Johann Justus Georg Gustav von Rauch (1 April 1774, in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

– 2 April 1841, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) was a Prussian general of the infantry and

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1837 to 1841.

Life

Gustav von Rauch was born as the eldest son of the later Prussian major general Bonaventura von Rauch (1740–1814) and his wife Johanna, née Bandel (1752–1828). As a close collaborator of General

Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (12 November 1755 – 28 June 1813) was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Pru ...

, Rauch belonged to the circle of Prussian army reformers. He was associated with the reform of the military education system, the further development of the Prussian fortifications and the reorganization of the engineering and pioneering systems. Rauch furthered the development of the

Prussian Navy The Prussian Navy (German language, German: ''Preußische Marine''), officially the Royal Prussian Navy (German Language, German: ''Königlich Preußische Marine''), was the naval force of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701 to 1867. The Prussian N ...

and had the first medical companies set up in the Prussian army. He was

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

from 1812–1813 and Inspector General of all fortresses and Chief of the Corps of Engineers from 1814–1837. He became the 16th honorary citizen of Berlin. The memorial grave of Gustav von Rauch can be found in Berlin's

Invalids' Cemetery The Invalids' Cemetery () 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 of 1813–15. History T ...

(fully reconstructed after the German reunification).

Marriage and issue

From 1802 Rauch was initially married to Caroline von Geusau (1780–1867). After their divorce Rosalie von Holtzendorff (1790–1862) became his second wife in 1816. His first marriage produced one son: * Adolf von Rauch (1805–1877), Prussian Chamberlain to Princess Louise of Prussia, major in the Gardes du Corps regiment and chairman of the Berlin Numismatic Society, married in 1836 to Therese von Ziegler (1817–1857) Children of the second marriage are: * Gustav Waldemar (1819–1890), Prussian general of the cavalry and head of the Royal Prussian State Gendarmerie, married in 1848 to Polyxena von Stéritsch (1823–1859) (from Russian nobility) * Rosalie (1820–1879),

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

to Princess Marianne of Prussia, in 1853 married to Prince Albrecht of Prussia, the youngest brother of King Frederick William IV of Prussia and

William I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

(as his second,

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

wife, named Countess of Hohenau) * Fedor (1822–1892), Chief Equerry to the German Emperors, vice-president of the Union-Klub in Berlin, married in 1856 to Countess Elisabeth von Waldersee (1837–1914),

to Grand Duchess consort Marie von Mecklenburg-Strelitz * Albert (1829–1901), Prussian general of the infantry and head of the Royal Prussian State Gendarmerie, married in 1866 to Elisabeth von Bismarck-Briest (1845–1923)

References

* Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch: ''Neues Preussisches Adels-Lexicon (New Lexicon of the Prussian Nobility)'', volume 4, 1837, p. 88. * Ernst Heinrich Kneschke: ''Neues allgemeines deutsches Adels-Lexicon (New General Lexicon of the German Nobility)'', volume 7, 1867, p. 358 * ''Brünner Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Ritter- und Adels-Geschlechter (Brünn Genealogical Handbook of Knightly and Noble Families)'', 1870–1894. * ''Adelslexikon in der Reihe Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (Lexicon of the Nobility from the Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility Series)'', volumes XI and XII, 2000/2001, p. 192 and p. 367, respectively. * ''Gothaisches Adliges Taschenbuch (Gotha Almanac Peerage Paperback)'', volumes B 1928 (older genealogy), p. 468 et seqq., and 1939, p. 480 et seqq. * ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

)'', volumes B VII (1965), p. 335 etseqq., and B XXI (1995), p. 434 et seqq. * Jacek Jędrysiak: ''Prussian Strategic Thought 1815–1830: Beyond Clausewitz,'' Leiden 2020: Brill Academic Publishers. . p. 469 et seq. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rauch, Gustav von 1774 births 1841 deaths Military personnel from Braunschweig Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Prussian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Gustav Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)