Hermann von Rantzau

Hermann von Rantzau

Hermann Karl Dietrich von Rantzau and Hermann Karl Friedrich von Rantzau (born November 13, 1815 in Testorf near Zarrentin , † April 13, 1891 in Görlitz ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

Hermann von Rantzau came from the Mecklenburg branch of the Schleswig-Holstein nobility family ( Equites Originarii ) Rantzau . He was a son of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin forest master Adolf Johann Karl von Rantzau (1786–1861) and his wife Bernhardine, born von Dorne (1786–1836) from the Pannekow family ( Altkalen ). Marianne von Rantzau (1811–1855), the first superior of the Deaconess and Hospital Bethanien (Berlin) was his oldest sister.

Military career

Rantzau visited the cadet house in Berlin from October 1, 1829 and was then transferred on August 5, 1833 as a second lieutenant to the 5th Uhlan Regiment of the Prussian Army . In 1846/48 he was commanded as a squadron leader to the cavalry tribe of the 1st Battalion in the 17th Landwehr Regiment and was promoted to Prime Lieutenant on April 13, 1847 in this position . 1848/49 he took over as adjutant in the 14th Division on the campaign in Baden and the fighting of Ludwigshafen , Waghäusel , Bruchsal and Durlach part. In June 1852, Rantzau was promoted to Rittmeister and returned to his regular regiment a year later. There he worked from April 18, 1854 to June 25, 1856 as squadron chief and was then transferred to the 4th Uhlan Regiment as adjutant of the General Command of the IV Army Corps in Magdeburg . On June 15, 1858, Rantzau was given the character as a major and on January 18, 1859 he received the patent for this rank. A short time later, on March 12, 1859, he was transferred as a regular staff officer to the 3rd Uhlan Regiment (Emperor of Russia) in Fürstenwalde. For the duration of the mobile relationship on the occasion of the Sardinian War , Rantzau was in June / July 1859 commander of the mobile 3rd Landwehr-Uhlan Regiment.

On July 2, 1862, he took command of the 1st Westphalian Hussar Regiment No. 8 . In this capacity promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 17, 1863 , he led his regiment in the war against Denmark in the battles near Missunde , the advance through Schleswig and the occupation of Jutland in 1864 . In the main campaign on the occasion of the German war he led his organization in 1866 in the battles with Dermbach , Kissingen , Laufach , Aschaffenburg , Waldüren, Tauberbischofsheim and Gerchsheim and in the bombardment of Würzburg . In the meantime promoted to colonel on June 8, 1866 , Rantzau was after the peace treaty on September 20, 1866 for his services with the Crown Order III. Excellent with swords.

On April 18, 1868, Rantzau was briefly charged with leading the 13th Cavalry Brigade in Münster . Under position à la suite of the 1st Westphalian Hussar Regiment No. 8, he was appointed commander of the 16th Cavalry Brigade in Trier on July 28, 1868 . With the beginning of the war against France , Rantzau was first assigned to the staff of the 3rd Cavalry Division and promoted to major general on July 26, 1870 . As such, he was commander of the 25th Cavalry Brigade (Grand Ducal Hessian) from August 18, 1870 . This large association led Rantzau in the association of the Grand Ducal Hessian (25th) Division in the battles at Noisseville , Beaune-la-Rolande and Orléans as well as the siege of Metz . Awarded the Iron Cross II class, he was appointed commander of the 8th Cavalry Brigade in Halle (Saale) after the Peace of Frankfurt on May 23, 1871 . The Hessian Grand Duke paid tribute to his achievements during the war against France on December 14, 1871 by being awarded the Commander's Cross, 1st Class, of the Order of Louis .

Due to his short-sightedness , Rantzau submitted his farewell , which was granted to him on August 15, 1872 with a pension and the award of the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class with oak leaves and swords on the ring. With his pension he was put up for disposal on November 28, 1872 . In addition, Rantzau was given the character of Lieutenant General on November 26, 1887. He had been a legal knight of the Order of St. John since 1878 .

family

In 1844 he married Ida Auguste Charlotte von Barner (1823-1853) in Trebbow . She was a daughter of the Prussian Lieutenant General Ulrich von Barner (1786–1846). In his second marriage, he married Marie Ida Sophie Schulze in Berlin in 1862. The following children emerged from the marriages:

• Hermann Friedrich (1849–1927), Prussian major general
• Margarete (* 1865)
• Cajus Hermann (* 1869), senior councilor
• Werner (1879–1915), last lieutenant in the Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 15

literature

• A. Draudt: The activity of the Rantzau Detachment in the campaign from 1870-71 from December 20, 1870 to February 19, 1871. A contribution to the history of the Grand Ducal Hessian (25th) Division. Darmstadt & Leipzig: Zernin 1874 ( digitized version )
• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 8, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 367632837 , pp. 270-271, no. 2594.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Johanniter Order Gazette. 32 (1891), p. 93.
2. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Volume 5, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1938], DNB 367632802 , p. 306, no. 1562.