Kuno von der Goltz

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Alexander Eduard Kuno Freiherr von der Goltz (born February 2, 1817 in Wilhelmsthal , † October 29, 1897 in Fülme ) was a Prussian infantry general and a member of the North German Reichstag .

Life

origin

Kuno came from the von der Goltz family of the Groß-Lauth line. He was the son of Karl Freiherr von der Goltz (1769–1844) and his wife Henriette Magdalene, née de Genée (1779–1854). His father was a Prussian Rittmeister a. D. , Mr. auf Kramionken in the Sensburg district and Mayor of Strelno .

Military career

From September 1828 Goltz attended the cadet schools in Kulm and Berlin . Subsequently, on August 14, 1834, he was transferred as a second lieutenant to the Kaiser Alexander Grenadier Regiment of the Prussian Army . With this regiment , Goltz took part in the battles near Schleswig and Aabenraa during the war against Denmark in 1848 as prime lieutenant . After his assignment, Goltz was transferred to the 1st Guard Landwehr Regiment on November 18, 1848 and served as a company commander in the 2nd Battalion. Half a year later he came again as a company commander in the 4th Guards Landwehr Regiment and participated in the suppression of the Baden Revolution . Goltz came into action near Wiesenthal, Kirchheimbolanden , Neudorf and Kuppenheim and received the Order of the Red Eagle, IV class with swords , for his achievements on September 20, 1849 . Shortly afterwards Goltz returned to the Alexander Grenadiers. After a three-month command as a general staff officer in the 2nd Guard Division , Goltz was finally promoted to captain on October 14, 1851 and at the same time appointed company commander. In 1857 he was transferred to the Guard Rifle Battalion and then as a major on May 8, 1858 in the General Staff of the 1st Army Corps and on July 1, 1860 in the General Staff of the 1st Division . In May 1862, Goltz returned to service and, as a lieutenant colonel, was given command of the 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment No. 15 .

In the German-Danish War of 1864, Goltz led his battalion in the battles near Rackebüll and Lillemölle as well as the storm on the Düppeler Schanzen . For the successful transition to Alsen and the defeat of the Danish troops at Kjär and Sønderborg , Goltz was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on August 14, 1864 .

With a position à la suite , Goltz was given the command of Infantry Regiment No. 15 on November 21, 1864 , appointed regiment commander on April 18, 1865 and promoted to colonel two months later . In the German War of 1866 Goltz took part in the Main Campaign . For his achievements in this campaign he received the oak leaves for the Pour le Mérite. In this campaign he led the battle near Friedrichshall , in which he fought for the crossing over the Saale with two battalions .

Promoted to major general in July 1869 , he took over the 26th Infantry Brigade in Münster , which consisted of his old regiment and Infantry Regiment No. 55 . In the Franco-German War he fought in the VII Army Corps under Heinrich Adolf von Zastrow as part of General von Steinmetz's 1st Army . His division commander Adolf von Glümer prevented the brigade from being used in the Battle of Spichern . However, Goltz led the pursuit in the direction of Forbach , for which he received the Iron Cross 2nd class. Perhaps the most important operation of the brigade was on August 14, 1870, when the Battle of Colombey was triggered by his unauthorized attack . The first of the three battles, which were later also called the Bloody Days of Metz, developed from a smaller skirmish. The losses of his brigade amounted to 1,028 dead and wounded soldiers. His arbitrariness was covered by his superiors after the victory. He received the Iron Cross 1st class.

After the fall of Metz , Goltz was given command of other units, including two cavalry regiments. This association, now also known as "Detachement Goltz", fought as part of the newly formed XIV Army Corps under August von Werder against the Vosges Army under Giuseppe Garibaldi . He besieged the citadel of Langres, which was occupied by 3,000 soldiers, without success . In January 1871 he was withdrawn from here to support Werder against the Armée de l'Est under Charles Denis Sauter Bourbaki . He took part in the battle at Villersexel and in the three-day battle of the Lisaine . This battle was followed by the very successful pursuit of the Bourbaki troops, which ended with the transfer and internment of 87,000 men in neutral Switzerland . The planned renewed siege of Langres did not take place due to the armistice.

After the founding of the German Empire , Goltz was appointed inspector of the hunters and riflemen in May 1871 and was entrusted with the management of the riding field hunter corps . Goltz was released from these duties on April 11, 1873 and then commissioned to lead the 1st Division in Königsberg . After his promotion to lieutenant general on September 2, 1873, he was appointed division commander on November 25, 1873. In December 1877 he took command of the 13th Division in Münster , which also included his regiment from 1866 and the brigade from 1870/71. On March 13, 1880 Goltz was awarded the character as General of Infantry with board for disposition made.

On September 12, 1889, on the occasion of the imperial parade of the VII Army Corps on the Mindener Heide, he was placed by the highest cabinet order (AKO) à la suite of the infantry regiment "Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands" (2nd Westphalian) No. 15.

politics

From February 1867, Goltz represented the constituency of Minden - Lübbecke in the Reichstag and in the customs parliament . When he was appointed major general in 1869, he had to resign these mandates, but was re-elected in a replacement election on September 9, 1868 and belonged to the Conservative Party . He was a member of the Reichstag until 1871. He died at the age of 80.

family

He married Helene Freiin von Troschke (1826-1906), a daughter of Lieutenant General Ernst Maximilian von Troschke, in Berlin on December 31, 1849 . Several children emerged from the marriage:

  • Hedwig (* 1850)
  • Georg (1852–1930), Prussian general of the infantry ⚭ Agnes Susanne von Hirsch (1855–1891)
  • Maria Magdalena (* 1855)
  • Hans Joachim Rüdiger (* 1856)
  • Marie Elisabeth (1859–1883) ⚭ Paulus Andreas Diomed Carl Georg von Schellersheim (* 1855)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Cramer : History of the Infantry Regiment Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands (2nd Westphalian) No. 15. Verlag R. Eisenschmid, Berlin 1910.
  2. Bernd Haunfelder , Klaus Erich Pollmann : Reichstag of the North German Confederation 1867-1870. Historical photographs and biographical handbook (= photo documents on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 2). Droste, Düsseldorf 1989, ISBN 3-7700-5151-3 , photo p. 139, short biography p. 407.
  3. ^ Fritz Specht, Paul Schwabe: The Reichstag elections from 1867 to 1903. Statistics of the Reichstag elections together with the programs of the parties and a list of the elected representatives. Verlag Carl Heymann, 2nd edition, Berlin 1904, p. 135.