Marian Freiherr Varešanin von
Vareš
Marian Varešanin was born on the 1st of February 1847 at Gunja
(Croatia) as the son of an officer from the Slavonian
Grenzinfanterie Regiment number 7. After successfully graduating from the cadet institute at Fiume and the military academy at
Wiener Neustadt he was commissioned as a Leutnant in infantry regiment number 78 on the 19th of August 1866. With this regiment
he saw action in the northern theatre of operations as part of the 3rd
army. Between 1869 and 1871 he attended the Kriegsschule at
Vienna with "very good success". On the 1st of January
1872 he was permanently attached to the general staff corps and transferred to the headquarter of the 2nd
infantry division at
Vienna shortly followed by his promotion to Oberleutnant on the
1st of May of the same year. On the 1st of May 1873 he received
his promotion to Hauptmann 2nd class in his regiment but when the
general staff corps was reorganized in 1876 he was transferred to
this corps as a Hauptmann 1st class. During the following years he
was assigned to the headquarters of the 2nd brigade of the 11th infantry division at Lemberg, the 36th
infantry division at
Agram, the 18th infantry division at Zara and finally the
military mapping bureau of the general staff corps at Vienna. On
the occasion of the Kaiser's journey to Dalmatia in 1875
Hauptmann Varešanin was attached to the Fürst of Montenegro and was honored by the award of the
Montenegrin Order of
Danilo 4th class. Subsequently he was attached to the general
staff of the Armee-General-Commando at Zara where he received the
Military Merit Cross on the 3rd of December 1878 for his
outstanding performance during the mobilization on the occasion of
the occupation of Bosnia and the Herzegovina. In 1879 he was
attached to the delegation of Serbian officers who observed the
large manouvres at Bruck an der Leitha which was honored by the
award of the officer's cross of the Serbian Order of Takowo. On
the 1st of May 1881 he was promoted to Major followed by his
appointment as chief of the general staff of the 9th infantry division at Prague
in October 1881. Between September 1882 and
December 1883 this division was under the command of the heir to
the throne Erzherzog Rudolf. When the Archduke was released from
this post, Major Varešanin was attached to his royal household to
continue the heir to the throne's instruction in military history and military geography. During this
assignment he received the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 3rd class on the 4th of December
1883 and his promotion to Oberstleutnant on the 1st of May 1885.
In November 1885 Oberstleutnant Varešanin was transferred for a stint of
line duty with infantry regiment number 75 at Prague.
His father the retired Hauptmann 1st class Raimund Varešanin was
ennobled with the predicate "von Vareš"
on the 21st of May 1880. As was common, this title could be passed on to a son
who had more than 20 years in public or
military service. On the 1st of April 1887 Marian Varešanin von Vareš was appointed chief of the general staff at the headquarter
of the military command at Zara. At this post he received his
promotion to Oberst on the 1st of May 1888. On the 4th of
December 1893 he assumed command of the 48th infantry brigade at
Przemyśl followed by his promotion to Generalmajor on the 1st of
May 1894. Between October 1896 and March 1897 he was in command
of the 3rd infantry brigade. On the 2nd of April 1897 he took
over command of the 18th infantry division at Mostar where he
received his promotion to Feldmarschall-Leutnant on the 1st of
November of the same years with seniority from the 8th of
November 1897. In September 1900 he was attached to the
headquarter of the 12th corps at Hermannstadt. His performance
there was honored with the award of the knight's cross of the
Order of Leopold on the 18th of October 1902. About a year later
on the 10th of October 1903 he was transferred to the 15th corps
at Sarajevo as deputy commanding general. On the 8th of
April 1905 Feldmarschall-Leutnant Varešanin von Vareš was
appointed as the military commandant of Zara followed by the honorary title of Geheimer Rat (Privy Councillor) on the 11th of August of
the same year and his promotion to Feldzeugmeister on the 1st of
November with seniority from the 31st of October 1905. For his
outstanding performance at this politically important post he was
honored with the title of Oberstinhaber of infantry regiment
number 22 (15th August 1906) and the grand cross of the Order of
the Iron Crown (2nd January 1908). In the course of the reorganization of the general ranks in
autumn 1908 his title was changed to that of General der Infanterie.
On the 7th of March 1909 General der Infanterie Marian Varešanin von
Vareš was appointed to command the 15th corps at
Sarajevo, commanding general at Sarajevo and the head of
government of Bosnia and the Herzegovina. On the 29th of July
1909 he additionally received the appointment as General-Truppen-Inspektor. To avoid a complete overload of work
the command of the 15th corps was transferred to General Moritz
Ritter von Auffenberg in October 1909 but General Varešanin von Vareš stayed as chief of the local government which was the
reason why a young Serbian, the student Bogdan Zerajic, made an
attempt in Serajevo to assassinate him on the 2nd of June 1910. The
assailant fired five shots at this "renegade", who "had
assured his career by pouring out the blood of his brothers in
the famous insurrection in Rakovica", but, owing to a
remarkable accident, did not succeed in killing the general. Whereupon
the would be murderer Zerajic fired the sixth and final bullet
through his own head and immediately fell dead. Following this incident Varešanin
was directly raised to the rank of Freiherr by the Kaiser. Although the attack
had been unsuccessful the 63 year old general started to think
about his retirement and asked for his release from the service which was granted
on the 10th of May 1911 and he was succeeded by General Oskar Potiorek.
On the 10th of July 1911 General Varešanin retired after 45
years of outstanding service and was simultaneously awarded of
the grand cross of the Order of Leopold. General der Infanterie
Marian Freiherr Varešanin von Vareš died in Vienna on the 22nd of
April 1917.
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