Hugo Ewald Graf[a] von Kirchbach (23 May 1809 – 26 October 1887) was a Prussian general who commanded the Prussian V Corps during the Franco-Prussian War.
Biography
He was born in 1809 at Neumarkt in Silesia, to the Saxon noble family of Kirchbach. His father, Franz Karl Helmuth von Kirchbach, was a captain in the Prussian Army, serving as an adjutant to Major General Michael Heinrich von Losthin in the 1813 Campaign during the Napoleonic Wars.
First entering the cadet school in 1824, von Kirchbach was named an ensign in the Regiment Fürst Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau in 1826, before being promoted to sub-lieutenant a year later. From 1831 to 1834 he studied at the Prussian Military Academy, which was a prerequisite to joining the General Staff. In 1838 he joined the Prussian General Staff's topography division. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1840, captain in 1845 and major in 1850. From 1855 to 1858 he was a divisional chief on the General Staff. In 1859 von Kirchbach became commander of the 36th Infantry Regiment. Before being promoted to major general in 1863, von Kirchbach served as the chief of staff of the 3rd Army corps in Berlin.
During the Second Schleswig War von Kirchbach was given command of the 21st Infantry brigade. At the start of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 von Kirchbach was promoted to lieutenant general and named the commander of the 10th Infantry division. He distinguished himself in the battle of Nachod, and in engagements at Skalitz and Schweinschädel. For these actions he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. His division was not engaged at Königgrätz
When the Franco-Prussian War erupted in 1870 von Kirchbach was promoted to General der Infanterie and appointed commander of the Prussian V Corps. He played a prominent role in the early battles of the war at Wissembourg and Wörth. At Sedan von Kirchbach and his V Corps were tasked with closing the ring on the northern side around the French Army of Châlons trapped at Sedan. During the siege of Paris, V Corps occupied positions to the southwest of the city. Von Kirchbach was able to repel all French attempts to break through his positions at Mont Valerien, for which he was awarded the oak leaves to his Pour le Mérite. In February 1871, the V Corps was sent to Orléans and in March to Vesoul.
In 1872 he was given 100.000 thalers and an estate in Niesky. In 1880 von Kirchbach was granted the title of Count. Hugo von Kirchbach died in 1887 in Niesky, Oberlausitz.
Marriage and issue
Von Kirchbach married Anna Karoline Davide Schwartz (1826–1905) at Magdeburg on 11 March 1844. Their son, Günther, served as a colonel general during the First World War.
^Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as 'Count', not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, it has formed part of family names since 1919.
References
Sources
Howard, Michael, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Invasion of France 1870–1871, New York: Routledge, 2001. ISBN0-415-26671-8.
Hansen, Wolfgang: "General der Infanterie Hugo Ewald Graf von Kirchbach" in Deutsches Soldatenjahrbuch 1987, Seite 125 ff. Schild Verlag, München 1987; ISBN3-88014-087-1.
Citations
^ abcdRangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee (in German), Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn, 1887, p. 175 – via hathitrust.org
^"Eisernes Kreuz von 1870", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 3, Berlin, 1877, p. 22 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Herzoglicher Haus-Orden Albrecht des Bären", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch für des Herzogtum Anhalt (in German), Dessau, 1883, p. 18 – via digitale-sammlungen.de{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Großherzogliche Hausorden", Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, Weimar, 1869, p. 24{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Königliche-orden", Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1886/87 (in German), Dresden: Heinrich, 1886–1887, p. 94 – via hathitrust.org
^Württemberg (1887), "Königliche-orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Württemberg: 1886/87 (in German), Stuttgart, p. 54 – via hathitrust.org{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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