Georg August Paul Freiherr von Stackelberg (; ) 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 ...

cavalry general in the service of 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 ...

. He was noted for his role 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 ...

, especially during the

Battle of Sandepu The Battle of Sandepu (also known as the Battle of Heikoutai) ( (''Kokkōdai no kaisen''), ) was a major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. It was fought within a group of villages about southwest of Mukden, Manchuria.Kowner, '' Historic ...

, in which he was awarded the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

afterwards.

Biography

Stackelberg was from a

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the rea ...

and graduated from the

Nicholas General Staff Academy The General Staff Academy () was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy (Императорская военная академия), then in 1855 it was renamed Nich ...

in 1869. His older brother

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

was a famous composer and the director of the Imperial Music Choir. (now the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra) As a commander in the 1st Semirechye Cossacks from 1874 to 1876, Stackelberg distinguished himself during 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 ...

and the Kokand expedition of 1875 under General

Konstantin von Kaufman Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufmann (; 2 March 1818 – 16 May 1882), was a military engineer and the first Governor-General of Russian Turkestan. Early life and ancestry Konstantin Petrovich was born as the second eldest of four sons to Lieut ...

. He was wounded in combat, and although nominated for numerous awards, he refused to accept any. From August 18, 1886, to December 5, 1890, Stackelberg commanded the 25th Dragoon Regiment at

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

. He was then assigned to command the Trans-Caspian Cossacks until December 3, 1897, followed by the 15th Cavalry Division to May 31, 1899. Stackelberg was commander of the Russian

10th Cavalry Division 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

during 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 ...

in China 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 ...

. Afterwards, he was assigned command of the

2nd Siberian Army Corps The 2nd Siberian Army Corps was an Army corps in the Imperial Russian Army. Composition 1905: * 6th Siberian Rifle Division * 8th Siberian Rifle Division 1914: * 4th Siberian Rifle Division * 5th Siberian Rifle Division Part of * 1st Manchurian ...

from April 25, 1901, to February 11, 1902. He was then commander of the 1st Cavalry Corps from February 11, 1902, to February 3, 1904. From April 5, 1904, during the

, Stackelberg was commander of the Russian

1st Siberian Army Corps The 1st Siberian Army Corps was an elite unit of the Imperial Russian Army. It was raised in May 1900 and disbanded in August 1918. History The 1st Siberian Army Corps was raised in May 1900 under the command of Lieutenant General Nikolai Linevi ...

, which played a major role in the

Battle of Te-li-Ssu The Battle of Te-li-ssu ( '), also called Battle of Wafangou () after the nearby railway station, was a land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. The battle was fought on 14–15 June 1904 between the Japanese Second Army under General Oku Yasu ...

. Hampered by orders from Russian commander-in-chief General Aleksei Kuropatkin not to commit his entire reserves, and to fight a defensive battle rather than push forward in an offense, his forces were decisively defeated by the Second Japanese Army under General

Oku Yasukata Count was a Japanese field marshal and leading figure in the early Imperial Japanese Army. Biography Early life Born in Kokura (in present-day Kitakyūshū) to a ''samurai'' family of the Kokura Domain in Buzen Province, Oku joined the military ...

. In the subsequent

, Stackelberg chose to ignore Kuropatkin's orders and made gains against entrenched Japanese positions, albeit with heavy casualties, but was forced to withdraw when reinforcements were denied. Relieved of his command for insubordination, he was sent back to

St 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 ...

after the battle,Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 358. where he was awarded the

(4th class) for his actions.

Honours and awards

* Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class * Order of St. Anne 3rd class with Swords * Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class with swords (1873) *

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 (1876) * Order_of_Saint_Anna_ribbon_bar

Order of St. Anne 2nd class with Swords (1877) * Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class (1894) * Order of St. Anne 1st class (1898) *

, 2nd class with Swords (1901) * Order of the White Eagle (1901) * Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky ribbon bar

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 ...

(1905) *

, 4th class (1905) * RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

Golden Weapon with the inscription "For Bravery" (1876)

References

* *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stackelberg, Georgii 1851 births 1913 deaths Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russian military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery