists Von Kressenstein's monograph on the campaign.
• Fromkin, David (1989). A Peace to End All Peace. Avon Books.