Alexander Wilhelm Andreas Freiherr von Kaulbars (; 25 January 1925) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

military leader who served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A noted explorer of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, he was also regarded as one of the original organisers of the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

Biography

Kaulbars was born in Mödders in the

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

to Baron Hermann Wilhelm von Kaulbars and Alexandrine Emilie and had an older brother, Nikolai Reinhold Friedrich. Alexander and Nikolai grew up in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and was of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

faith. He came from the Baltic German noble of Pomeranian origin. The family was of

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility (, or , ) has historically been a legally or socially privileged Social class, class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term for nobility, ''fr ...

. Both his father and his brother rose to the rank of general in the Imperial Russian Army. He was educated at the . His first experience in combat was in 1861, while serving with the Egersky Guards Regiment in the suppression of the

Polish Uprising This is a chronological list of wars in which Poland or its predecessor states of took an active part, extending from the reign of Mieszko I (960–992) to the present. This list does not include peacekeeping operations (such as UNPROFOR, UNTAE ...

.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 180. After graduating from the Nicholas General Staff Academy, Kaulbars was commissioned as a lieutenant, and was assigned to serve on the staff of the Turkestan Military District. He was promoted to senior aide in 1870, to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1871, and to colonel in 1872. Soon after his arrival in

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

, he explored the country beyond the

Issyk-Kul Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleve ...

into the

Tien Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

mountains. His report was published as "Materials on the Geography of the Tien Shan", and was awarded the gold medal by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society In 1870, he explored the Russian-Chinese border, surveying the summit of

Khan Tengri Khan Tengri is a mountain of the Tian Shan mountain range in Central Asia. It is on the China—Kyrgyzstan—Kazakhstan tripoint, east of lake Issyk-Kul, Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. Its geologic elevation is , but its glacial icecap rises to ...

and looking for mountain passes into

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

, which he visited in 1872 for negotiations on a commercial treaty with its ruler, Yaqub Beg. In 1873, Kaulbars participated in the Russian conquest of the

Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva (, , uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva xonligi, Хива хонлиги, , ) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarazm, Khorezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Afsharid Iran, Afsharid occupat ...

under General Konstantin Kaufman. During this expedition, he explored the delta and riverbed of the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

river, and located a navigable route to the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

. He also explored the dry riverbed of the

Syr Darya The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian language, Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan, Tian Shan Mountain ...

, and the connections between both rivers, the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and Aral Sea, and the now dry Uzboy River. His research on these topics resulted in technical papers which were awarded a second gold medal by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. In 1874, Kaulbars was made Chief of Staff of the 8th Cavalry Division, a position which he held until his return to the General Staff in 1875. He participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), and was promoted to major general in 1879, and given command of the 1st Brigade of the 14th Cavalry Division. From 1878 to 1879, he was a member of the committee for the demarcation of the borders of the new

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

. In 1882, Kaulbars became the Minister of War for the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

, then a client state of the Empire of Russia. This state, semi-autonomous since the Russian victory sanctioned by the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...

, was fighting for independence from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He also concurrently commanded the 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. The following year, he became commander of the 15th Cavalry Division. Kaulbars was promoted to lieutenant general in 1891. In 1894, he was assigned command of the 2nd Cavalry Corps. This assignment was followed by command of the 2nd Siberian Army Corps in 1900, during which time he participated in the suppression of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

and Russian occupation of

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

. He was further promoted to General of Cavalry in 1901 and made Assistant Commander of the

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

. In October 1904, during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, he became commander of the Russian 3rd Manchurian Army. Following the Battle of Sandepu, he was transferred to command the Russian 2nd Manchurian Army in February 1905. However, during the

Battle of Mukden The , one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden ...

, his forces were outfought and outflanked by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

and disintegrated in disarray. Kaulbars was wounded in a fall off his horse during the retreat. After the end of the war, he returned to command the Odessa Military District until 23 December 1909. During this period, he was noted for his strong support of the monarchy during the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

. In December 1909, he returned to Saint Petersburg as a member of the Military Council. With the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was assigned as a commander of the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

, and from October 1914 was placed in charge of all Russian

military aviation Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...

activities. However, at the end of 1915, he was dismissed from military service. In 1916 he was appointed military governor of

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he moved to South Russia, where he joined an anti-

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

on 15 October 1918, despite his advanced age (then 74). He entered the reserves in 1919. With the collapse of the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Ar ...

, he was evacuated to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and subsequently lived in exile in Bulgaria and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He worked as an employee of a telegraph company in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

until his death in 1925. His grave is at the

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery () is part of the ''Cimetière de Liers'' and is called the Russian Orthodox cemetery, in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, close to Paris, France. History The ''Cimetière de Liers'' was created as the se ...

Honors

Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd class, 1870 *

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

, 4th class with swords and bow, 1871 * Order of St. Anne 2nd class, 1872 * Golden Sword of St George, 1874. *

, 3rd class with swords, 1877 * Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class, 1882 * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 1st class with sword, 1886 *

, 2nd class, 1890 * Order of the White Eagle, with swords, 1898 * Band to Order St Alexander Nevsky

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

, 1901, with diamonds, 12 June 1907 *

, 1st class, 12 June 1914

References

* Connaughton, Richard Michael. (1988)
''The War of the Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear: A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5.''
London:

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

. (cloth); (paper) -- reprinted by Cassell Military, London, 2004. (paper) * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaulbars, Alexander 1844 births 1925 deaths People from the Russian Empire of Swedish descent Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Burials at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery Nobility from the Russian Empire Government ministers of Bulgaria Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) People of the Boxer Rebellion Expatriates from the Russian Empire in China Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War White movement generals Monarchists from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) 19th-century explorers from the Russian Empire White Russian emigrants to France Defence ministers of Bulgaria Graduates of the Nicholas Cavalry College

Biography

Honors

See also

References

Notes