Gustav Waldemar von Rauch

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General of the cavalry Gustav Waldemar von Rauch

Gustav Waldemar von Rauch (born January 30, 1819 in Berlin ; † May 7, 1890 there ) was a Prussian general of the cavalry .

Life

origin

His parents were Gustav von Rauch , who later became the Prussian Infantry General and Minister of War, and his second wife Rosalie, née von Holtzendorff (1790–1862). Rauch was a grandson of Major General Bonaventura von Rauch . The court marshal Adolf von Rauch (1805–1877), the second, morganatic wife of the Emperor's brother Albrecht von Prussia Rosalie von Hohenau (1820–1879), the chief stable master of the German emperors and Prussian kings Fedor von Rauch (1822–1892) and the General of the Infantry Albert von Rauch (1829–1901) were his siblings.

Military career

Like his father and grandfather, Rauch initially aimed for a technically oriented career as an officer. In 1836 he joined the Guard Artillery Brigade of the Prussian Army as a gunner in Berlin , where he became a portepeefähnrich in 1837 . He was then assigned to the United Artillery and Engineering School in Charlottenburg until 1839 and was promoted to secondary lieutenant in 1838 .

Rauch then went over to the cavalry. In 1841 he was transferred to the 2nd Guard Uhlan Regiment in Potsdam . As a prime lieutenant he belonged to the 1st Guard Uhlan Regiment, which was also stationed in Potsdam . Following his scientific-technical talent, he was assigned to the Topographical Office , a subdivision of the General Staff in Berlin, from 1845 to 1847 . In 1848 Rauch was employed as an attaché at the Prussian embassy at the Russian Tsar's court in Saint Petersburg .

From there he was assigned to the General Staff in 1852 and promoted to Rittmeister . Between 1853 and 1860 Rauch served as a general staff officer, in the first years in the general staff of the VI Army Corps in Breslau and then in the general staff of the 12th Division in Neisse . With the transfer to the General Staff, his rank was adjusted from Rittmeister to that of Captain . In 1856 he was promoted to major .

In 1860 he was given command of the 8th Hussar Regiment in Neuhaus . Since 1861 Lieutenant Colonel moved Smoke 1862 to the top of the 11th Hussars in Dusseldorf . There he was promoted to colonel . In the war against Austria Rauch led his regiment in the battle of Königgrätz with distinction. Then he briefly led the Trier 16th Cavalry Brigade . A few months later he was appointed commander of the newly established 21st Cavalry Brigade in Frankfurt am Main and promoted to major general in the same year . His superior division commander, Lieutenant General Leopold Hermann von Boyen , highlighted Rauch in an assessment: "General von Rauch fills his position in a commendable manner, gives the regimental commanders leeway and knows how to drill his brigade very well." The commanding general of the superior XI. Army Corps , General of the Infantry Heinrich von Plonski , added the opinion of the division commander: “Major General von Rauch has intelligence, agility and a lot of agility, so that his influence on subordinates is very stimulating without compromising their effectiveness and independence restrict. Safe in front of the front, he leads his troops in the terrain with care and agility, shows good judgment and quick decisions. He's a good brigade commander. "

During the mobilization on the occasion of the war against France , Rauch took over command of the mobile 15th Cavalry Brigade . At its head he suffered a serious wound on the right kneecap and left abdomen on August 16 in the Battle of Vionville from the impact of a shell. After its restoration, he became commandant of Frankfurt am Main at the end of May 1871 and lieutenant general in mid-August 1871 . In 1872 Rauch was given command of the 9th Division in Glogau . He gave up the command due to illness in 1879 to be transferred to the army officers at the same time. Under awarding of the character as a cavalry general smoke was with board for disposition made. At the same time, Kaiser Wilhelm I appointed him head of the state gendarmerie with the right to wear the active badges.

On the occasion of his 50th anniversary in service, Rauch received the patent for his rank in 1886. Rauch retired on August 2, 1888, when he was awarded the Grand Cross for the Order of the Red Eagle . His brother, General of the Infantry Albert von Rauch, succeeded him as chief of the rural gendarmerie.

Grave of General of the Cavalry Gustav Waldemar von Rauch (front left) and his daughter Sophie von Rauch (center) in the Berlin Invalidenfriedhof

Grave in the Berlin Invalidenfriedhof

Rauch died in Berlin in 1890. He was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof in the Rauchschen gravege near the Berlin honorary grave of his father Gustav von Rauch. His daughter Sophie von Rauch is buried next to him. The graves have been preserved.

The burial place of the von Rauch family was donated by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. And designed by his court architect Friedrich August Stüler .

The family grave complex is only a few meters away from the former Berlin Wall . After German reunification in the 1990s, it was restored by the garden monument maintenance department of the Berlin State Monuments Office . The restoration was funded by the federal government, the Foundation Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin and the Invalidenfriedhof eV association

family

Rauch married Polyxena von Stéritsch (1828-1859) in Saint Petersburg in 1848 while he was an attaché at the Prussian legation; she came from a Russian noble family. The couple had three children:

literature
personal data
SURNAME Rauch, Gustav Waldemar von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the cavalry
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 1890
Place of death Berlin