Baron Anton Yegorovich Zaltsa (, tr. ; 22 October 18439 February 1916), better known as Baron Anton Yegorovich von Saltza, was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

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 ...

origin who was the commander of the Kazan Military District, he was also one of the commanders of the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

during the early stages of

First World War 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 ...

Biography

Saltza was born on 22 October 1843 in Luga, in the

Saint Petersburg Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...

, to the Baltic German von Saltza family of Senator Baron Georg Reinhold Frommhold von Saltza and a Russian woman Alexandra Brosina. Upon graduation in 1862, he was enlisted into a Life-Guards 4th The Imperial Family’s Battalion, which led him into the suppression of the Polish uprising. After the uprising, he was awarded the

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 ...

of the 3rd degree and the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

of the 4th degree with the inscription “For Bravery”. In late August 1867, Saltza was promoted to

second-lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...

, first-lieutenant in mid-April 1869. And in late August 1874, exactly 7 years after his promotion to second lieutenant, he was promoted to captain, he was also awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 3rd degree. In mid-December 1876, Saltza served at the

Caucasus Military District The Caucasus Military District (russian: Кавказский военный округ, ''Kavkazskiy voenniy okrug'') was a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army. It was created in 1865 as the successor to the Caucasus Army, and was dis ...

at the disposal of the commander of the military district, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich. After that he participated in the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

. After the war, for military distinction and exploits, Saltza 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 ...

of the 4th degree, the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire. In early February 1878, he rose to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

, he was also 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 ...

in 1877, the Order of St. Stanislaus of the 2nd degree with swords and a bow and

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 II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

of the 4th degree with swords and a bow, both were awarded in 1878. In 1878, Saltza was made adjutant under Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, and in early February 1879, he was appointed the commander of the 1st Caucasus Rifle Battalion, in which there he was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 2nd degree and the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree in 1883. From mid-June 1889 to mid-April 1902, he was the commander of several regiments and battalions. During his time as commander, he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus of the 1st degree in 1898. In mid-April 1902, he was promoted to lieutenant-general and was appointed the commander of 24th Infantry Division. From 1904 to 1905, he commanded the 1st Guards Infantry Division, and from 1905 to 1908, he had commanded two army corps, the first one being the 22nd Army Corps, and the second being the 1st Army Corps. In mid-April 1908, he was promoted to General of the Infantry, and became the assistant commander of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exis ...

, under the commander-in-chief Lieutenant-General

Vladimir Sukhomlinov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov ( rus, Владимир Александрович Сухомлинов, p=sʊxɐˈmlʲinəf; – 2 February 1926) was a Russian general of the Imperial Russian Army who served as the Chief of the General Staf ...

, and later

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Nikolai Ivanov. In early February 1911, he was appointed the commander-in-chief of all the troops of the Kazan Military District.

First World War

With the outbreak of the First World War, the Imperial Russian 4th Army was formed, after which Saltza was appointed commander-in-chief of the army. During the early stages of the

Battle of Galicia The Battle of Galicia, also known as the Battle of Lemberg, was a major battle between Russia and Austria-Hungary during the early stages of World War I in 1914. In the course of the battle, the Austro-Hungarian armies were severely defeated and ...

, his troops along with General Ivanov was defeated at

Kraśnik Kraśnik is a town in southeastern Poland with 35,602 inhabitants (2012), situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, historic Lesser Poland. It is the seat of Kraśnik County. The town of Kraśnik as it is known today was created in 1975, after the mer ...

in their own Russian soil. After this failure, Saltza was replaced by General Aleksei Evert. Later in which he returned to his old post as the commander-in-chief of the Kazan Military District and became a member of Alexander Committee on the wounded. In early November 1914, he was appointed the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress, there in early December, he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Among other of his decorations, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 1st degree in 1904, the Order of St. Vladimir of the 2nd degree in 1906 and the White Eagle in early December 1911. General Saltz died on 9 March 1916 in Petrograd, but the location of his remains remained unknown.

Honours and awards

, 3rd class (1863) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

, 4th class (1863) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1873) * Order of Glory Ribbon Bar

(1877) *

RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

, 4th class (1878) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class (1878) * Saint vladimir (bande)

, 4th class (1878) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 2nd class (1883) * Saint vladimir (bande)

Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (1888) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class (1898) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 1st class (1904) * Saint vladimir (bande)

Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class (1906) * RUS Order White Eagle BAR

Order of the White Eagle (1911) * Russian Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky ribbon bar

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1914)

Notes

External links

Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften Teil 2,1.2: Estland, Görlitz 1930
Genealogy handbook of

Baltic nobility Baltic German nobility was a privileged social class in the territories of today's Estonia and Latvia. It existed continuously since the Northern Crusades and the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana. Most of the nobility were Baltic Germans, bu ...

* Военная энциклопедия издания Сытина. Т. 10 * Некролог // «Новое время». 10 марта 1916 г. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saltza, Anton Yegorovich von 1843 births 1916 deaths Baltic-German people People from Luga, Leningrad Oblast Imperial Russian Army generals Russian people of the January Uprising Russian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery