As a second lieutenant, Staabs was transferred from the cadet corps to the
62nd (3rd Upper Silesian) Infantry Regiment of the
Imperial German Army on April 14, 1877. From October 1, 1879, to January 31, 1884, he served there as battalion adjutant and was then transferred to the
59th (4th Posen) Infantry Regiment. From October 1, 1885, Staabs attended the
Prussian Staff College for three years. He spent most of his military career on the
Great General Staff. Here he rose to head of the railway department. In 1925 he published
Aufmarsch nach zwei Fronten (
Deployment on two fronts) a book in which he contradicted
Moltke's view that it would not have been possible to quickly shift the focus of the German deployment to the
Eastern Front. On June 16, 1913, Staabs was raised to the hereditary
Prussian nobility on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the reign of Kaiser
Wilhelm II. Even before the outbreak of
World War I, Staabs was the commander of the
37th Division. In August 1914, was his division of the in
East Prussia with the
8th Army on the Eastern Front. His troops fought as part of the XX. Army Corps under
Friedrich von Scholtz in the
Battle of Tannenberg and in the
Battle of the Masurian Lakes. From June 15, 1915, to July 6, 1916, Staabs was the commander of the
3rd Division. His troops fought in the breakthrough
Battle at Przasnysz in July 1915 and then pursued to the lower
Narew. In September they advanced to Wolkowysk ago and went from 20 October between
Naroch and
Dryswjatysee for years of trench warfare until it was over. For his work he had received the swords of the
Order of the Red Eagle, II. Class and the royal crown in August 1915. On July 7, 1916, he succeeded
Otto von Lauenstein as commander of the XXXIX. Reserve Corps. The corps was transferred to the
Romanian theater of war after Romania declared war in August 1916. As part of the 9th Army under the command of
Erich von Falkenhayn, his troops distinguished themselves especially in the
Battle of Kronstadt in early October. Together with the I. Reserve Corps, he held out against the Romanians on the ridge of the
Fagaras Mountains until the end of November. For participating in the occupation of
Ploesti and taking
Bucharest on December 6, 1916, he was awarded the
Pour le Mérite on December 11, 1916. On December 3, 1917, Staabs was appointed
General of the Infantry. The corps was involved in the
German spring offensive in 1918 as part of the
2nd Army. From March 17 to May 22, 1918, Staabs commanded both this corps and the
XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps. On May 15, 1918, he was also awarded the oak leaves for the
Pour le Mérite for the services of his troops. He was the father of Gerdhild von Staabs (1900–1970), the founder of the
Scenotest. ==Bibliography==