Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Alexandr Alekseyevich Gerngross (russian: Александр Алексеевич Гернгросс) (4 August 1851 – 17 March 1925) was a general of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

origin who served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Biography

Gerngross was from a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

family of

origin. He entered military service in 1868, and graduated from the Riga School of Infantry. Commissioned as an ensign in 1871, he served with the 63rd Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to second lieutenant in 1873 and to lieutenant in 1875. Serving with distinction during the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...

he received a

field commission In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank ...

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

captain, which was formally confirmed in 1879. He rose to lieutenant colonel in 1887. He served in

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan (russian: Русский Туркестан, Russkiy Turkestan) was the western part of Turkestan within the Russian Empire’s Central Asian territories, and was administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship. It comprised the ...

from 1891 to 1897, during which time he was responsible for land surveys for the

Trans-Caspian Railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, russian: Среднеазиатская железная дорога) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by ...

. He was promoted to colonel in 1894, and became commander of the Transcaspian Infantry Battalion to August 1897. Gergross then commanded the border guards units of the Russian Ministry of Finance through 1901. In 1900, he was stationed in

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

, and played an important role in the defense of Harbin during the Russian suppression of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

in 1900–1901. He was awarded the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

(4th class) for heroism during this campaign. From 1902, Gerngross was commander of the 1st Siberian Infantry Brigade, which was subsequently active in combat during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

of 1904–1905.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 131. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1904. During the

Battle of Te-li-Ssu The Battle of Te-li-ssu ( '), also called Battle of Wafangou (russian: Бой у Вафангоу) after the nearby railway station, was a land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. It was fought at a hamlet some north of Port Arthur, Manchuria. ...

, his division came under a strong artillery attack from the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, and suffered heavy losses. Although the promised reinforcements never arrived, he personally led two regiments in a successful counterattack on Japanese positions. He was wounded in the battle, and was subsequently awarded the

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

. He was also at the

Battle of Liaoyang The (russian: Сражение при Ляояне) was the first major List of battles of the Russo-Japanese War, land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, on the outskirts of the city of Liaoyang in present-day Liaoning Province, China. The city ...

. At the

Battle of Shaho The Battle of Shaho ( ja, 沙河会戦 (''Saka no kaisen''), russian: Сражение на реке Шахе) was the second large-scale land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a front centered at the Shaho River along the Mukden– P ...

, Gerngross commanded the reserve forces, which he used to recapture positions from the Japanese south of the Sha River before being ordered to withdraw. During the

Battle of Sandepu The Battle of Sandepu (also known as the Battle of Heikoutai) ( ja, 黒溝台会戦 (''Kokkōdai no kaisen''), russian: Сражение при Сандепу) was a major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War. It was fought within a group of vi ...

, Gerngross led a detachment consisting of the 2nd, 3rd, 35th and 36th Infantry Regiments in a successful night attack, which split the Japanese 3rd Division and succeeded in securing a foothold within the fortified village of Sandepu. However, his action was part of the unauthorized offensive and he was again obliged to withdraw, sustaining heavy losses. For this action, he was relieved of his command by General

Georgii Stackelberg Georg August Paul Freiherr von Stackelberg (russian: Георгий Карлович Штакельберг, translit=Georgij Karlovič Štakel'berg; ) was a Baltic German cavalry general in the service of the Imperial Russian Army. He was not ...

. During the

Battle of Mukden The , one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden ...

, Gerngross (who had just been reinstated as commander) and General

Konstantin Tserpitsky Konstantin V Tserpitsky (December 11, 1849 – November 14, 1905) was a Russian commander, lieutenant general, participant in the campaigns of 1873, 1875–1876, 1878 and 1880 in Turkestan, the Chinese campaign of 1900-1901 and the Russo-Japanes ...

, despite a lack of reinforcements, led a counterattack, which temporarily halted the advance of the

Japanese Third Army The was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army based in Manchukuo as a garrison force under the overall command of the Kwantung Army during World War II, but its history dates to the Russo-Japanese War. History The Japanese 3rd Army was initiall ...

. After the end of the War, Gerngross was made commander of the

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 Linevic ...

. He held this position from 23 May 1905 to 7 June 1910. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of infantry general, and commander of the 24th Army Corps until 20 January 1913. Made a member of the Military Council on 20 November 1913, he then commanded the 26th Army Corps in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, from 15 August 1914 to 28 December 1916. He went into retirement after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, and died of a heart attack in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1925.

Awards

Order of St. Anne 3rd degree with swords and bow, 1877 * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

2nd degree with swords, 1878 * Saint vladimir (bande)

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, ...

4th degree with swords and bow, 1879. * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 2nd degree with swords 1879 * RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

, 4th class, 1900 * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

1st degree with swords, 1901 * Saint vladimir (bande)

2nd degree with swords, 1905. * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 1st degree with swords 1905. *

. 1906 *

RUS Imperial Order of the White Eagle ribbon

Order of the White Eagle with swords, 1906 * Band to Order St Alexander Nevsky

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 Empero ...

, 1912

References

* *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerngross, Alexander 1851 births 1925 deaths People from Smolensk Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) People of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) People from the Russian Empire of Dutch descent