| Georgy Ilyich Orbeliani | |
|---|---|
Prince Georgy Ilyich Orbeliani |
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| Born | 1853 Tbilisi, Georgia Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 1924 Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union |
| Allegiance | Russian Empire |
| Service/branch | Imperial Russian Army |
| Rank | lieutenant general |
| Battles/wars | Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) Russo Japanese War |
Prince Georgy Ilyich Orbeliani (Russian: Гео́ргий Ильи́ч Орбелиа́ни; 1853–1924) was general in the Imperial Russian Army during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.
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Of ethnic Georgian 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.[1] 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.
Prince Orbeliani was married to Princess Mariam Alexandrovna Orbeliani (1868–1915). Their children were: