1882 Joined Engineer's Regiment
1885 Promoted to Leutnant
1887 Graduated from the War Academy
1895 Promoted to Hauptmann
1907 Aids Conrad's "Fall U" for the invasion of Hungary following the Constitutional crisis there.
1909 Promoted to Oberstleutnant, head of the Trainsection der Generalstab
1912 Promoted to Generalmajor; cmd. XVIII. Infanteriebrigade
1914 Chief of staff to the II. Armee; later Quartiermeister der IV. Armee
1915 Cmd. 10. Infanterie Division, promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant
1916 Cmd. 6. Infanterie Division
1917 Killed in action
The day after Austria declared war on Serbia, Mecenseffy was appointed General Böhm-Ermolli's chief of the general staff for the II. Army. Mecenseffy took charge of assembling this army along the Danube frontier with Serbia as far as the Iron Gate. However, the pair did not get along, and in late September, Mecenseffy was replaced by Generalmajor Carl Bardolff after the II. Army was transferred to Galicia to meet the Russian onslaught near Lemberg. Mecenseffy was transferred to the General Moritz von Auffenberg, and placed in charge of supplies for the IV. Army. This lasted until early January, 1915.
In December 1914, GM Artur Edler von Mecenseffy took control of the 10. Infantry Division and replaced FML Theodor Hordt. This arrangement lasted to August 1916, when he was succeeded by FML Emil Lischka. In September, FML Mecenseffy replaced GM Rudolf Müller as commander of the 6. Infantry Division. Mecenseffy kept this command until October 1917, when he was killed and then succeeded by GM Josef Ritter Schilhawsky von Bahnbrück.
GWS, 1/02 [rev. 8/03]
In the first week of February 1915, Mecenseffy’s 10. Infantry division performed some valuable flanking assaults for the capture of Gorlice by FML Kestranek’s 12. Division. Mecenseffy’s division held a sector some 10 km long, which was basically the Gorlice-Bartfeld road. Positions remained static until a month later, when GdI Arz ordered all of his forces to attack. All made good advances, including the 10. Division, which advanced 5 km east of the road. This position was held until the start of the Great spring offensive, which opened only 10 km to the north at Gorlice. [rev. 5/04]
Orders of Battle: Eastern Front, May 1915
Immediately preceding the Dunajec offensive
IV. Armee, Gen. d. Inf. Erzherzog Josef Ferdinand
IX. Korps, Feldmlt. Kralicek
10. inf. div., Genmj. v. Mecenseffy
19. inf. brig., Genmj. v. Iwanski
20. inf. brig., Genmj. Reymann
10. field art. brig., Oberst Blaha
Mecenseffy was appointed to command the 10. infantry division in the winter of 1915. His division were engaged in covering the left flank of the III. Army during the February offensive to relieve the siege of Przemysl and the trapped forces commanded by General Hermann von Kusmanek. In the spring, Mecenseffy's division was situated on the northern left flank of the Dunajec offensive commanded by German General August von Mackensen. Mecenseffy's division played a hard role throughout the summer of 1915, fighting a slow forward advance several hundred miles before resting amidst the fens of the Pinsk marshes.
Orders of Battle: Volhynian Front, September 1915
Immediately following the summer campaign against Russia
IV. Armee, Gen. d. Inf. Erzherzog Josef Ferdinand
IX. Korps, Feldmlt. Kralicek
X. inf. div., Feldmlt. von Mecenseffy
Orders of Battle: Tirol Offensive, 15 May 1916
Army Group Archduke Eugen, GO Archduke Eugen
Chief of Staff, Feldmlt. Alfred Krauss
III. Army, GO Hermann v. Kövess
I. Korps, Gen. d. Kav. Karl Frh. v. Kirchbach
10. Inf. Div., Feldmlt. Edler v. Mecenseffy
34. Inf. Div., Feldmlt. Rudolf Krauss
43. Schützen Div., Genmj. Tunk
Immediately following Roumania's declaration of war on Austria
XI. Army, Generaloberst Franz Rohr
Rayon III-Feldmlt. von Koennen-Korak
III. Korps, Feldmlt. von Krautwald
X. inf. div., Feldmlt. von Mecenseffy
In autumn 1916, Mecenseffy and his 10. infantry division was transferred to the Italian front, wherehe saw extensive fighting in the Vil Sugana sector. Later, he was transferred to command the 6. Infantry division.
On 6 October 1917, Mecenseffy's car was struck by an Italian shell and he was seriously wounded by shrapnel. He died while being carried to the nearest medical station. Mecenseffy was buried at a military but the body was later exhumed and moved to the family crypt in Vienna.
GWS, 3/02
