Hans Karl Georg von Kaltenborn-Stachau (23 March 1836, in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

– 16 February 1898, in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

) 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 em ...

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 Impe ...

and

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Biography

He belonged to the aristocratic Kaltenborn-Stachau family, and was raised in the cadet corps, before joining the 27th Infantry Regiment as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1854. From 1857 to 1860 he attended the ''Allgemeine Kriegsschule'' (the "General War College", which later became the

Prussian Military Academy The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College (german: Preußische Kriegsakademie) was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Ak ...

) and in 1861 was assigned for 3 years to the

Topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

Department of the Great General Staff. Kaltenborn-Stachau participated in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

in 1864 and in December was transferred to the general staff of the VI Army Corps. In this position he served in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

in 1866, after being promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1865. In 1868 he became a company commander in the 94th Regiment, and in 1869 a general staff officer in the VII Army Corps. After being promoted to

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, he then served in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870–71. In 1874 he became commander of a battalion in the ''Grenadierregiment Nr. 2'', and was made a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1878. After commanding the 53rd Infantry Regiment, he took over the ''Kaiser-Alexander-Gardegrenadierregiment'', and in 1884 became Chief of Staff of the Guards Corps, and a

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. In November 1885 he became commander of the 2nd Guards Infantry Brigade and in January 1888 was given command of the 3rd Division. In July of that year he was made commander of the 2nd Guards Infantry Division and was simultaneously promoted to

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. His appointment as

Prussian Minister of War The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaties of Tilsit. The War Ministry was to help bring the ...

occurred on 4 October 1890. In 1893, under his leadership a plan was enacted whereby the army was expanded by 70,000 men, and the length of service was increased to two years. Kaltenborn-Stachau resigned from his office on 12 October 1893.

Honours and awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaltenborn-Stachau 1836 births 1898 deaths German untitled nobility Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Knights of the Order of Franz Joseph Grand Crosses of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria) Grand Crosses of Military Merit Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)