Konrad von Modell was the son of Imperial Viscount Modell, and, following the Imperial Civil War, the only surviving member of the Modell family. During the war he was a student who was assigned to Garmisch Fortress as a cabin boy; however, before he began that position, the supply vessel he was on was fired upon by allied ships under the command of Wilhelm von Littenheim, and he was ultimately rescued by the Kircheis Fleet.