Hugo was the son of the Prussian Major Friedrich Karl Moritz von Obernitz and his wife Wilhelmine. After attending cadet schools in
Kulm and
Berlin, Obernitz entered the 4th Infantry Regiment on 18 August 1836 as a second lieutenant. In 1852 he became captain and in 1856 he was promoted to major. In June 1861 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and from the spring of 1863 he was commander of the
Guards Fusilier Regiment. On 6 June 1865 he was appointed a member of the study commission of the
war academy in Berlin. During the
Austro-Prussian War, he led the 1st Guards Infantry Brigade as part of the 2nd Army in the battles of Soor and Königinhof against the Austrians. In the decisive
Battle of Königgrätz on 3 July, his troops captured 40 cannons and the town of
Chlum. For this, Obernitz was awarded the
Pour le Mérite in September 1866 and was promoted to major general. From 1868 to 1871 he was an inspector of hunters and marksmen. On 29 September 1866 Obernitz was promoted to major general. From 1868 to 1871 he was a military inspector. He was commander of the Württemberg Field Division in the
Franco-Prussian War, fighting in the
Battle of Wörth and, as part of the
II Corps under the command of General
Eduard von Fransecky, participated in the
Siege of Paris. Obernitz received a grant of 100,000
Thalers for these services. On 22 October 1871 he became commander of the
14th Division in
Düsseldorf. On 11 June 1879 he was appointed commander of the
XIV Corps in
Karlsruhe. Meanwhile, in June 1879 he was promoted to
General of the Infantry, and on 22 March 1884 he was appointed chief of the
4th (3rd East Prussian) Grenadier Regiment "King Frederick the Great". On 18 August 1886 he celebrated his fiftieth anniversary of service. After his retirement in 1888, he and his wife Anna Friederike Ida Bertha, née von Usedom, bought a villa in
Bad Honnef. They had several children, among them: • Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Moritz Ferdinand (1860-1909) - Prussian statesman; • Arthur Rudolf Eduard (born 1873) - Prussian military major. Hugo von Obernitz died on 18 September 1901 in Bad Honnef, and was buried in the Alter Friedhof cemetery. Later, his wife was buried next to him. In the cemetery you can still see the tombstone of Hugo von Obernitz, whose bronze Prussian eagle was stolen in 1988. ==Honours and awards==