In the anglophone and francophone world, however, he was also notorious as the alleged perpetrator of atrocities in Charleroi, Belgium, during the German invasion of 1914.

[1] Joining the Corps of Cadets in 1869 he was made a Lieutenant in the 75th Infantry Regiment "Bremen" in 1873, stationed at Stade.

Being promoted to Generalleutnant on 16 June 1913, Bahrfeldt was ennobled as a member of the Prussian hereditary nobility (as part of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II) and was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle 2nd class with oakleaves and the Order of the Crown 2nd class.

In August 1914, at the start of First World War, Bahrfeldt was given command of the 19th Reserve Division, part of the X.

He fought in the First Battle of Champagne and in June 1915 he was given command of the 10th Reserve Division and promoted to General der Infanterie.

In the Weimar Republic, he was a member of the Monarchist Deutschnationale Volkspartei and it's paramilitary Wing, Der Stahlhelm.