Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape

Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape
Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape
Born	(1813-02-02)2 February 1813 Berlin
Died	7 May 1895(1895-05-07) (aged 82) Berlin
Allegiance	Prussia
Years of service	1830–1895
Rank	Generaloberst mit dem Range als GFM
Battles / wars	Austro-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War
Awards	Pour le Mérite Iron Cross Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Military Order of St. Henry Order of St. George (Russia)

Alexander August Wilhelm von Pape (2 February 1813 – 7 May 1895) was a Royal Prussian infantry Colonel-General with the special rank of Generalfeldmarschall.

Pape was born in Berlin. He started his military career in 1830 as Fahnenjunker of the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment. In 1856, as a Major, he was appointed to head the cadet school in Potsdam, and in 1860 he became a battalion commander.

In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Pape was a Colonel commanding the 2nd Guards Infantry Regiment, which he had led since 1863, and then the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade. On 17 September 1866, Pape was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his services during the war. On 31 December 1866 he was promoted to Generalmajor. On the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, he was given command of the 1st Guards Infantry Division which took St.-Privat-la-Montagne on 18 August, then successfully fought in the Battle of Sedan, leading to the Siege of Paris and the final victory.

In 1880 Pape was promoted to General of the Infantry and given command of the V Corps. In 1881 he led the III Corps and in 1884 he was appointed to the lead of the Guards Corps. In September 1888, Pape was relieved of this position and promoted to the rank of Colonel General with the rank of Field Marshal. He held the position of Governor of Berlin and was in charge of the military within the Province of Brandenburg. By 1885 he was a member of the Landesverteidigungskommission.

Pape retired in January 1895. He died shortly thereafter on 7 May in his hometown of Berlin. Pape was highly respected to that by Emperor William, who called him "The role model of a traditional Prussian military leader".

The street "General-Pape-Straße" in Tempelhof was named in honor of Pape by a decree of the emperor. A train station of the Berlin S-Bahn was named "Station Papestraße" until 27 May 2006, when it was renamed Berlin Südkreuz to match with similar names like Ostkreuz and Westkreuz.

He received the following orders and decorations:^[1]

• Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Band 8, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, ohne Jahr, pp. 258–266.
• Bernhard von Poten: Pape, Alexander von. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 52, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1906, p. 749 f.

• http://www.pourlemerite.org