Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Claus von Rauch (10 September 1868 in Potsdam – 11 August 1899 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

) was an officer in the Prussian Army. He was the godson of

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informa ...

and the son of the

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 ...

Albert von Rauch Born into an aristocratic Prussian family, Albert Gustav Guido von Rauch (21 August 1829 – 28 January 1901) was a general of the infantry in the Prussian Army who fought in the Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War. Life He was born ...

(1829–1901) and his wife Elisabeth, née von Bismarck (1845–1923). He became a military governor and tutor to Wilhelm II's sons.

Life

Family

Born into an aristocratic Prussian family, Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch was the son of the General of the Infantry Albert von Rauch (1829–1901) and his wife Elisabeth, née von Bismarck (1845–1923). His grandfather was the Prussian War Minister and honorary citizen of Berlin, General of the Infantry Gustav von Rauch, his great-grandfather 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 ...

. Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch was the godson of Emperor Friedrich III.

First Foot Guard Regiment and Military Governor of William II's sons

After graduating from the Lyceum II in Hanover, Rauch joined the 1st Foot Guard Regiment in Potsdam in 1887 - as did his father in 1847 and his younger brother, later Colonel Leopold von Rauch (1876–1955), in 1894. In 1888 he was promoted to ensign, in 1889 to Second Lieutenant. In 1892 Rauch became

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the 1st Battalion. In 1894 Emperor William II and

Empress Augusta Victoria , house = Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg , father = Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein , mother = Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Dolzig Palace ...

chose Rauch as the Second Military Governor and educator of Crown Prince William, as well as of his two younger brothers

Prince Eitel Friedrich Prince Wilhelm Eitel Friedrich Christian Karl of Prussia (7 July 1883 – 8 December 1942) was the second son of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany by his first wife, Princess Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He was born ...

and

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

for their training in the

Princes' House The Princes' House (german: Prinzenhaus) in Plön in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein is a former royal summer residence in the grounds of the park at Plön Castle. It is the only surviving maison de plaisance in Schleswig-Holstein. ...

on Ploen

Princes' Island The Princes' Island''Round Tour ...

in Schleswig-Holstein. In 1896 Rauch was promoted to First Lieutenant, leaving in his command and in the position à la suite of the 1st Foot Guard Regiment. In 1898 the imperial couple chose Rauch as the First Military Governor of their younger sons, Prince August Wilhelm and Prince Oskar. In 1899 Rauch accompanied the Empress and her two youngest sons on their journey through the High Tauern and

Berchtesgaden Alps The Berchtesgaden Alps (german: Berchtesgadener Alpen) are a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps, named after the market town of Berchtesgaden located in the centre. The central part belongs to the Berchtesgadener Land district of southe ...

. After returning from Austria, Rauch died in August 1899 in the Imperial Castle Wilhelmshöhe near

of pneumonia. His successor as First Military Governor was Lieutenant (Imperial Navy) Oskar Graf von Platen-Hallermund, Wing Adjutant of the Emperor, later Vice Admiral and longtime Court Marshal of Wilhelm II from 1911 to 1935.

Grave at Berlin Invalids' Cemetery

Rauch was buried in his family's grave at the Berlin Invalid's Cemetery and in the vicinity of his grandfather Gustav von Rauch's grave of honour. The preserved tomb of the Rauch family was designed by the royal court architect

Friedrich August Stueler Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

on behalf of the Prussian

King Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

Literature

* ''Gothaische Adeliges Taschenbuch (Gotha Almanac Peerage Paperback).''Volumes B 1928 (older genealogy), p. 470 * Laurenz Demps: ''Zwischen Mars und Minerva. Wegweiser Invalidenfriedhof.'' 1998, p. 125 et seq. * ''Chronik des Ersten Garde-Regiments zu Fuss.'' Berlin 1902. * Claus Heinrich Bill: ''Prinz Eitel Friedrich von Preußen.'' 1995. * ''Neue Kreuzzeitung of'' August 12, 1899 and August 15, 1899. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rauch, Friedrich Wilhelm Friedrich Wilhelm (1868-1899) Prussian Army personnel Military personnel from Potsdam 1868 births 1899 deaths