Ignaz Freiherr Trollmann von
Lovcenberg
Ignaz Trollman was born on the 25th of November 1860 at Steyr
(Upper Austria) as the son of a Gendamerie-Wachtmeister. After
attending the Militär-Oberrealschule at Mährisch-Weißkirchen
he entered the military academy at Wiener Neustadt. On the 18th
of August 1882 he was promoted to Leutnant in infantry regiment number 14.
Successfully graduating from the Kriegsschule in Vienna he was attached to the general staff corps on the 1st
of November 1887 where he received his promotion to Oberleutnant
on the 1st of May 1888. On the 1st of November 1890 he received
his promotion to Hauptmann 1st class and was transferred to the
general staff corps. His first assignment was at the headquarters
of the 14th corps at Innsbruck. He was then transferred to the
military geography institute where he received basic
instruction in military mapping and after his promotion to Major
on the 1st of November 1896 he became the deputy director for mapping at
Olmütz. In autumn 1897 Ignaz Trollmann was appointed chief of the
general staff of the 34th infantry division at Temesvár where
he received his promotion to Oberstleutnant on the 1st of May
1900. On the 3rd of September 1901 he was assigned to troop duty with Landwehr infantry
regiment number 21 at
St. Pölten where he received his promotion to Oberst on the 1st
of November 1903 with seniority from the 10th of December.
On the 20th of April 1904 Oberst Trollmann assumed command of Landwehr infantry
regiment number 1 at Vienna. As was common for regimental commanders, after four years in command,
he received the 3rd class of the Order of the Iron Crown on the
1st of March 1908. On the 16th of January 1910 he took over
command of the 43rd Landwehr infantry brigade at Graz shortly
followed by his promotion to Generalmajor on the 1st of May with seniority from the 6th of May 1910.
In addition to this post he
was the commander of the Landwehr Korps-Offiziersschule (corps officers' school)
at Graz.
For his achievements in the field of officers' education he received a
commendation from the k.k. Landwehr minister on the 30th of
November 1912. On the 26th of October 1912 he was appointed to
command the 46th Landwehr infantry division at Krakau (Kraków).
On the 1st of May 1913 he received his promotion to
Feldmarschall-Leutnant, with seniority from the 7th of May,
shortly followed by his appointment to command the 1st infantry division at Sarajevo on the 7th of June 1913. On the 30th of
March 1914 he switched to the command of the 18th infantry division at Mostar.
Normally as a divisional commander Feldmarschall-Leutnant Trollman would have
now received the
knight's cross of the Order of Leopold but the outbreak of the war prevented
this. In a similar vein he never received in peacetime the military merit cross
but the coming of the war would change this oversight. With it's five
mountain brigades -1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 13th, the 18th infantry division was
the largest infantry division within the Austro-Hungarian armed forces with
battalions from regiments throughout the length and breadth of the entire
monarchy.
With the outbreak of war, Trollmann led his 18th infantry division as a part
of Feldzeugmeister Wenzel von Wurm's XVI Corps in
Feldzeugmeister Oskar Potiorek's 6th
Army during the invasion of Serbia. The divisional lineup had changed somewhat
on mobilization and now consisted of the 4th, 5th 6th and 8th mountain brigades.
6th Army deployed to the area of the middle Drina east of Sarajevo between Višegrad
and Foča. The initial campaign against Serbia was a failure and following
local successes in the area of Višegrad and Priboj and the defeat of
General Liborius Frank's 5th Army, 6th Army withdrew from Serbian territory.
When FZM Potiorek launched his 2nd
offensive on the 6th of September 1914, XVI Corps supported Frank's right flank
again crossed the Drina south of Loznica and was involved in heavy fighting in
the bridgeheads there followed by the capture of the Romanja planina plateau
from the 18th to the 30th of October and the offensive against and subsequent
capture of Valjevo from the 24th of October to the 15th of November. Following
the battles on the Kolubara and Ljig in late November XVI Corps withdrew behind
the Kolubara from the 5th to the 7th of December, Valjevo was retaken by the
Serbs and the corps continued it's withdrawal behind the Save river.
Although the Serbian offensives had ended in failure, FML. Trollmann had
handled his division competently and well and on the 25th of October 1914 he was honored with the 2nd class
of the Order of the Iron Crown with war decoration and on the
29th of November 1914 with the 2nd class of the Military Merit
Cross with war decoration. Iganz Trollmann was
the first officer to receive the neck badge of the newly introduced
higher classes of the Military Merit Cross! In December 1914 he assumed command of the so-called Kombiniertes Korps
which was
was reorganized into the 19th Corps in January 1915. The corps was transferred
north to 3rd Army and took part in the two offensives over the Carpathian
mountains followed by the Russian counter-offensive and the Easter battles.
Subsequent to the launch of the highly successful Gorlice-Tarnów offensive at
the beginning of May 1915 he led his corps at the battle of Wola Michowa on the
8th of May , the battle of Sanok on the 9th and 10th followed by the general
pursuit to the north and east. escortnavi The corps took part in the battle to recapture
Przemyśl from the 16th of May to the 4th of June and the battle at Mościska
also on the 4th. After further fighting at Mościska, Lubaczów, Gródek and
Magierów he was honored with the award of the grand cross of
the Order of the Iron Crown with war decoration on the 23rd of
June 1915 and received the decoration 1st class of the Society of the Red Cross with
war decoration (31st May 1915) and the Prussian Iron Cross 2nd class (20th October 1915).
He spent the remainder of the summer commanding XIX Corps in continued fighting
at Bukaczowce, Bóbrka, the Gnila Lipa, the Bug and the offensive in East
Galicia in the early autumn. On the 12th of December
1915 he was honored with the 1st class of the Order of Leopold
with war decoration.
In late September the corps moved south for the third attempt to defeat
Serbia in co-operation with their German allies. The corps crossed the river
Save from the 6th to the 8th of October and during the successful advance south
moved to the Albanian mountains by the beginning of December. On the 20th of December 1915 the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army
of Generaloberst von Kövess was assigned the mission
to invade and occupy Montenegro. While the VIII Corps pursued the retreating
Serbians from the East, Trollmann's XIX Corps was to attack from the west
out of the Austro-Hungarian port of Cattaro (Kotor). Trollmann had under command
47th Infantry Division and Feldmarschall-Leutnant Sorsichs's group and with the
exception of the 14th mountain brigade, most of
his command consisted of Landsturm formations. The direction of attack led out of Cattaro
against Montenegro over the Lovčen mountain which dominated Cattaro bay.
With the support of naval artillery fire which began on the 8th of January 1916
the mountain was taken by the 11th. Following the capture of the Lovčen,
Cetinje which was only six kilometres away fell on the 13th. For his successful capture of the Lovčen
Heights he received the
Kaiser's commendation on the
13th of January 1916, which allowed him to wear the Bronze
Military Merit Medal (Signum Laudis) with war decoration and
swords and for his successful actions against Durazzo he was
again honored with a commendation from the Kaiser on the 23rd of
March 1916, which allowed him to wear the Silver Military Medal
(Signum Laudis) with war decoration and swords. On the 25th of May
1916 he received the Prussian Iron Cross 1st class. On the 1st
of November 1916 Ignaz Trollmann was promoted to General der
Infanterie with seniority from the 13th of November, possibly
the last promotion to the rank of full general signed by Kaiser
Franz Joseph I.!
For the remainder of his time in command of XIX Corps, Trollmann remained in
the Balkans and especially the Albanian front. On the 9th of April 1917 GdI Trollmann was honored with the title of Geheimer Rat (Privy Councillor). In August 1917 his
successful capture of the Lovčen heights was honored with the
award of the knight's cross of the Military Maria Theresian Order
followed by the routine ennobling to Freiherr on the 17th of
August 1917. On the 19th of January 1918 he received the
predicate "von Lovcenberg" to his noble title. In
September 1917 he was honored with the award of the Ottoman
Golden Liakat Medal and the Ottoman War medal, the so-called Iron
Crescent. In October 1917 he was released from commanding the
19th corps and sent on a short leave but no
new field command found for this remarkable general. On the 1st
of December 1918 General der Infanterie Ignaz Freiherr Trollmann
von Lovcenberg retired to Graz where he died on the 23rd of
February 1919.
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