Emil Colerus von Geldern

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Emil Colerus von Geldern
Coat of arms of the Colerus von Geldern family, awarded in 1878.

Emil Colerus von Geldern (born December 31, 1856 in Laibach , † January 30, 1919 in Vienna ) Austrian-Hungarian corps leader in World War I , most recently general of the infantry .

Life

Emil Colerus von Geldern came from an old Dutch family of officers who immigrated to Austria from Holland around 1750. His father Thaddeus Colerus achieved the Austrian nobility on November 25, 1878 with the addition of "von Geldern" to his name.

Emil Colerus von Geldern attended the military school in St. Pölten and successfully graduated from the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt . On September 1, 1877, he was appointed lieutenant in the 44th Infantry Regiment in Mostar . This regiment took part in the occupation of Bosnia , but was not involved in any major combat operations from August 1878.

After attending the war school in Vienna, he was promoted to first lieutenant on May 1, 1882 and was assigned to the General Staff Corps on November 1, 1884 . On November 1, 1887, he was promoted to captain and on May 1, 1892, he was transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 76 in Ödenburg . On October 16, 1893, he was appointed instructor for administrative tasks at the war school. On November 1, 1894, he was promoted to major and on November 1, 1896 to lieutenant colonel . For his achievements as a teacher at the war school, he was awarded the Military Merit Cross on September 2, 1897 . On April 9, 1900 he became Chief of Staff of the VII Corps in Temešvár and on May 1 he received his doctorate and on June 3, 1900 the rank of colonel . Since the post of chief of the general staff of a corps was equivalent to that of a regimental commander, he received the Order of the Iron Crown III on March 24, 1904 . Class .

On 3 March 1906 he took over in Kosice command of the 53rd Infantry Brigade, shortly afterwards on 4 May 1906, was promoted to Major General . On October 27, 1906, he moved in the same position to the 49th Infantry Brigade in Vienna . On July 22nd, 1908, during the 60th anniversary of the Kaiser, he received the Commander's Cross for the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle . On October 23, 1909, he took command of the 6th Infantry Troop Division in Graz , where he was promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal on May 13, 1910 . For 35 years of service in war and peace, he was awarded the Cross of the Leopold Order on March 8, 1912 .

On January 2, 1914, he took command of the III. Corps, on April 26, 1914 he was appointed General of the Infantry. When the war broke out in the summer of 1914, he led the III. "Iron" Corps (6th, 22nd and 28th infantry divisions) as part of the "Army Group Kövess" during the first attacks in Eastern Galicia . Thrown back by Russian troops in the Battle of Zloczow on August 28th, his troops were severely defeated in the Battle of Lemberg as part of the 3rd Army . After the Russians advancing to the west had captured Grodek on September 7, 1914 , the III. Corps a day later to reclaim the city. The 6th ID advanced along the Chaussee and the 28th ID along the railway line, while the 22nd LID was retained as a temporary army reserve. However, the attempt to penetrate the city in the afternoon failed. Around Gródek , the Russian troops were in prepared positions that had to be attacked from the front.

The withdrawal of the III followed. Corps behind the Wereszyca and from there behind the San . Subordinated to the army of General Boroević at the beginning of October 1914 , the III fought. Corps in the battle of Chyrów and at Błożew Grn again unsuccessful and had to retreat to the Carpathians . Nevertheless Colerus kept his position and was honored on November 11, 1914 with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Iron Crown with war decoration.

The III. Corps initially secured south of the Dukla Pass and participated in the winter battle in the Carpathian Mountains in January and February 1915 in both unsuccessful offensives towards Przemyśl . General of the Infantry Colerus von Geldern was relieved of his command on March 29, 1915 after the Russians broke into the front of the 28th Infantry Division and temporarily tore open the seam between 3rd and 2nd Armies. He was adopted on August 23, 1915, retired on September 1 and honored with the title of privy councilor on August 11, 1917 by the new emperor Karl .

His younger brother Wendelin Colerus von Geldern (1861-1937) reached the rank of major general in 1917. Emil's son Egmont Colerus von Geldern (born May 12, 1888 Linz; † April 8, 1939 Vienna) became an important Viennese writer in the field of natural science and in 1921 an official in statistics.

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personal data
SURNAME Colerus von Geldern, Emil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Colerus von Geldern, Emil Silvester
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian general in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH December 31, 1856
PLACE OF BIRTH Ljubljana
DATE OF DEATH January 30, 1919
Place of death Vienna