Date of birth:

April 21st, 1871 (Berlin, Germany)

Date of death:

October 27th, 1929 (Goslar, Germany)

Nationality:

Germany (1871-1918, Empire)

Karl was a son of the same name Prussian Lieutenant General Karl von Keizer (1843–1929) and his wife Klara, née von Arnim (* 1846). His sister Anna (* 1873) was married to the German infantry general Otto Hasse.
Military career

Keizer joined the Guard Pioneer Battalion of the Prussian Army as a flag junior on April 1, 1889 and was promoted to secondary lieutenant by the end of September 1890. With the transfer to the infantry regiment "Graf Bose" (1st Thuringian) No. 31, he switched to infantry at the end of June 1895 and rose as a first lieutenant to adjutant of the 2nd battalion at the end of November 1898. After Keizer had graduated from the War Academy for further training from 1899–1902, he was a captain of the 57th Infantry Brigade in Freiburg im Breisgau from mid-September 1904 to the end of January 1909 and was then company commander in the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment 91st Unter Promotion to major followed on January 27, 1913 with the uniform of his regiment and appointment as adjutant of the 35th Division in Thorn.

In this capacity he took part in the fighting at Gumbinnen after the outbreak of World War I, where he was wounded for the first time. Keizer then worked in the battles near Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes and took part in the campaign in southern Poland with the advance on Warsaw. During the fighting for Łódź he could on 23/24. November 1914 successfully intervened in the defense of Russian troops with a battalion composed of replacement transports and led by him and received the Iron Cross 1st class for this. On December 3, 1914, when he was appointed commander of the 2nd Battalion in the Kulm Infantry Regiment No. 141, he resigned from service and was deployed in the offensive that began near Przasnysz in mid-July 1915. He was wounded a second time at the end of the month while forcing the crossing via Narew.

In October 1915 he moved with his regiment to the Western Front and was initially involved in trench warfare between the Somme and Oise. During the Battle of the Somme, in which Keizer got gas poisoning, he was appointed commander of the infantry regiment "von der Marwitz" (8th Pomeranian) No. 61 on August 29, 1916. After the end of the battle he remained in the combat area and returned to the Siegfriedstellung in mid-March 1917. In the battle of Arras he was able to fight on 23/24 Assert April against multiple superior forces and repel attacks by British troops. For this he was submitted to the Pour le Mérite, but did not receive the medal.

During the battle in the Wytschaete-Bogen, which began on June 7, 1917, his regiment defended the important canal knee north of Hollebeke on the right wing of his position and was able to hold it under difficult circumstances until it was relieved. After the regiment had been refreshed after a period of rest and by replacement, it was deployed in the Battle of Flanders in autumn. In the course of the fighting, enemy troops in the neighboring section of the 40th Infantry Division managed to advance via Draibank on October 27, 1917 and to attack and bypass the German positions in the Houthulster Forest. Keizer recognized the situation and made the independent decision to intervene with his regiment in readiness and the replacement battalion and to clear up the threatening situation. His division commander von Hahn then submitted him again for the award of the order Pour le Mérite; The award proposal was supported by the group commander Lieutenant General Albrecht and the commander-in-chief of the 4th Army Sixt von Armin. Thereupon Wilhelm II awarded him the highest Prussian bravery award by cabinet order on November 24, 1917. In the following years his regiment took part in the trench warfare in Flanders. Keizer was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the end of March 1918 and was wounded for the third time in April in the battle of Armentières when crossing the Leie. Until the end of the war he was in defensive battles with his association and was able to prove himself for the last time at Valenciennes.

After the armistice of Compiègne and the return home, Keizer was deployed with his regiment in the Eastern Border Guard. At the beginning of October 1919 he was with the staff of the Reichswehr Infantry Regiment 102 and took over the command of the Infantry Regiment 14. On October 1, 1920 he was appointed commander of the 7th Infantry Regiment and with seniority from that date on December 18, 1920 promoted to colonel. Keizer was given the status of major general and retired from military service on March 31, 1923. He was an honorary knight of the Order of St. John.

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!

• - Dermot Bradley (Hrsg.): Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. Die militärischen Werdegänge der Generale, sowie der Ärzte, Veterinäre, Intendanten, Richter und Ministerialbeamten im Generalsrang. Band 6: Hochbaum–Klutmann. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2002, ISBN 3-7648-2582-0, S. 406–407.