Falkenhausen was born in
Guben. His parents were the Prussian Lieutenant-General D. Alexander von Falkenhausen (1821–1889) and his wife Catherine née Rouanet (1825–1907). Falkenhausen first attended a private school in
Berlin and then, from May 1856, was a Cadet in
Potsdam at the age of 11. In 1859, he moved to the main military academy in Berlin. On 6 May 1862, he was transferred to the
1st Foot Guards as a 2nd Lieutenant. Later, he was
regimental adjutant of the combined Guards Reserve Infantry Regiment. At this position, Falkenhausen participated in both
Second Schleswig War and
1866 campaign with the main army. Between October 1868 and May 1869, he served with the Guards Field Artillery as regimental adjutant. In the
Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), he participated in the battles of
Gravelotte-St.Privat,
Beaumont &
Sedan and at the
Siege of Paris. At the end of 1870, he was released from the position as regimental adjutant, and, from July 1871, he served as adjutant of the
28th Division in
Karlsruhe. In subsequent years, he was transferred several times: from the 40th Fusiliers to the Army General Staff, then to the General Staff of the
16th Division in
Trier and the General Staff of the
VIII Army Corps (
Koblenz). In 1885, he was transferred as commander of the First Battalion (
Cologne) in the 65th Infantry. In March 1887, Falkenhausen was Chief of Staff of the
Guards Corps (Berlin). In June 1890, he commanded the Queen Augusta Garde-Grenadier Regiment Nr 4 (Koblenz). Two years later, he led the 29th Infantry Brigade (Cologne) and 1893 was chief quartermaster of the Chief of General Staff of the Army. Between 1893 and 1895, he was also a member of the Study Commission of the Military Academy. After working at the War Department, in January 1895 he became director of the General War Department in the Ministry of War. In February 1895, he was appointed representative in the
Bundesrat. In January 1897, he became commander of the
2nd Guards Infantry Division (Berlin), and then, in 1899, he became the commanding general of the
XIII (Royal Württemberg) Corps. In March 1902, he retired but kept busy with military science studies. ==World War I==