Alfred von Degenfeld

Alfred von Degenfeld was the younger son of Christoph Ferdinand IV. Philipp von Degenfeld (1772–1858) and his wife Augusta, née von Freystedt (1780–1861) and he was thus part of the Degenfeld family. His older brother Ferdinand Christoph died as early as 1844 as a result of a mental illness, so Alfred inherited the entire property of his father, consisting of the manorial estate on Neuhaus and the co-lordship on the Eulenhof, Ehrstädt, Unterbiegelhof, Waibstadt and Wagenbach. In 1861, he was the Fief of his fathers holdings and was thus the last fiefdom holder of the Degenfeld-Neuhaus line before the property became the property of the family in 1862.

Degenfeld joined the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Baden Army in 1833 and was promoted to captain and company commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment by 1845. In 1848/49 he was involved in the campaign against revolutionary free troops. In 1849 he was temporarily retired, but then called back to the regiment's office. In 1850 he came to the 2nd Infantry Regiment when the Baden Army Corps was re-established, and in 1855 to the Leibgrenadier Regiment. In 1858 he was appointed major and in 1861 as a lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Fusilier Battalion. In 1863 he was in command of the Baden contingent in the Rastatt Fortress, but was relieved of this command in 1864 due to a change of garrison. In 1865 Degenfeld was promoted to colonel and was given command of the Leibgrenadier Regiment. During the Austro-Prussian War, Degenfeld took with his regiment as part of the Baden Division under the command of the Prince Wilhelm as part of the Campaign of the Main in the Battle of Hundheim on July 23, 1866, the Battle of Werbach on 24 July 1866 and the Battle of Gerchsheim. In 1868 he was promoted to major general and commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade.

In the Franco-Prussian War, Degenfeld and his brigade were part of the Baden Division in the XIV Corps under General August von Werder.[1] From August 16 to September 27, 1870, the brigade was part of the Siege of Strasbourg. On October 1, 1870, he was commanded to the Vosges to disperse the Francs-tireurs who had gathered there. A total of four brigades were used by the XIV Corps for these battles. All of these units received reinforcements through additional artillery and independent cavalry units in order to be able to proceed independently.[2]

The war against the Army of Vosges under Giuseppe Garibaldi led to several smaller skirmishes, as the untrained and inconsistent French volunteers avoided facing a closed unit of German troops in open battle. Places with noteworthy battles were Raon l'Etape, Nompatelize, St. Die, Etuz am Oignon, Pasques near Dijon, and united with the brigade of Prince Wilhelm von Baden, at Nuits against the division of the French general Camille Crémer. There he took part in the Battle of Villersexel and was then able to successfully break away together with the other German units and march on Belfort and get a head start of two days in which a defensive position was built on the Lisaine.

In the Battle of the Lisaine, Degenfeld commanded the right wing of the German position at Frahier from January 15 to 17, 1871. He was forced to vacate Chenebier on January 16 when the Eastern Army tried to encompass his position. General von Degenfeld was able to hold his position against numerically far superior opponents for a period of about ten hours.[3] The next day, reinforcements under General Keller managed to recapture the old position on the Lisaine in a counter-attack.[1] For his work during the war, Degenfeld received the Commander's Cross of the Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order as well as both classes of the Iron Cross.

After the conclusion of peace. he was on July 15, 1871, as a major general in the Union of Prussian army adopted and appointed commander of the 56th Infantry Brigade, but he was on October 18, 1871, awarded the rank of lieutenant general with board for disposition made.