Nikolaus Georg Gustav von Rauch (6 July 1851, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

– 28 July 1904, in Stolp) was an ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' and cavalry officer 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 ...

Life

Nikolaus von Rauch was born in Berlin. Following his family's tradition he entered the Prussian Army in 1870. He served in the Franco-Prussian War in which he was promoted to Second-Leutnant and awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

(second class). Later he became adjutant of the 15th Cavalry Brigade and then of the 11th Division in Breslau. In 1893 Rauch was a squadron commander in the 16th (2nd Hannover) Dragoon Regiment in

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...

. On April 4, 1899, Rauch became the commander of the 5th (Pomeranian) Hussar Regiment. He was part of Prussia's military delegation to the funeral of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1901. By March 1902 Rauch had been promoted to Oberst. From 1904 until his death he commanded the 29th Cavalry Brigade. He died in Stolp in Pomerania.

Nikolaus Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its d ...

1851 births 1904 deaths German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Prussian Army personnel Military personnel from Berlin {{Germany-mil-bio-stub