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Emil Colerus von Geldern

General Emil Colerus von Geldern was born on 31 December 1856, in Laibach.  He attended the Maria Theresa Military Academy.  Oberleutnant Emil Colerus von Geldern took the position of chief of staff for the VII. Corps in April 1900, thus replacing Obst Viktor Schreiber.  He maintained this task for nearly six years, and surrendered the job to Obst Heinrich Ritter Mündel von Schartenberg in March 1906.  FML Colerus became commander of the III. Corps in January 1914, replacing FZM Ernst Freiherr von Leithner.  This command he actively held until March 1915, when FML Josef Ritter Krautwald von Annau succeeded him. J.H. Verdun's timeline summarizes his military career:      1877 assigned to 44 Inf Regiment      1878 participated in the occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina      1884 Oberleutnant, attached to General Staff      1887 captain, instructor at Kriegschule (doesn't say which or what he taught)      1900 colonel, Chief of Staff VII Corps      1906 major general      1910 attained the rank of Feldmarschalleutnant      1914 GdI, Cdr III Corps Emil Colerus von Geldern died on 30 January 1919 in Vienna. GWS, 5/01 Attention: Visit FEEFHS map room for a Map of Galicia including some of the placenames mentioned here.  Be sure to open in a separate window to toggle between this page and FEEFHS.

Orders of Battle:  Galician Front, August 1914 Army Group Kövess; II. Armee, Gen. Böhm-Ermolli III. Korps, Gen. der Inf. Colerus von Geldern   VI. inf. div., Feldmlt. von Siegensstern   XXVIII. inf. div., Feldmlt. Kralicek   XXII. Schützen div., Feldmlt. Krauss-Elislago Colerus was rather nervous about the composition of his forces as they assembled on the Serbian frontier.  So unsure was he of his own soldiers, that he petitioned the supreme command to expel  all Serbian or other Orthodox soldiers from Bosnian Regiment No. 2, part of his III. Corps.  His Serbian Orthodox soldiers were duly removed and word of this occurrence spread to other commanders along the front.  They soon asked for the same action, and thousands of Serb soldiers in Austrian regiments were made into Etappen guards and labourers. GWS, 5/02 Orders of Battle:  Galician Front, January 1915 III. Armee, Gen. d. Inf. Boroevic von Bojna III. Korps, Gen. d. Inf. von Colerus   XXVIII. inf. div., Genmj. von Hinke   XXII. Schützen div., Genmj. Schmidt Edler von Fussina   IV. kav. div., Genmj. Berndt