Robert Kosch

Robert Paul Thedor Kosch
Born	5 April 1856 Klodzko, Lower Silesia
Died	22 December 1942 Berlin
Buried	Invalid's Cemetery, Berlin

Robert Kosch (5 April 1856 in Kłodzko-22 December 1942) was a Prussian General of the Infantry during World War I.

Early life

Robert was the youngest of ten children of Hermann and Agnes Kosch. After attending the Cadet corps, on 23 April 1874 Kosch graduated as a second lieutenant in the 4th Lower Silesian Infantry Regiment Nr. 51 of the Prussian army. From 1877 to 1880, he studied at the Military Academy. On April 3, 1880 he married Gertrude Noeggerath, with whom he had three daughters.

Career

From 1 April 1881 to 31 March 1887 he was posted as battalion and regimental adjutant to Infantry Regiment no. 132 in Glatz. On 1 April 1887 he was seconded to the General Staff to Berlin.

On 22 April 1912 he was appointed lieutenant-general. On June 4, 1912, he was appointed commander of the10th Division in Poznan. He led the unit after the outbreak of World War I on the Western Front. On 9 October 1914, he became leader of the I. Army Corps in Lithuania, where his troops opposed the numerically superior Russian forces. After initial withdrawal in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes was successful. For these successes Kosch was awarded the Order Pour le Mérite excellent. On 11 June 1915 he was appointed commanding general of the X. Reserve Corps. He led them in battles on the Dniester, Gnisa Lipa and Krasnostaw. He transferred to the Balkans, where with the 101st and 103rd Division he participated in the campaign against Serbia. For this success Kosch received on 27 November 1915, the Oak Leaves to the Order Pour le Mérite.

At the end of February 1916 the Battle of Verdun began. He was promoted on 18 August 1916 to General of Infantry. On 28 August 1916, he was appointed leader of the newly formed General Command (CUA) no. 52 , that was used in the Bulgarian Danube region. In the multi-day battle at Argesch, in late November to early December 1916, the Romanians were defeated and Bucharest occupied securing Romania's western and northwestern front. From 1 May 1917, he temporarily led the 9 Army until the arrival of Johannes von Eben as the new commander in chief.

After dissolution of the Danube Army in March 1918 Kosch participated in the occupation of the Ukraine and the struggles against the leaders of the General Command 52 Red Army. On 1 May 1918 he was appointed commander of all troops in Taurida and the Crimea.

After the war, he commanded the Border Guard East before he retired from the Army on January 10, 1919. Kosch died in 1942 and was buried in the Invalids' Cemetery. His grave did not survive.

References

• Hanns Möller: Geschichte der Ritter des Ordens „pour le mérite“ im Weltkrieg. Band 1: A–L. Verlag Bernard & Graefe. Berlin 1935. S. 607–609.
• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs. Band 2: H–O. Biblio Verlag. Bissendorf 2003. ISBN 3-7648-2516-2. S. 254–256.