Wilhelm Friedrichs (1869-) was a German soldier who served as a General in the Imperial German Army on the Western Front of World War I.
Biography[]
Wilhelm Friedrichs was born in 1869, the son of a Prussian officer who served in the Second Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War, and the Franco-Prussian War. Friedrichs joined his father's regiment, and he spent several decades without fighting in combat, lamenting that he was born too late. However, he was given command of the 78th Reserve Infantry Regiment during World War I, fighting on the Western Front. Friedrichs was a staunch nationalist and conservative who accused the Social Democrats of betraying the war effort, and he also disparaged the peace delegation which was negotiating the Armistice of Compiegne in November 1918. On the morning of 11 November 1918, Friedrichs ordered a last-minute offensive against the French trenches at Eguisac on the plains of Latierre in a futile display of German bravery, resulting in scores of unneceessary deaths before the clock struck 11 AM and the guns fell silent.