Georgi Ilich Orbeliani
Encyclopedia
Prince Georgy Ilyich Orbeliani was general in the Imperial Russian Army
during the Russo-Japanese War
of 1904-1905.
birth, Orbeliani was the son of General Prince Prince Ilya Dmitriyevich Orbeliani, a scion of the noble House of Orbeliani
, which claimed Chinese descent. Born in 1853, after graduating from the Page Corps
, he entered service as a junior officer in the prestigious Hussar
Regiment of the Imperial Life Guards.
Prince Orbeliani first saw combat in the Caucasus theater of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), during which he was awarded the Order of St. Anne
(4th class) and Order of St. Vladimir
(4th class with swords and bow) for bravery in combat. He was subsequently posted to the Transcaspian Region
after the Panjdeh Incident
as part of the commission to fix the border of the Russian Empire with Afghanistan
. From 1898 to 1899, Prince Orbeliani was a military attache
posted to British India where he observed the maneuvers of the British Indian Army
.
Prince Orbeliani was promoted to major general in 1904 and assigned command of the Caucasian Cavalry Brigade, which played an active role in the Russo-Japanese War
of 1904-1905 in Manchuria
. War correspondent
Francis McCullagh
commented on the diverse ethnic backgrounds of Oebeliani's Brigade in his book With the Cossacks, but also mentioned that most of his men could not communicate well with other units due to their lack of ability in the Russian language
. Prince Orbeliani was awarded with the Order of St. Stanislav (1st class with swords) and Order of St. Anne
(1st class with swords) and the Golden Sword of St. George for bravery.
Following the end of the war, Prince Orbeliani was appointed commander of the Kuban Cossack Army
in 1910 with the rank of lieutenant general. He went into the reserves in November 1913.
Prince Orbeliani returned to active duty at the start of World War I
, and was appointed supreme commander of medical evacuation services. He died in 1924.
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1904-1905.
Biography
Of ethnic GeorgianGeorgian people
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
birth, Orbeliani was the son of General Prince Prince Ilya Dmitriyevich Orbeliani, a scion of the noble House of Orbeliani
House of Orbeliani
The Orbeliani was a Georgian noble family , which branched off the Baratashvili family in the 17th century and later produced several lines variously called Orbeliani, Orbelishvili , Qaplanishvili , and Jambakur-Orbeliani...
, which claimed Chinese descent. Born in 1853, after graduating from the Page Corps
Page Corps
Page Corps was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service....
, he entered service as a junior officer in the prestigious Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
Regiment of the Imperial Life Guards.
Prince Orbeliani first saw combat in the Caucasus theater of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), during which he was awarded the Order of St. Anne
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
(4th class) and Order of St. Vladimir
Order of St. Vladimir
The Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
(4th class with swords and bow) for bravery in combat. He was subsequently posted to the Transcaspian Region
Transcaspian Region
Transcaspian Region , or Transcaspia, was the name used from the second half of the 19th century until 1924 for the section of Russian Empire to the east of the Caspian Sea, bounded to the south by Iran's Khorasan Province and Afghanistan, to the north by the former Russian province of Uralsk, and...
after the Panjdeh Incident
Panjdeh Incident
The Panjdeh Incident or Panjdeh Scare was a battle that occurred in 1885 when Russian forces seized Afghan territory south of the Oxus River around an oasis at Panjdeh . The incident created a diplomatic crisis between Russia and Great Britain...
as part of the commission to fix the border of the Russian Empire with Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. From 1898 to 1899, Prince Orbeliani was a military attache
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
posted to British India where he observed the maneuvers of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
.
Prince Orbeliani was promoted to major general in 1904 and assigned command of the Caucasian Cavalry Brigade, which played an active role in the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1904-1905 in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. War correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
Francis McCullagh
Francis McCullagh
Francis McCullagh was a British journalist, war correspondent and author.McCullugh was born in Dungannon in Northern Ireland in in 1874. McCullugh worked as a correspondent for the New York Herald, from 1898...
commented on the diverse ethnic backgrounds of Oebeliani's Brigade in his book With the Cossacks, but also mentioned that most of his men could not communicate well with other units due to their lack of ability in the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Prince Orbeliani was awarded with the Order of St. Stanislav (1st class with swords) and Order of St. Anne
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
(1st class with swords) and the Golden Sword of St. George for bravery.
Following the end of the war, Prince Orbeliani was appointed commander of the Kuban Cossack Army
Kuban Cossacks
Kuban Cossacks or Kubanians are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century...
in 1910 with the rank of lieutenant general. He went into the reserves in November 1913.
Prince Orbeliani returned to active duty at the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and was appointed supreme commander of medical evacuation services. He died in 1924.
Honors
- Order of St. Anne
Order of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
4th degree 1878 - Order of St Vladimir, 4th degree, 1878
- Order of St. Stanislaus 1st degree 1904.
- Order of St. AnneOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
1st degree 1904 - Golden Sword of St. George «for courage»Gold Sword for BraveryThe Gold Sword for Bravery was a Russian Empire award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the St George Sword and considered as one of the grades of the Order...
, 1904
Family
Prince Orbeliani was married to Princess Mariam Alexandrovna Orbeliani (1868–1915). Their children were:- Irakly G. Orbeliani (1890–1937) was married by civil ceremony to Ariadna Dmitriyevna Rimsky-Korsakov (1899-?); no offspring
- Mariam G. Orbeliani (1899–1947), was married to Prince Nikolai (Tengiz, Tatarhanom) Alexandrovich (Tsiohovichem) Dadeshkeliani (1893–1961).