Alexander Heinrich Rudolph
von Klück (May 20, 1846 in Münster - October 19, 1934 in Berlin) was a German soldier.He participated in the Austro-Prussian war and then the Franco-German war of 1870. He rose in the hierarchy and reached the rank of General of the army. In 1913 he was appointed Inspector General of the Department of the German Seventh Army.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, he was commander of the German First Army. Following the Schlieffen plan this division belonged to the powerful "right wing" positioned on the western flank of the advance through Belgium and France. After fighting against the British at the Battle of Mons and that of Le Cateau, the First Army pursued Lanrezac's French Fifth Army during the great retreat (the French army was beaten at Mons and Charleroi on 21 and 23 August 1914).
In September, the front is on the Marne. Moltke then suddenly decided to direct his troops to the southeast in order to "push the French army away from Paris". Out of indiscipline, Klück ignores this order and continues on his way. The western flank of the German device was then exposed to a counter-attack from Paris. General Joffre will then exploit this situation and on September 5, the Battle of the Marne begins. Threatened with encirclement, the German armies had to retreat on September 9. The pursuit stops on December 12 on the Aisne; the Schlieffen plan failed and Moltke gave way to Falkenhayn.
Klück was seriously injured in a leg in March 1915 and retired in October 1916