Franz Müller (1899-10 November 1918) was a German soldier who served as a private in the Imperial German Army on the Western Front of World War I.
Biography[]
Franz Müller was born in Hanover, German Empire in 1899, and he attended school with Peter Bäumer, Aaron Kropp, and Ludwig Behm. He and his classmates were indoctrinated with German nationalism during their studies, and, on their graduation in the spring of 1917, they were told by their professor that they were Germany's "greatest generation" and would soon march on Paris. Müller and his classmates promptly enlisted in the Imperial German Army, and they were assigned to the 78th Reserve Infantry Regiment and sent to the front at La Malmaison in northern France. They were quickly disillusioned upon being sent to bail water out of the trenches, coming under shell fire, and being sent to collect dog tags from their dead comrades. Müller, known to be a womanizer, was the only one of his comrades to have sexual experiences during his service, seducing some French farm girls who passed by the German camp. Upon returning to the German trenches, he brought with him a scarf given to him by one of the girls, and the scarf became the object of envy from Müller's comrades. On 10 November 1918, he went missing in action during the retreat from a French armored assault on the plains of Latierre, and his comrade Tjaden Stackfleet was able to recover his scarf and bring it back to Bäumer.
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