Ernst Otto von Trotha

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Ernst von Trotha
Generalleutnant Ernst Otto von Trotha I.jpg
Brigade commander Major General von Trotha,
fidei commissioner at Schkopau Castle
Birth name Ernst Otto von Trotha
Birth date 24 June 1819(1819-06-24)
Place of birth Rittergut Neu-Beesen, Regierungsbezirk Merseburg, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Death date 29 January 1903 (aged 83)
Place of death Gut Schkopau, Regierungsbezirk Merseburg, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Allegiance Germany Prussian Eagle.jpg Kingdom of Prussia
Wappen des Deutschen Bundes.jpg German Confederation
Coat of arms of North German Confederation.png North German Confederation
 German Empire
Service/branch War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army
Years of service 1837–1875/90
Rank Lieutenant General
Battles/wars German War of Brothers
Franco-German War
Awards Iron Cross (1870)
Red Eagle Order
Relations ∞ 1850 Rosa von Helldorff

Ernst Otto von Trotha (24 June 1819 – 29 January 1903) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, finally Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) as well as lord of the manor (Goldschau, Schkopau and Collenbey) and canon (Domherr) in Merseburg.

Life

Family
Military career I
Military career II

Ernst von Trotha attended the Gymnasium in Brandenburg an der Havel and the Pädagogium in Halle (Saale). On 11 January 1837, he joined the Guards Jäger Battalion (Garde-Jäger-Bataillon) of the Prussian Army in Potsdam.

Military career (excerpt)

German Confederation

  • 29 March 1841 Commanded to the 10. Husaren-Regiment (cavalry)
  • 30 March 1844 Officially transferred to the 10. Husaren-Regiment
  • 14 October 1854 to 12 March 1859 Leader (Eskadronführer) of the 1st Squadron/10. Landwehr-Husaren-Regiment in Aschersleben
  • 12 March 1859 Appointed commander (Eskadronchef) of the 4th Squadron/8. Husaren-Regiment in Paderborn
  • 21 June to 21 August 1859 Leader of the 2nd Squadron of the mobile 8th Landwehr Hussars Regiment
    • This was due to the mobilization for the Austro-Sardinian War. The Piedmontese-French army had taken Milan and slowly marched further east to finish off Austria before Prussia could get involved. During the retreat, the Austrians won one of their only victories of the war, when Karl von Urban defeated Giuseppe Garibaldi at the Battle of Treponti.
  • 12 May 1860 Commanded to the 1st Combined Dragoon Regiment as squadron leader
  • 4 July with effect from 1 July 1860 Commander of the der 2nd Squadron (in Salzwedel) of the Rheinische Dragoner-Regiment (Nr. 5), the renamed 1st Combined Dragoon Regiment
  • 28 September 1863 Commanded to the Schlesische Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 2
  • 5 June 1864 Commander of the 4th Squadron/Brandenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2
  • 15 May 1866 Staff officer with the 2. Brandenburgisches Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 11
    • as such he took part in the German War of Brothers and had proven himself during the bloody Battle of Königgrätz.

North German Confederation

  • 25 September 1867 Delegated with the leadership of the Großherzoglich Oldenburgisches Reiter-Regiment, which would be renamed taken over by the Prussian Army and renamed Oldenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 19 on 1 October 1867
  • 10 December 1867 Appointed commander of the Oldenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 19
    • as such he took part in the Franco-German War; during the great cavalry attack at Mars-la-Tour, von Trotha led his men as the first at and through the French positions including hand-to-hand combat with the French Guards lancers.

German Empire

  • 16 October 1873 Commander of the 9. Cavallerie-Brigade[1] as part of the 9. Division (Glogau)
  • 28 October 1875 Placed at disposal (z. D.) with the statutory pension (de facto retired)
  • 16 January 1890 Disposal status repealed, now officially retired
  • 16 August 1895 Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded Generalmajor a. D. von Trotha the honorary rank of Lieutenant General on the 25th memorial day of the Battle of Vionville (Mars-la-Tour)

Family

Descent

Ernst was the youngest son of the Prussian Rittmeister and lord of the manor (Groß-Germersleben, Neu-Beesen, Roschwitz, Goldschau) Otto Wolf Friedrich von Trotha (1778–1862) and his wife (∞ 14 July 1805) Christiane Friederike Wilhelmine Elisabeth, née von Boden (1785–1873). He had 10 siblings:[2]

  • Ludwig Karl Wilhelm (1806–1869)
  • Agnes (1808–1809)
  • Luise Sophie (1811–1893); ∞ Werner Ludwig Eduard von Alvensleben (1805–1869), lord of the manor (Gut Neugattersleben)
  • Friedrich Hermann Thilo (1812–1814)
  • Alexander Thilo (1814–1888), Prussian Major General, commander of the 18. Kavallerie-Brigade, Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter) of the Johanniter-Orden
  • Adolf Otto (1815–1816)
  • Bertha Karoline Wilhelmine (1817–1905), Superior (Oberin) of the aristocratic Augustenstift in Köthen
  • Agnes Albertine (1821–1862); ∞ Merseburg 11 May 1852 Otto Thilo Anton von Trotha (1808–1868), canon (Domherr), later cathedral dean (Domdechant) in Merseburg and Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter) of the Johanniter-Orden (20 August 1861) as well as lord of the manor (Schkopau and Collenbey);[3] 1 son (Otto Friedrich Wolf von Trotha; 1854–1875)
  • Albertine (1824–1902); ∞ Merseburg 7 May 1865 (after the death of her sister) Otto Thilo Anton von Trotha (1808–1868)
  • Henriette Dorothea Karoline (1826–1881)

Marriage

On 26 August 1850 in Wolmirstedt, he married his fiancée Rosa Armgarde Henriette von Helldorff (1826–1903).[4] They would have four children:

  • Thilo Wolf (1851–1853)
  • Ernst Ulrich (1854–1946), Major (Landwehr), Chamberlain of the Emperor, later Court Marshal at the imperial court in Potsdam, treasurer of the Ballei Brandenburg, lord of the manor (Gut Collenbey), General Landscape Director of the Province of Saxony and Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) as well as Ehrenkommendator of the Johanniter-Orden; ∞ Berlin 19 October 1881 Alexandra Editha Bertha Karoline Anna-Marie von Bonin (1857–1928), 5 children (four sons, two of which were ⚔ in WWI, and one daughter)[5]
  • Klaus Dietrich (1857–1914), Generalmajor z. D. and Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) of the Johanniter-Orden;
    • I ∞ Berlin 21 January 1890 Ottonie Klara Sophie von Massow (1869–1899), 1 daughter (Armgard Antonette Dorothee, b. 23 December 1892 in Potsdam)[6]
    • II ∞ Bankau 18 April 1906 Margarete Ella Eliza Henriette Erika von Moltke (1879–1946), 4 children
  • Karl Otto (20 November 1863 – 23 November 1863)

Promotions

  • 11.1.1837 Jäger
  • 24.3.1837 Oberjäger
  • 20.6.1837 Portepeefähnrich (Officer Cadet)
  • 19.9.1838 Sekondelieutenant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • 14.7.1853 Premierlieutenant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 14.6.1856 Rittmeister
  • 25.6.1864 Major
  • 22.3.1868 Oberstlieutenant (Lieutenant Colonel)
  • 26.7.1870 Oberst (Colonel)
  • 27.10.1874 Generalmajor (Major General)
  • 16.8.1895 Charakter als Generallieutenant (Honorary Lieutenant General)

Awards and decorations

Deutscher Ordens-Almanach, 1904, p. 1181
  • Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter) of the Johanniter-Orden
  • Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 4th Class
  • Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
  • Red Eagle Order (Roter Adlerorden), 4th Class with Swords (PRAO4⚔/PrA4⚔)
  • Commemorative Cross for the Campaign of 1866 (Erinnerungs-Kreuz für den Feldzug von 1866)
  • Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis, Commanders Cross of Honour (Ehren-Komturkreuz) with Swords (OV2b⚔)[7] on 17 January 1870
  • Iron Cross (1870), 2nd and 1st Class
    • 2nd Class for the Battle of Vionville (Mars-la-Tour)
    • 1st Class on 8 August 1871
  • War Commemorative Medal of 1870–1871 (Kaiserliche Kriegsdenkmünze 1870/71; KD70/71)
  • Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with the Bow and Swords on Ring
  • Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis, Grand Commanders Cross of Honour (Ehren-Großkomturkreuz) with Swords on Ring (OV2a⚔a.R)[8]
  • Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves and Swords on Ring on 28 October 1875
  • Prussian Order of the Crown, 2nd Class with Star
  • Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) of the Johanniter-Orden
  • Anniversary Oak Leaves (Jubiläums-Eichenlaub „25“ 1870/1895) to his Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class
  • Prussian Centenary Medal 1897 (Zentenarmedaille)
  • Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis (Oldenburgischer Haus- und Verdienstorden des Herzogs Peter Friedrich Ludwig), Grand Cross of Honour (Ehren-Großkreuz) with Swords on Ring (OV1⚔a.R/OldV1⚔aR) on 16 June 1899

References

  1. ↑ Rang- und Quartierliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee, 1874, p. 58
  2. ↑ Deutsche Adelsgenossenschaft: Jahrbuch des Deutschen Adels, Volume 3, Verlag W. T. Bruer, Berlin 1899, p. 629 f.
  3. ↑ Vorstudien zur Geschichte des Geschlechts von Trotha, 1860, p. 183
  4. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser. Der in Deutschland eingeborene Adel (Uradel), 1905, p. 811
  5. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser, Teil A, 1941, p. 569
  6. ↑ Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Adeligen Häuser. Der in Deutschland eingeborene Adel (Uradel), 1907, p. 759
  7. ↑ Rang- und Quartierliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee, 1873, p. 296
  8. ↑ Rang- und Quartierliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee, 1875, p. 32
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