Jakob Friedrich Rösch

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Jakob Friedrich Rösch (born October 26, 1743 in Dürrenzimmern ; † January 8, 1841 in Stuttgart ) was a Württemberg mathematician , military scientist , historian and architect . He became known in particular for his teaching activities at the Military Nursery School , which later became the High Charles School , and his writings on military theory presented at the time, as well as the construction of the Röschenschanze on Kniebis, which was completed in 1794 . He was also a military tutor at the Württemberg court.

Life

Rösch was born in 1743 as the son of Adlerwirt Johann Martin Rösch and Juliana Rosina nee Veil. He attended the village school in Dürrenzimmern and then the Latin school in Brackenheim . The parents planned a career as a scribe or schoolmaster for the son and therefore provided him with further training in French and music from a private teacher. The young Jakob Friedrich, however, developed an interest in mathematics and fortress construction and also attended appropriate lessons from Prime Lieutenant Vetter. In 1762 he joined the ducal Württemberg artillery as a cadet and began studying mathematics and architecture at the Académie des Arts . As a mathematically gifted soldier, he joined the Corps des Guides as conductor in 1767 , which, under the direction of Colonel Nicolai, was dedicated to land surveying .

In 1771 he came as a teacher at the still young military nursery school , later the High Charles School . There he taught mathematics and military architecture as well as various military subjects. Rösch played a key role in shaping the academic content of the Charles School from 1777 onwards. In 1778 he published Mathematische Säze aus der Tactik, a basic work on military instruction, and was promoted to captain . In the same year he went on a 14-day study trip to historical battlefields in Württemberg and the Palatinate. From his research on battles from all epochs, he published several works on warfare, including a work on Roman war antiquities and in 1790 the plans of two and forty main battles, meetings and sieges of the Seven Years' War . In 1790 he was the longest-serving teacher at the Karlsschule and was made an engineer major, which brought him a salary increase that had previously been requested several times. In addition to his occupation with fortress building and warfare, Rösch supported his students at the Charles School with practical experiments. On February 11, 1784, he attempted a flight with a Montgolfière at the High Charles School .

After the military academy was dissolved under Duke Ludwig Eugen , Rösch was entrusted with the construction of a hexagonal ski jump on Kniebis to block the upper Renchtal in 1794 . The Roßbühlschanze, designed for 2000 men and 12 guns, was later also called Röschenschanze after its builder . Thereafter, on the order of the Duke, Rösch was to head a new military institute attached to the Stuttgart grammar school, but the Duke's death in May 1795 initially prevented the institute from opening. Ludwig Eugen's successor, Friedrich Eugen, also pushed the project forward, but also died before the project was implemented. Duke Friedrich II finally withdrew Rösch from the school project and hired him as a military tutor for his son Wilhelm , whom Rösch initially accompanied to Tübingen. After a French invasion in 1799, as a result of which Rösch fled Tübingen, he laid the foundations of the Landwehr and conscription in what would later become the Kingdom of Württemberg with his draft draft of an expedient and compulsory military class for Wirtemberg . In 1800 he was briefly major on the Hohentwiel , later then military tutor of Paul von Württemberg . In 1801 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and in 1803 to colonel . His military career ended in 1805 with his retirement. However, in the same year he was given an apprenticeship at the newly founded cadet institute, which he held until 1816.

In his later years he devoted himself primarily to the history of antiquity and art, about which he has continued to publish. In 1802 a work on Vitruvius' architecture was published, in 1805 a paperback from prehistory to the year 1805 . However, he finally seemed obsessed with the idea of ​​having to put a large part of history in the Old Testament context, so that his last writings around 1810, which dealt with the geography and history of the past, were no longer taken seriously in scientific circles.

Blessed with robust health, Rösch was 97 years old and took part in social events in old age.

Rösch was single throughout his life. A son born in 1781, Joseph Friedrich Wilhelm Rösch, came from an illegitimate relationship with the pastor's daughter Rosina Rößlein, which was documented as early as 1771.

Works (selection)

  • Frankfurt am Mayn, bey Jäger: Plans of forty-two main battles, meetings and sieges of the 7 Years War , drawn from the rarest and most verified sources, carefully compared with the best works of the greatest tacticians on this war and edited under the supervision of JF Rösch, artillery captain with Sr. Durchl. The reigning Duke von Würtenberg and teacher of war science at the high Karl school in Stuttgart. First delivery. S. Kings Hey subservient to the Crown Prince of Prussia, by J. Chr. Jäger , Buchhändl. in Frankfurt am Mayn. 1789.
  • For cartographic works, see the Web Links section.

literature

Web links

Commons : Plans of Two and Forty Major Battles, Meetings and Sieges of the Seven Years War  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quotation from: Allgemeine Literaturzeitung, year 1789, volume 3, number 198 (first delivery) and year 1791, volume 3, number 260 (fourth and last delivery) , digitized in the Thulp magazine portal at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena [1 ]
personal data
SURNAME Rösch, Jakob Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rösch, Jacob Friedrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Württemberg mathematician, military scientist and historian
DATE OF BIRTH October 26, 1743
PLACE OF BIRTH Drought rooms
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 1841
Place of death Stuttgart