Albrecht von Stosch

Contents

Albrecht von Stosch (20 April 1818 – 29 February 1896) was a German general and admiral who served as first chief of the newly created Imperial German Navy from 1872 to 1883.[1]

Life

Born in Koblenz, he was a cousin of Hans Stosch-Sarrasani, the founder of the Circus Sarrasani. He was the third son of Prussian general Hermann Ferdinand Stosch, who was a traditional military man who had a nationalistic feelings. Just like his father, Stosch was conscious of the tradition of duty and service, and Prussian military heritage was a strong political opinion of his.[2]

After being educated in state schools and a gymnasium, in 1829 Stosch was admitted to the Cadet corps. In 1835 Stosch, aged seventeen, was appointed as second-lieutenant in the Prussian Army. He eventually became a General Staff officer.[2]

Stosch participated in the Austro-Prussian War as Oberquartiermeister of the Second Army.

After the Franco-Prussian War, Stosch was also appointed as an admiral and first chief of the Admiralty and thus of the fledgling Imperial German Navy. He was acknowledged by Wilhelm I for his loyal service to the country. Stosch considered himself as a reformer.[2] He held the rank of General of the Infantry.

Stosch died in Rheingau. There is an island in Chile named after him, Isla Stosch.

Honours

  • Kingdom of Prussia:[3]
  • Grand Duchy of Hesse: Commander of the Ludwig Order, 1st Class, 15 March 1868[4]
  • Kingdom of Saxony:[5] Grand Cross of the Albert Order, 1867; Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, with War Decoration, 1871
  • Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 2 January 1871[6]
  • Sweden-Norway: Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, 1 June 1875[7]

References

  1. 1."GHDI - Document".
  2. 2.[2.2][2.3]Hollyday, Frederic B. M. (2017-02-07). Bismarck's Rival: A Political Biography of General and Admiral Albrecht von Stosch. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78720-383-9.
  3. 3."Königlich Preussische Ordensliste", Preussische Ordens-Liste (in German), 1, Berlin: 8, 12, 25, 584, 936, 1886 – via hathitrust.org
  4. 4."Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Grossherzogtums Hessen (in German), Darmstadt, 1881, p. 27 – via hathitrust.org
  5. 5."Königliche Ritter-orden", Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen (1873) (in German), Dresden, 1873, pp. 74, 131
  6. 6."Königliche Ritter", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg, Stuttgart, 1894, p. 64
  7. 7.Norges Statskalender (in Norwegian), 1890, pp. 595–596, retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org