Wilhelm Rüstow

Friedrich Wilhelm Rüstow (25 May 1821 – 14 August 1878) was a Prussian-born Swiss soldier and military writer.

He was sentenced by a court-martial to 32½ years of fortress imprisonment, but succeeded in escaping to Switzerland, where he obtained a military posting.

[1] Three years later Rüstow accompanied Giuseppe Garibaldi in the famous expedition against the Two Sicilies as colonel and Chief of staff, and to him must be ascribed the victories of Capua (10 September 1860) and Volturno (1 October 1860).

In 1878, on the foundation of a military professorship at Zürich, Rüstow applied for the post, but taught only short, and, on its being given finally to another officer (Emil Rothpletz), lost heart and committed suicide at Aussersihl near Zürich.

Amongst Rüstow's works, which covered nearly every branch of the military art, a large number must be mentioned.