At the beginning of the First World War he joined the 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment ("2. Fußartillerie-Regiment") of the Bavarian Army as a Fahnenjunker. As an officer he fought on the Western Front in the battles of Verdun and Reims, on the Aisne, near Artois and Ypres. At the end of the war he was Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) and had received both classes of the Iron Cross and the Military Merit Order IV class with swords for his services.