Gustav Emil Bernhard Bodo von Kessel (6 April 1846 – 28 May 1918) was a German general who served in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

, the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Gustav von Kessel was born on 6 April 1846 in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. He came from a Prussian military family that produced several generals and politicians, including his father Generalmajor Emil von Kessel. He attended various schools, including the Liegnitz Ritter-Akademie, and in 1864 enlisted in the

1st Foot Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

; being commissioned as Sekondeleutnant a year later. He participated in the

, being wounded at the

Battle of Königgrätz The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrä ...

, and the

, being wounded at the

Battle of Gravelotte The Battle of Gravelotte (or Battle of Gravelotte–St. Privat) on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about west of Metz, where on the previous day, ha ...

. He was promoted to

Premierleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

in 1872, went to the

Prussian Staff College The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College () was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop German General Staff, general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Akademie für ...

, served a tour in the

German General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the Imperial German Army, German Army, responsible for the continuous stu ...

and was made

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

in command of a company in 1878. Later he became adjutant to the crown prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who'd briefly rule as Emperor Frederick III before dying from cancer. With the later's son

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

ascending to the throne; von Kessel again served the sovereign as adjutant. Continuing to climb the career ladder; he became a

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

in 1896 and three years later a

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

and Generaladjutant to the Emperor. As imperial adjutant posts frequently were coupled with positions in the guards; he led his old regiment, the brigade and both the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

and

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

guards infantry divisions before eventually receiving command of the

Guard Corps The Guards Corps/GK () was a corps level command of the Prussian Army, Prussian and then the Imperial German Army, Imperial German Armies from the 19th century to World War I. The Corps was headquartered in Berlin, with its units garrisoned in ...

in 1902. From 1909 onwards von Kessel was Military Governor of Berlin and the surrounding province, serving on said post throughout

. When the strikes took place from January of 1918, Kessel suppressed the strikes using militaries. He died on 28 May 1918, and

Alexander von Linsingen Alexander Adolf August Karl von Linsingen (10 February 1850 – 5 June 1935) was a German general during World War I. Military service Linsingen joined the Prussian Army in 1868 and rose to Corps Commander (II Corps (German Empire), II Corps) ...

was his successor.

Honours

Among his orders and decorations were:Rangliste, p. 45 ;German honours ;Foreign honours ;Military appointments *

Regimentschef Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in an army regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. Some armed forces take a light-hearted approach to ...

of the 20th (3rd Brandenburg) Infantry Regiment "Count Tauentzien von Wittenberg"

References

Sources

Biography

Honours

See also

References

Sources