Born into an aristocratic Prussian family, Albert Gustav Guido von Rauch (21 August 1829 – 28 January 1901) was a

general of the infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

in the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

who fought in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

and Franco-Prussian War.

Life

He was born in Berlin to General of the Infantry Gustav von Rauch, former Prussian Minister of War, and his second wife Rosalie, née von Holtzendorff (1790-1862). His grandfather was Major General

Bonaventura von Rauch Johann Bonaventura von Rauch (25 July 1740 – 9 February 1814) was a Prussian Army major general. His sons Gustav, Leopold and Friedrich Wilhelm also took up military careers and became general as well. Life He was born in Peterskirchen/Oberbay ...

. His brothers were General of the Cavalry

Gustav Waldemar von Rauch Gustav Waldemar von Rauch (30 January 1819 in Berlin - 7 May 1890 in Berlin) was a general of the cavalry in the Prussian Army. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of Gustav von Rauch. External links

1819 births 1890 deaths ...

and the Prussian chief equerry Fedor von Rauch. His half-brother was the Hofmarschall and chamberlain Adolf von Rauch and his sister Rosalie Countess von Hohenau, morganatic wife of Prince Albrecht of Prussia, the youngest brother of King Frederick William IV of Prussia and William I, German Emperor. From his youth he had a friendship with Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia. In 1847, Rauch, following the tradition of his family and his older brother, entered the

, becoming a Second-Lieutenant in the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. In 1855 he was named adjutant of the non-commissioned officers' school in Potsdam. By personal request of Prince Friedrich Karl, Rauch became the adjutant of 1st Guards Infantry Division in August 1857. In 1859, Rauch was promoted to Hauptmann. In 1860, Rauch became a company commander back in the 1st Foot Guards. He did not participate in the Second Schleswig War, instead serving as acting commander of the NCO school in Jülich. During the

, Rauch was in command of the headquarters of the Second Army. After the war, Rauch was promoted to Major. During the Franco-Prussian War he was commander of the 1st Guards Landwehr Regiment's third battalion, leading it in the sieges of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

and Paris. In this capacity he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in mid-August 1871. At the end of the September 1870, Rauch was awarded the Iron Cross (first class). After the war Rauch became commander of the

Lehr Infantry Battalion The ''Lehr'' Infantry Regiment (german: Lehr-Infanterie-Regiment) was an infantry regiment of the Imperial German Army in World War I. It was formed on mobilisation of the German Army in August 1914 and served with the 3rd Guards Division through ...

and from 1873 onwards led the 109th (1st Baden) Life Grenadier Regiment. He later was promoted to Generalmajor and became the commander of 41st Infantry Brigade in Mainz. On August 6, 1884, Rauch became commander of the 19th Division. On September 4 he was promoted to Generalleutnant. On 5 May 1888, Rauch was awarded the Order of the Crown (first class). On August 2 1888, Rauch succeeded his older brother,

1819 births 1890 deaths ...

, as Chief of the Royal Prussian State Gendarmerie (national military police force). He was given the character of a General der Infantrie in the next year. In 1897, the year of his 50th service anniversary, Rauch received the substantial promotion to that rank and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle with Oak Leaves, Swords and Crown with his retirement. Ludwig von Hammerstein-Loxten succeeded him after his retirement.

Family

In 1866 Albert married Elisabeth von Bismarck. Their sons Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch, First Lieutenant à la suite of the 1st Foot Guard Regiment and Military Governor of Emperor William II's sons, and Leopold von Rauch, Colonel in the German General Staff, took up military careers as well.

References

Generals of Infantry (Prussia) 1829 births 1901 deaths Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Albert Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 1st class Military personnel from Berlin {{Germany-mil-bio-stub