Konstantin Bernhard von Voigts-Rhetz (16 July 1809 – 14 April 1877) was a Prussian 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 ...

and 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 ...

Biography

Voights-Rhetz was born in

Seesen Seesen () is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx. west of Goslar. History The Saxon settlement of ''Sehusa'' was first mentio ...

in the

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

, then part of the short-lived

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

. He entered the Adolfinum-Gymnasium in Bückeburg at the age of 10, and would excel in math, science, history and geography. Voigts-Rhetz entered the Prussian 9th Infantry Regiment in 1827 and was made an officer in 1829. Between 1833 and 1835 Voigts-Rhetz attended the

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

. In 1837 he was attached to the

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

division. He joined the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

in 1839 and was promoted to captain in 1841 and major in 1847. Voigts-Rhetz joined the staff of the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

in 1847. When

revolutions In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elemen ...

broke out in 1848 he helped suppress the insurrection in Posen. After the insurrection was quelled Voigts-Rhetz engaged in a dispute with the royal commissioner for Posen, General Karl Wilhelm von Willisen. Both Voigts-Rhetz and Willisen used the press to justify their actions. In 1852 Voigts-Rhetz became chief of staff of the V Corps. After being promoted to colonel in 1855 he was given command of the 9th Infantry Brigade in 1858, with the rank of a major-general. In 1859 he became a director in the Prussian War ministry. In 1860 he was given command of the Fortress of the German Confederation in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In 1863 he was promoted to lieutenant-general and given command of the 7th Infantry Division. In 1864 he became commander in chief of the garrison at

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. During the Austro-Prussian War Voigts-Rhetz served as chief of staff of the First Army, led by Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia. Voights-Rhetz was an opinionated soldier and critical of Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke, however was intelligent and courageous. In this function he contributed to the Prussian victories at Münchengrätz, Gitschin and Sadowa. After the war he was made governor-general of the newly annexed

Province of Hanover The Province of Hanover () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1866 to 1946. During the Austro-Prussian War, the Kingdom of Hanover had attempted to maintain a neutral position, alo ...

and commander of the newly established

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

. During the Franco-Prussian War Voigts-Rhetz's X Corps became part of the 2nd Army, again led by Prince Friedrich Karl. With these troops Voigts-Rhetz took part in the battles at

Mars-la-Tour Mars-la-Tour () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. History The Battle of Mars-la-Tour was fought on 16 August 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War near the town of Mars-la-Tour. The railway line between L ...

and

Gravelotte Gravelotte (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 until the end of ...

. After Gravelotte, X Corps was part of the troops besieging Metz. After the fall of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

Voigts-Rhetz and X Corps were sent to the Loire, where he was victorious at Beaune-la-Rolande. After the end of the war he remained in command of the Corps until he retired in 1873 for health reasons. He was given a donation of 150.000

thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

s for his services during the war.

Honours and awards

German States

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: ** Knight of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, 3rd Class with Bow and Swords, ''1848''; Grand Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on Ring, ''2 September 1873'' ** Service Award Cross ** Knight of Honour of the

Johanniter Order The Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John of the Hospital at Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of Saint John or the Johanniter Order (German: ''Johanniterorden''), is the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hos ...

, ''1852''; Knight of Justice, ''1867'' **

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

(military), ''11 September 1866''; with Oak Leaves, ''31 December 1870'' **

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1870), 1st Class with 2nd Class on Black Band ** Grand Commander's Cross of the Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

, in Diamonds and with Swords, ''16 June 1871'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''11 December 1873'' *

Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...

: Grand Cross of the House Order of Albert the Bear, ''10 October 1864'' * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Henry the Lion Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

, with Swords *

Ernestine duchies The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...

: Commander of the

Saxe-Ernestine House Order The Saxe-Ernestine House Order ()Hausorden
Herzogliche Haus Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha was a ...

, 2nd Class, ''July 1858'' *

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...

: Cross of Honour of the House Order of Lippe, 2nd Class * : Military Merit Cross, 1st Class * : Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, with Swords, ''18 June 1869''

Foreign Orders

* : ** Knight of 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 ...

, 4th Class, ''December 1870'' ** Knight of the Order of St. Anna, 1st Class

Literature

Howard, Michael, ''The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 1870–1871'', New York: Routledge, 2001. . Wawro, Geoffrey, ''The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871'', Cambridge University Press, 2005, Wawro, Geoffrey, ''The Austro-Prussian War: Austria's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866'', Cambridge University Press, 1997,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voigts-Rhetz, Konstantin Bernhard Von 1809 births 1877 deaths People from Seesen German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Members of the Prussian National Assembly Military personnel from Lower Saxony