Hans von Seeckt

Generaloberst Hans von Seeckt
2nd Chief of the German Army Command
Weimar Republic
In office 26 March 1920 – 9 October 1926
President	Friedrich Ebert Paul von Hindenburg
Chancellor	Hermann Müller Constantin Fehrenbach Joseph Wirth Wilhelm Cuno Wilhelm Marx Hans Luther
Preceded by	Walther Reinhardt
Succeeded by	Wilhelm Heye
1st Chief of the German Troop Office
Weimar Republic
In office 11 October 1919 – 26 March 1920
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Wilhelm Heye
Chief of the German General Staff
Imperial German Army
In office 7 July 1919 – 15 July 1919
Preceded by	Wilhelm Groener
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Johannes Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt (1866-04-22)22 April 1866 Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig, German Confederation
Died	27 December 1936(1936-12-27) (aged 70) Berlin, Nazi Germany
Resting place	Invalidenfriedhof
Nickname	'The Sphinx'
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire German Republic German Reich
Branch/service	Imperial German Army  Reichsheer  German Army
Years of service	1885–1926 1933–1935
Rank	Generaloberst
Commands	Eleventh Army
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Pour le Mérite Military Order of Max Joseph

Johannes "Hans" Friedrich Leopold von Seeckt (22 April 1866 – 27 December 1936) was a German military officer who served as Chief of Staff to August von Mackensen and was a central figure in planning the victories Mackensen achieved for Germany in the east during the First World War.

During the years of the Weimar Republic he was chief of staff for the Reichswehr from 1919 to 1920 and commander in chief of the German Army from 1920 until he resigned in October 1926.^{[N 1]} During this period he engaged in the reorganization of the army and laid the foundation for the doctrine, tactics, organization, and training of the German army.^[1] By the time Seeckt left the German Army in 1926 the Reichswehr had a clear, standardized operational doctrine, as well as a precise theory on the future methods of combat which greatly influenced the military campaigns fought by the Wehrmacht during the first half of the Second World War.^[2] While Seeckt undertook multiple programs to get around the military limitations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles which formally ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers after World War I, he has been criticized for failing to expand the reserves of officers and trained men available to the army, the main obstacle to rearmament during the Republic.^[3]

Seeckt served as a member of parliament from 1930 to 1932. From 1933 to 1935 he was repeatedly in China as a military consultant to Chiang Kai-shek in his war against the Chinese Communists and was directly responsible for devising the encirclement campaigns, that resulted in a string of victories against the Chinese Red Army and forced Mao Zedong into a 9,000 km retreat, also known as the Long March.

A large military barracks in Celle was built in 1935 and named after von Seeckt. After the Second World War it was renamed Trenchard Barracks by BAOR as part of the Bergen-Hohne Garrison.

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