KANZLER, HERMANN. — Papal general and pro-minister of War, born at Weingarten near Bruchsal (Baden) on 28 March 1822, died in Rome on 6 January 1888. An exemplary Christian and an excellent soldier, intelligent and cultivated, he was one of the noblest and most chivalrous figures of old papal Rome. Having completed his secondary studies at Mannheim, he entered the military college of Karlsruhe, revealing an aptitude for and love of the profession. Standard-bearer and lieutenant (25 May 1841), he relinquished his career rather than fight a duel and devoted himself to the study of languages and to travel, on several occasions showing a rare contempt for danger. On 1 September 1845 he was finally admitted at Bologna into the service of the Holy See as a cadet. Highly trained in the military sciences and a capable organizer, he became a second lieutenant in the foreign infantry, fought at Monte Berico (Vicenza) on 24 May 1848, and, although wounded and the only surviving officer, commanded his company to the very end, earning a special commendation from General Durando.
Promoted to lieutenant on 15 April 1849 and to captain on 21 June, he served as aide-de-camp to General Zucchi, hastened through perilous circumstances to join the exiled Pius IX at Gaeta, and successfully carried out delicate secret missions in the provinces of the Papal States, which were in turmoil. On 26 July 1850 he was chosen by General Kalbermatten as aide-de-camp, and soon attained the rank of colonel (1 May 1859) in the native infantry. Initially left aside by General De Lamoricière, who preferred De Pimodan to him, he endured this trial also with modesty and serenity. During the 1860 campaign in the Marches and Umbria, he clearly distinguished himself among all his colleagues: near S. Angelo (13 September) he managed to force his way with a slender column through an entire enemy division, earning appointment as brigadier general (22 September); in the defence of Ancona he displayed experience, courage, and fearless composure, and was an active advocate of resistance to the bitter end.
On returning from captivity in Genoa, he was given command of a brigade, and then, at a very young age, became lieutenant general and pro-minister (27 October 1865), replacing Msgr. De Merode. Deeply devoted to Pius IX and received with profound favour by him, though not by Antonelli, esteemed even by the opponents of the papal government, generous, calm, and reflective, he enjoyed the complete confidence of his Italian and foreign subordinates, also because of his military temperament and his mentality, directed toward a cold and tenacious offensive. He was therefore the person best suited to undertake those radical reforms of the army and to study those defence problems which, imposed by the provisions of the September Convention, transformed the Catholic volunteers into a respectable and efficient military force.
This was demonstrated in practice: the definitive suppression of brigandage in southern Latium (1864–66) was followed by the effective resistance offered to Garibaldi’s bands in the autumn of 1867, and then by the victorious action at Mentana (3 November). The final crisis of 1870 then arrived: for K. and his men, as Vigevano rightly put it, it represented a genuine “drama of military psychology,” between a spontaneous fighting spirit extending to supreme sacrifice and disciplined compliance with the sovereign orders, intended to reduce the clash to the minimum necessary to establish that force had been used. Even on that extreme occasion, the papal troops led by K. succeeded in commanding the respect of honourable men by fighting and obeying like a “good army,” to such an extent that the besiegers accorded them the honours of war. Once the painful and arduous negotiations for the capitulation had ended, and the troops departing for captivity had been given their farewell, K. did not wish to leave the side of Pius IX, whom he had the good fortune to assist until his final agony. Created a baron by Leo XIII, he spent the remainder of his life aiding and benefiting his former soldiers, and successfully devoting himself to studies of a military and astronomical nature.
Among other works, he is responsible for an objective Rapporto alla S. di N. S. papa Pio IX sulla invasione dello Stato pontificio nell'autunno 1867 (Rome 1868), as well as for an important collection of personal and governmental documents secured for the Vatican Archives by Msgr. A. Mereti in 1932.