Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff

Paul Bronsart von Schellendorf
Paul Bronsart von Schellendorf
Born	(1832-01-25)25 January 1832 Danzig, Prussia
Died	23 June 1891(1891-06-23) (aged 59) Schettnienen manor, East Prussia, German Empire
Allegiance	Prussia Imperial Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army
Years of service	1849–
Rank	General of the Infantry
Commands held	I Corps
Battles/wars	Franco-Prussian War
Other work	Prussian Minister of War (1883–1889)

Paul Leopold Eduard Heinrich Anton Bronsart von Schellendorf (25 January 1832 – 23 June 1891) was a Prussian general and writer, who served as Minister of War from 1883 to 1889.

Bronsart was born in Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland), then administrative capital of West Prussia, the son of later General Lieutenant Heinrich Bronsart von Schellendorff (1803–1874) and his wife Antoinette Martha Elisabeth, née d'Azemar de Rège (1810–1873). His younger brother Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff (1833–1914) also served as Prussian Minister of War from 1893 to 1896.

On 30 May 1853, Paul Bronsart married Rosalie Klara Marie, née Schmidt (1833–1913). The couple had four children, among them Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorf (1864–1950), General lieutenant and chief of the Ottoman Army general staff in World War I.

Having attended the Gymnasium in Danzig, Bronsart entered the Prussian Cadet Corps (Kadettenanstalt) in Kulm and Berlin. On 28 April 1849 he joined the Berlin Kaiser Franz Garde-Grenadier Regiment No.2 in the rank of lieutenant. From 1 June 1852 he served as adjutant in the 4th Guards Landwehr Regiment and attended the Prussian Military Academy from 1855 to 1858. On 1 May 1859 he was appointed to the German General Staff and achieved the rank of Oberleutnant. Elevated to Hauptmann (Captain) on 23 February 1861; after three years of staff service he returned to regimental duty as a company commander in the II Army Corps, but was soon reappointed to the staff, and lectured at the Military Academy, becoming major in 1865 and lieutenant colonel in 1869.