Robert Paul Theodor von Kosch (5 April 1856 in Glatz (
Kłodzko
Kłodzko (; cz, Kladsko; german: Glatz; la, Glacio) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river.
Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko ...
),
Prussian Silesia
The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official ...
– 22 December 1942) was a
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
n
General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
Early life
Robert was the youngest of ten children of Hermann and Agnes Kosch. After attending the Cadet corps, on 23 April 1874 Kosch graduated as a Sekonde-Leutnant in the (4th Lower Silesian) Infantry Regiment No. 51 of the
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
. From 1877 to 1880 he studied at the Military Academy. On 3 April 1880 he married Gertrude Noeggerath, with whom he had three daughters.
[The Prussian Machine]
/ref>
Career
From 1 April 1881 to 31 March 1887 he was posted as battalion and regimental adjutant to Infantry Regiment No. 132 in Glatz. On 1 April 1887 he was seconded to the General Staff to Berlin. After a number of regimental and staff assignments Kosch was promoted to Oberst
''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
on 22 April 1905 and took command of the Landwehrbezirk II in Berlin. On 16 February 1907 he took command of the 8. Brandenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment „General-Feldmarschall Prinz Friedrich Karl von Preußen“ Nr. 64 in Prenzlau
Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region.
Geography
The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Be ...
.
On 19 August 1909 he was promoted to Generalmajor
is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries.
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-s ...
and assigned to the 78th Infantry Brigade in Brieg. On 22 April 1912 he was made Generalleutnant and he was appointed commander of the 10th Division in Posen.[
After the outbreak of World War I he led his division into the Loraine region on the ]Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
* Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
. On 9 October 1914, he became commander of the I. Army Corps in Lithuania, where his troops opposed numerically superior Russian forces. After initial tactical setbacks Kosch and his men finally won the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes
The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, also known as the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on the Eastern Front in the winter of 1915. The offensive was intended to advance beyond the V ...
. For this victory Kosch was awarded the Pour le Mérite
The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...
. On 11 June 1915 he was appointed Commanding General
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...
of the X. Reserve Corps. He led them in the battles on the Dniester
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and t ...
, the Battle of Gnila Lipa
The Battle of Gnila Lipa took place early in the World War I on 29–30 August 1914, when the Imperial Russian Army invaded Galicia and engaged the defending Austro-Hungarian Army. It was part of a larger series of battles known collectively as ...
and at Krasnostaw. He transferred to the Balkans Theater, where he fought against Serbia. For his success Kosch received, on 27 November 1915, the Oak Leaves to his Pour le Mérite.[
At the end of February 1916 the ]Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
began, and Kosch was in it. He was promoted to General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to:
* General of the Infantry (Austria)
* General of the Infantry (Bulgaria)
* General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imp ...
on 18 August 1916.
Ten days later he assumed command of the newly formed General Command No. 52, a.k.a. the Danube Army; that was used in the Bulgarian Danube region. The multi-day battle at Argesch, in late November to early December 1916, culminating in a Romanian defeat, led to the occupation of Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
and the crumbling of Romania's western and northwestern front sectors. From 1 May 1917 on he temporarily led the 9th Army until the arrival of Johannes von Eben
Johannes Karl Louis Richard Eben, from 1906 named von Eben (24 February 1855 – 30 June 1924) was a Prussian officer who served as a German general of the infantry in World War I .
Early life
Johanness Karl Louis Richard Eben was born in Preuß ...
. After dissolution of the Danube Army in March 1918 Kosch participated in the occupation of the Ukraine and the struggles against the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
. On 1 May 1918 he was appointed commander of all troops in Taurida and the Crimea.[
Directly after the war he commanded the ''Border Guard East'', effectively all German forces east of Berlin, before he retired from the Army on 10 January 1919. Kosch died in 1942 and was buried in the ]Invalids' Cemetery
The Invalids' Cemetery (german: Invalidenfriedhof) is one of the oldest cemeteries in Berlin. It was the traditional resting place of the Prussian Army, and is regarded as particularly important as a memorial to the German Wars of Liberation o ...
. His grave did not survive.[
]
Awards and decorations
* Order of the Red Eagle
The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...
I. Class with Oak Leaves and Swords (6 August 1818)
* Golden Grand Cross of the Albert Order
The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone w ...
with Swords (22 August 1917)
* Pour le Merite
Pour may refer to these people:
* Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent
* Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer
* Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer
* Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Irania ...
(20 February 1915) with Oak Leaves (27 November 1915)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold with Swords (13 September 1917)
* Order of Saint Alexander (14 March 1917)
* Frederickscross (17 October 1916)
* Iron Crescent
The Gallipolli Star is a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was known as the Ottoman War Medal ( tr, Harp Madalyası) or the Iron Crescent (from German ''Eiserner Halbmond'', in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted ...
(20 January 1916)
* Hanseatic Cross
The Hanseatic Cross (German: ''Hanseatenkreuz'') was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 188 ...
(10 June 1916)
* Order of the Iron Crown
The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy.
The order took its name ...
I. Class with War Decoration (31 August 1915)
* Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...
I. Class (1914) and II. Class (1914)
* Order of the Crown II. Class (18 January 1909)
Notes
References
* Hanns Möller: ''Geschichte der Ritter des Ordens „pour le mérite“ im Weltkrieg.'' Band 1: ''A–L.'' Verlag Bernard & Graefe. Berlin 1935. S. 607–609.
* Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: ''Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs.'' Band 2: ''H–O.'' Biblio Verlag. Bissendorf 2003. . S. 254–256.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosch, Robert
1856 births
1942 deaths
People from Kłodzko
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
German Army generals of World War I
Generals of Infantry (Prussia)