Georg Freiherr Schariczer von Rény

Georg Schariczer was born, as son of the garrison major of Peterwardein, Attila Schariczer, in Zombor (Hungary) on the 6th of June 1865. After attending the Militär-Oberrealschule at Mährisch-Weißkirchen and the Theresian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt he was commissioned as a Leutnant in infantry regiment number 72 on the 1st of November 1884. He received his promotion to Oberleutnant on the 1st of January 1889 and shortly after he had finished his Kriegsschule course at Vienna he was attached to the general staff and employed with the 2nd infantry brigade at Sarajevo. On the 1st of May 1890 he was transferred to the 1st infantry brigade at Plevlje in the Lim area were he additionally held the post as an advisor for civilian and political matters. Schariczer received his promotion to Hauptmann 1st class on the 1st of May 1893 simultaneously with his transfer to the headquarters of the 4th corps at Budapest. After a short period of employment at the headquarters of the 5th corps and with infantry regiment number 72 he was promoted to Major (1st May 1899) and received the appointment as chief of the general staff of the 17th infantry division. In 1902 he was transferred as chief of the general staff to the headquarters of the 14th corps were he received his promotion to Oberstleutnant on the 1st of May 1903. For his outstanding efforts with the general staff corps he was honored with the award of the Military Merit Cross on the 29th of November 1904.

In October 1904 Schariczer was assigned to troop duty with infantry regiment number 37 at Großwardein (Nagyvárad). With this regiment he received his promotion to Oberst on the 1st of May 1906 with seniority from the 19th of June. He was now looking forward to his routine assignment as a regimental commander but on the 17th of August 1906 he was appointed chief of the 6th department at the War Ministry in Vienna. On the 5th of November 1908 Oberst Schariczer was assigned to the General-Truppen-Inspektor General der Kavallerie Erzherzog Eugen as Flügeladjutant (personal adjutant). In this appointment he was honored with the Order of the Iron Crown 3rd class on the 30th of August 1909. During the year 1910 he received the 2nd class of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle and the 3rd class of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun. On the 1st of November 1911 he was promoted to Generalmajor with seniority from the 2nd of December 1911. For his efforts as a Flügeladjutant he received the Kaiser's commendation on the 2nd of July 1912 which allowed him to wear the bronze Military Merit Medal (Signum Laudis). He continued in this post with the new General-Truppen-Inspektor General der Infanterie Franz Conrad Freiherr von Hötzendorf. On the 19th of March 1913 Generalmajor Schariczer took over command of the 27th infantry brigade at Preßburg (Pozsony).

As part of Feldmarschall-Leunant Hugo Martiny's 14th infantry division of Feldzeugmeister Paul Puhallo's V corps in the 1st army of General der Kavallerie Viktor Dankl, Generalmajor Schariczer led his brigade in the fighting in Southern Poland in August 1914. On the 22nd of August 1914 he was ordered by the divisional commander to proceed via Janów to Modliborzyce and secure the heights both sides of the Polichna road on the line Osada Zarajec-Wojciechów in order to aid the advance of V corps. In the heavy fighting for that position Schariczer personally led with great courage the men of his brigade and the attached infantry regiment 76 of the neighbouring brigade in accomplishing his mission and repulsing the heavy Russian attacks. In recognition of his leadership at Polichna he was awarded the knight's cross of the Order of Leopold with war decoration on the 21st of September 1914. In September 1914 he took over command of the 16th infantry division followed by his promotion to Feldmarschall-Leutnant on the 24th of December 1914. Commanding the 16th division Schariczer took part in the Carpathian advance of the 2nd army in early October and the advance to Chyrów and the fighting South of Przemysl. Transferred to the Prussian-Silesian sector of the front in November he led his division in the battle at Czenstochowa and the battles south of Lódz. Following the success at Limanowa-Lapanów 16th division was engaged in the pursuit of the retreating Russian forces north of the Vistula river. The year ended with heavy fighting around Tomaszów from the 19th to the 31st of December.

Schariczer remained in command of the 16th infantry division with a short break in the late summer of 1915 until November 1916. He was awarded the Prussian Iron Cross 2nd class in February 1915 and the 2nd class of the Order of the Iron Crown on the 27th of April. He continued to lead his predominantly Rumanian/Hungarian troops on the Polish sector of the Russian front throughout 1915 taking part in the breakthrough battle of Sienno, the advance to Ivangorod and the crossing of the Vistula at Ryczywól in late July. Advancing ever further east the division took part in the capture of Brest-Litovsk in late August. The fighting on this sector of the front then stabilized somewhat and remained relatively quiet until the following summer when General Brussilow initiated his great summer advance to the West. In the meantime he was awarded the Military Merit Cross 2nd class with war decoration on the 18th of April 1916. As a part of Prussian Generaloberst Remus von Woyrsch's "Armee-Abteilung"  and under command of General der Infanterie Johann Ritter Henriquez's XII corps the locality of Baronowicze was successfully held.

At the end of August 1916, Schariczer and his division were moved to the Isonzo front and almost immediately took part in the ninth battle of the Isonzo. On the 22nd of November 1916, three weeks after the cessation of the ninth battle he assumed command of the hard fighting VII corps formerly commanded by Archduke Joseph. Holding positions on the Northern Carso, VII corps held firm during the tenth battle during May 1917 stopping units of the Italian 3rd army with heavy casualties. When his neighbour to the South, General Schenk's XXIII corps was under considerable pressure and consequently the port city of Trieste was  threatened, Schariczer mounted a flank attack into the Italian advance and successfully repulsed them. For this and his previous success at Polichna in 1914 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresia Order at the 180th Promotion on the 17th of August 1917. He had also by then been awarded the Bronze and Silver Signum Laudis with war ribbon and swords and additionally the swords to all his previously awarded decorations and also the Prussian Iron Cross 1st class. He was ennobled as a "Freiherr" and took the predicate "von Rény". That autumn he was awarded the Grand cross of the Order of the Iron Crown with war decoration and swords and the neck order of the merit decoration of the Red Cross with war decoration.

Following the initial breakthrough in the 12th battle of the Isonzo (Caporetto), FML Schariczer led his corps in the advance to the Tagliamento and the subsequent pursuit to the Piave as a part of Generaloberst Wenzel Wurm's 1st Isonzo army and was promoted to General der Infanterie on the 15th of May 1918. Following the unsuccessful battle on the Piave from the 15th until the 25th of June 1918 the corps fought at the battle of Noventa di Piave in September and withdrew behind the river Livenza in late October 1918. Schariczer led his corps back across the Tagliamento at the beginning of November and remained in command until the armistice a few days later. He had been awarded the 1st class of the Order of Leopold with war decoration and swords and the Ottoman Iron Crescent during the year and on the 1st of December 1918 retired to Preßburg (Poszony) were he died on the 26th of February 1945.

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