Rhemen zu Bärensfeld
1872 attended Maria Therese Academy
1876 lieutenant in 14 Inf Regiment
1881 oberleutnant
1882-1884 at Franz Josef Military Academy in Vienna
1887 captain and appointed to General Staff
1894 major
1899 colonel and Chief of Staff of the XIII. Corps in Agram
1905 major general and Commander of the 72. Infantry Brigade
1906 Commander of the 9. Mountain Brigade at Sarajevo
1909 Commander of the 4. Infantry Division at Temesvar
1910 Feldmarschalleutnant
1912 Commander of the XIII. Corps and Agram Military District
1914 General der Infanterie
1916 Military Governor of Serbia
1917 Colonel General
1918 retired
Oberleutnant Adolf Freiherr von Rhemen zu Bärenfeld was made chief of staff for the XIII. Corps in October 1899, thus replacing Obst Viktor Dankl. After serving in this capacity for six years, Rhemen was succeeded by Oberleutnant Maximilian Csicserics von Bacsány in 1905. In October 1912, FML Rhemen was appointed to lead the XIII. Corps, and he replaced GdI Raimund Gerba. He kept this appointment until July 1916, when FML Csicserics took over for him. Rhemen was ordered to Serbia in order to be its military governor, taking over from FML Johann Graf von Salis-Seewis. During his governorship, his method of forced requisitioning and an office for maximizing forced labour made Serbia one of the biggest contributors of grain to the Empire, even more than the Ukraine. He remained in this capacity at Belgrade until the Armistice on 3 November 1918.
Adolf von Rhemen zu Bärenfeld died on 11 Jan 1932 at Rekawinkel, Niederösterreich.
GWS, 4/02 [9/03]
Attention: Visit FEEFHS map room for a Map of Serbia (pre-1912), including Valjevo, the Kolubara river, and Schabatz (Sabac). There's also a Map of Galicia including some of the placenames mentioned here, and a Map of Volhynia including Lutsk and Kowel (on the far left). Be sure to open in a separate window to toggle between this page and FEEFHS.
Immediately preceding the first invasion of Serbia, August 1914
V. Armee, General der Infanterie L. Ritter von Frank
XIII. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. von Rhemen zu Bärensfeld
XXXVI. inf. div., Feldmarschalleutnant Czibulka
XLII. Honved inf. div., Feldmlt. von Sarkotic
The first invasion of Serbia began on the night of 7 August 1914. Rhemen ordered his Corps to advance up the southern side of Jadar river gorge, and secure the heights. He was operating parallel to GdI Artur Giesl’s VIII. Corps. In front of him was the Serbian Uzice Army under General Bojanovic. Progress was difficult but stready for the first week. It was in the second week, however, that things went drastically wrong. First the Uzice Army was proving obstinant on the hills south of the Jadar, and the strategic town of Loznica was holding out in spite of attacks from both Rhemen’s XIII. Corps and GdI Michael Appel’s XVth.
Then, on the morning of 19 August, General Stefan Stefanovic directed the Serbian 2. Army in a counterassault on the Cer ridge to the north, which broke Giesl’s VIII. Corps. Giesl quickly abandoned the whole Cer ridge after this action, and in turn GdI Liborius Frank ordered Rhemen to clear his XIII. Corps from the south. Otherwise, entire force would be enveloped as the Serbian 2. and 3. Armies swept into the Jadar gorge from either ridge. By August 24, Rhemen had cleared out of the Jadar, and his battered troops reassembled on the Bosnian side of the Drina river.
GWS, 9/04
Immediately preceding the Battles for the Carpathians
Deutsch Südost-armee, Gen. d. Inf. von Linsingen
Pflanzer-Baltin Army Group, Gen. d. Kav. von Pflanzer-Baltin
XIII. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. von Rhemen
XLII. Honved inf. div., Genmj. Salis-Seewis
V. Honved kav. div., Genmj. von Apor
Now that the failed operations in Serbia were finished, the XIII Corps was moved into eastern Hungary to help the weak Army Group Pflanzer-Baltin fight off the stronger Russian Dniester Group. The XIII Corps was placed above the little-used Tatar Pass, in the corner of Hungary-Galicia-Bukovina. In early February 1915, Rhemen directed his divisions northward, parallel to the Polish Legion, which was holding the Pantyr Pass to the west. Mihaljevic’s independent division cut eastward, toward the Bukovina, protecting Rhemen’s right flank. Within 10 days, Rhemen had captured Nadworna, and this prompted the Russians to send the battle-hardened 9. Army of Gen. Lechitski to retake Eastern Galicia from Army Group Pflanzer-Baltin.
Czibulka’s Corps was brought to strengthen the salient formed by Rhemen, and soon the XIII. Corps was being the protector of Czibulka, as the Russians brought two Corps to defend Stanislau from the Austrians. Stanislau fell, so Lechitski responded with an offensive into the left side of the salient, guarded by Rhemen. Two Corps pounded Rhemen’s parto of 40 km long bulge, while the II. Cavalry Corps attempted to drive between Rhemen and Czibulka. By the last week in February, Pflanzer ordered both armies to retreat, and the salient was reduced to a frontline roughly parallel to the Carpathians. Rhemen was determined not to surrender Nadworna as he had done with Stanislau. The Russian XI. And XXX. Corps continued to assault Rhemen’s troops, but they did not surrender another city to them in 1915. [rev. 5/04]
Immediately preceding the Dunajec offensive
VII. Armee, Gen. d. Kav. Frh. v. Pflanzer-Baltin
XIII. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. Frh. v. Rhemen
Chief of Staff, Obstlt. Stromfeld
Gruppe Feldzeugsmeister Stefan Ljubicic
9. inf. brig., Genmj. Ritt. Weiss v. Mainprugg
16. inf. brig., Oberst Köckh
6. inf. div., Feldmlt. Fürst Schönburg
11. inf. brig., Genmj. v. Stöhr
12. inf. brig., Oberst Rudolf Müller
6. field art. brig., Genmj. Kratky
5. inf. div., Feldmlt. Edl. v. Habermann
10. inf. brig., Oberst Adalbert v. Kaltenborn
5. field art. brig., Oberst Edl. v. Senkowski
Immediately following the summer offensive against Russia
VII. Armee, Gen. d. Kav. von Pflanzer-Baltin
XIII. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. von Rhemen
XXXVI. inf. div., Feldmlt. von Schreitter
XV. inf. div., Genmj. Stracker
Orders of Battle: Bukowina, 15 December 1915
Immediately preceding the winter battles for Czernowitz
VII. Armee, GdK Karl Freiherr v. Pflanzer-Baltin
XIII. Corps, Rhemen, GdI v. Rhemen
36 ID, FML v. Schreitter
15 ID, GM v. Richard-Rostoczil
Immediately preceding the Brussilov Offensive
VII. Armee, Generaloberst von Pflanzer-Baltin
XIII. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. von Rhemen
XV. inf. div., Genmj. von Weiß-Tihanyi
II. kav. div., Genmj. von Abele
XXXVI. inf. div., Oberst von Löw
The opening of the Brusilov Offensive around the Lutsk sector was followed two weeks later with a majour push by Lechitski’s Army. Rhemen’s XIII. Corps was heavily dug in, and because he had been successfully repulsing Russian attacks this way for a year and a half, he assumed this latest bout would be no different. It was, however, as Lechitski’s troops bypassed Rhemen’s toughest redoubts and captured communications trenches in between. The VII. Army was in serious trouble at this point.
GWS, 9/03
Immediately following the Brussilov Offensive
Deutsch Südwest Armee, Gen. d. Inf. von Bothmer
XIII. K.u.K. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. von Rhemen
XV. inf. div., Genmj. Pammer
II. kav. div., Genmj. von Abele
XXXVI. inf. div., Oberst von Löw
The collapse of the VII. Army’s sector meant a quick reorganisation, and Rhemen’s Corps, together with General Artur Arz’s VI. Corps, was attached to the German Südarmee under General v. Bothmer. In mid-July, Rhemen was dismissed and his Corps was given to FML Maximilian Csicserics, formerly in charge of the 14. Inf. Div. under General Schmidt v. Georgenegg’s IV. Corps, whose resistance to the Russian assualts was well-documented. Rhemen went to Serbia to be its military governor after this.
GWS, 9/03
