Alexander Riistow the Elder
Alexander Riistow (born October 13, 1824 in Brandenburg an der Havel , † July 25, 1866 in Horitz ) was a military writer and Prussian officer . He was the brother of Wilhelm Rustow and Caesar Rustow and great-uncle of Alexander Rustow .
Life
Alexander Riistow entered Prussian service as a soldier and became an officer in 1845. In 1849 he published a paper on the coastal war. As an officer he took part in the fighting in the German-Danish War in 1848 and 1849.
When Prussian officers were withdrawn from this army after the provisional peace treaty in 1850, he left the Prussian army in 1850 to join the then Schleswig-Holstein army . There he was appointed captain and battery chief and took part in the battle of Idstedt and the later battles on July 27, 1850 . In December 1851 he resigned from the service in Schleswig-Holstein and returned to Prussian service on June 22, 1852.
He first attended the General War School , which he graduated with excellent results in 1856. He received the king's saber of honor. In 1856 he tried to request a pardon from his brother Wilhelm Rustow , who was living in exile in Switzerland , but failed, although Otto von Bismarck , the Prussian deputy in Frankfurt at the time, stood up for him to the king. In 1864 he moved - entrusted with a command in the general staff - again for Schleswig-Holstein in the fight against Denmark . For the storm on Düppel he was awarded the Red Eagle Order IV Class with Swords. Then he was a member of the Artillery Examination Commission.
In February 1866 he was promoted to major and department commander in the 8th Artillery Brigade. In the German-German War he fought in the Battle of Gitschin and the Battle of Königgrätz , in which he was so badly wounded that one foot had to be taken from him. He died on July 25, 1866 in the Horitz military hospital . He remained unmarried.
Works
His work Coastal War of 1849 was the first of its kind, which brought something important about this branch of the art of war , which had been neglected until then .
literature
- Meyer's Lexicon. Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig Vienna 1896.
- Theodor Fontane : The campaign in Bohemia and Moravia 1866. Publishing house of the royal secret upper court book printing company (R. v. Decker) , Berlin, 1871
- Bernhard von Poten : Rustow . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 30, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, pp. 34-38. - (one of the three brothers)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Riistow, Alexander the Elder |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Riistow, Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prussian military writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 13, 1824 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brandenburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 1866 |
| Place of death | Horitz |