Born in Wiesbaden and educated in his hometown and Berlin, he volunteered for the German Imperial Army in 1915, serving on the Western Front and at Isonzo in Italy.

[1] An unpopular figure with many of the Austrians, he was excluded from the country after this failure as Hitler placed the blame on Habicht, who had been responsible for determining the details of the coup attempt.

[1] Severely discredited by the failure, Habicht went into seclusion in the Harz mountains before being allowed to take up the post of Oberbürgermeister (Mayor) of Wittenberg in February 1937, serving through September 1939.

[4] His reputation partially restored, Habicht took up a more important role in November 1939 when he was appointed Undersecretary of State in the German Foreign Office.

[5] However, when his plans were rejected by Johan Nygaardsvold and Haakon VII of Norway, Hitler once again lost faith in Habicht and ordered him into the Wehrmacht in September 1940.