Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon (30 April 1803 23 February 1879) was a
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
n
soldierA soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
. Roon, along with
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
and
Helmuth von MoltkeHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 1800s, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
, was one of the leading figures in Prussia's government during the key decade of the 1860s, when Germany was unified under Prussia's leadership.
Roon was born at
PleushagenPleśna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Będzino, within Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately west of Będzino, west of Koszalin, and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin....
, near Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
. His family was of
FlemishFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
origin, and had settled in Pomerania.
Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon (30 April 1803 23 February 1879) was a
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
n
soldierA soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
. Roon, along with
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
and
Helmuth von MoltkeHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 1800s, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
, was one of the leading figures in Prussia's government during the key decade of the 1860s, when Germany was unified under Prussia's leadership.
Education and publications
Roon was born at
PleushagenPleśna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Będzino, within Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately west of Będzino, west of Koszalin, and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin....
, near Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), in
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
. His family was of
FlemishFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
origin, and had settled in Pomerania. His father, an officer of the
Prussian armyThe Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable...
, died in poverty during the French occupation (see
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
), and the young Roon was brought up by his maternal grandmother in a country ravaged in the War of Liberation.
Roon entered the corps of cadets at Culm (Chełmno) in 1816, from where in 1818 he proceeded to the military school at
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and in January 1821 received a commission in the 14th (3rd Pomeranian) regiment quartered at Stargard in Pomerania. In 1824 he went through the three years higher course of study at the General War School in Berlin (later called the Prussian Military Academy), where he improved his general education. In 1826 he was transferred to the 15th regiment at
MindenMinden is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Minden-Lübbecke.-Geography:Minden is located on the Weser river below the Porta Westfalica gap.-Neighbouring places:-Division of the town:...
, but in the same year was appointed an instructor in the military cadet school at Berlin, where he devoted himself especially to the subject of military geography. In 1832, he published the well-known
Principles of Physical, National and Political Geography, in three volumes (
Grundlage der Erd-, Völker- und Staaten-Kunde), which gained him a great reputation, and of which over 40,000 copies were sold in a few years. This work was followed in 1834 by
Elements of Geography (
Anfangsgrunde der Erdkunde), in 1837 by
Military Geography of Europe (
Militärische Landerbeschreibung von Europa), and in 1839 by
The Iberian Peninsula (
Die Iberische Halbinsel).
Early military career
In 1832, Roon rejoined his regiment, and was afterwards attached to the headquarters of
General von Müffling'sFriedrich Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Müffling, called Weiss was a Prussian generalfeldmarschall-Biography:Born in Halle, he entered the Prussian army in 1790....
corps of observation at
KrefeldKrefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located southwest of the Ruhr area, its center just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
, when he first became aware of the very inefficient state of the Prussian army. In 1833 he was appointed to the Topographical Bureau at Berlin, in 1835 he entered the
General staffThe German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German military a decided advantage over its adversaries...
, and in the following year was promoted captain and became instructor and examiner in the military academy at Berlin. In 1842, after an illness of two years brought on by overwork, he was promoted to major and attached to the staff of the VII Corps, in which post he was again impressed with the inefficiency of the organization of the army, and occupied himself with schemes for its reform. Two years later, as tutor to Prince Frederick Charles, he attended him at Bonn University and in his European travels. In 1848 he was appointed chief of the staff of the VIII Corps at
KoblenzKoblenz is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz Koblenz (also Coblenz in pre-1926 German spellings; French Coblence) is a city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the...
. During the disturbances of that year he served under
Prince WilliamWilhelm I, also known as Wilhelm the Great of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor ....
, later king and emperor, in the suppression of the insurrection at
BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
, and distinguished himself by his energy and bravery, receiving the 3rd class of the order of the Red Eagle in recognition of his services. While attached to the Prince's staff at that time he broached to him the subject of his schemes of army reform. In 1850 came the revelation of defective organization and efficiency which led to the humiliating treaty of Olmütz. In the same year Roon was made a lieutenant-colonel, and in 1851 full colonel.
His army reform: the “System”
Promoted to major-general in 1856 and lieutenant-general in 1859, Roon had held several commands since 1850 and had been employed on important missions. Prince Wilhelm became regent in 1858, and in 1859 he appointed Roon a member of a commission to report on the reorganization of the army. During the Austro-Sardinian War he was charged with the mobilization of a division. At the end of 1859, although he was a junior lieutenant-general in the army, he succeeded
Eduard von BoninEduard von Bonin was a Prussian general who served as Prussian Minister of War from 1852-54 and 1858-59.-Life:...
as
war ministerThe Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaty of Paris. The War Ministry was to help bring the army under constitutional control, and, along with the...
. Two years later, in 1861 the ministry of marine was also entrusted to him.
Supported by Edwin von Manteuffel and the new Prussian Chief of Staff
Helmuth von MoltkeHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 1800s, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
, Roon drew up plans to adapt
Scharnhorst'sGerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst was a general in Prussian service, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, noted for both his writings, his reforms of the Prussian army, and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars....
system to Prussia's altered circumstances. To attain this he proposed an increase in universal military service to three years, with new regiments raised and a reduced role for the reserve (
LandwehrLandwehr, or Landeswehr, is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large scale, low strength fortifications...
), whose role in the War of Liberation (1813) was still celebrated in nationalist myth. Roon's proposals for army reorganization met with strong opposition from the Prussian Landtag, which was dominated by the Progressive Party (ie. liberals), who wanted parliamentary control over the military budget. It took years of political fighting and the strong support of the new Prime Minister
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
and Moltke, before he carried the day.
National hero
After the successful outcome of the Second Schleswig War of 1864, Roon went from being the most-hated man in Prussia to a popular man in the country.
At the start of the
Austro-Prussian WarThe Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the other, that...
, Roon was promoted general of infantry. He was at the decisive victory at
KöniggrätzThe Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
, under the command of
MoltkeHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke was a German Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 1800s, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field...
. He received the
Black EagleThe Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg...
at Nikolsburg on the road to
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
. His army system was adopted after 1866 by the whole
North German ConfederationThe North German Confederation , came into existence in August 1866 as a military alliance of 22 states of northern Germany with the Kingdom of Prussia as the leading state. In July 1867 it was transformed into a federal state...
. In later years, his army system was copied throughout continental Europe.
During the
Franco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between France and Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria...
in 1870-71, Roon was in attendance on the (then) king Wilhelm. The war was a great victory for Prussia and Roon's contribution to success was considerable. He was created a
GrafGraf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
(count) at
VersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial center...
on January 19 1871, just after Moltke. In December 1871, he succeeded Bismarck (who continued to be Imperial Chancellor) as Prime Minister of Prussia. Ill-health compelled him to resign in the following year, handing the job back to Bismarck. Roon was promoted to
field marshalField Marshal is a military officer rank. Today, it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general.-Usage and hierarchical position:...
on January 1 1873.
Roon died in Berlin on February 23 1879.
Memorials
The
armored cruiserThe armored cruiser, or armoured cruiser , is a type of cruiser, a naval warship. The armored cruiser is protected by a belt of side armor, in addition to the armored deck and protective coal bunkers that define the protected cruiser.Armored cruisers were the chief combatants in two naval...
SMS RoonSMS Roon
["SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German.] was the lead ship of her class of armored cruisers of the Imperial German Navy...
, completed in 1906, was named for Albrecht von Roon.