Christopher Köhler

Christopher Gotthelf Köhler was Saxonian officer.

Early Life
Christopher Gotthelf Köhler was born to the Prussian diplomat Gotthelf Köhler and the Saxonian noblewoman Marie von Naumburg-Jena. He was educated at the Noble College of Leipzig and went on to study at the Military School of Berlin.

Life
Christopher Köhler started to study at the Military School of Berlin in 1702, at the age of 17. The Kingdom of Prussia had been established a year ago and the ruling king was King Friedrich I of Prussia. Due to his partly Prussian heritage, Christopher Köhler felt a certain national sympathy towards the Kingdom of Prussia which his father helped establish and King Friedrich I of Prussia.

Köhler started serving in the 12th Prussian Infantry Regiment in 1706, at the age of 21, which was stationed in Berlin. The death of his father in 1708 was a tragic moment in Köhler's life.

In 1713, at the age of 28, shortly before the death of King Friedrich I of Prussia, Köhler was promoted and became flag bearer of the 12th Prussian Infantry Regiment.

With the change in regime and the ascension of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, who was also known as the soldier king, the army of Prussia was boosted financially.

In 1715, Prussia joined the Russian side under Peter the Great in the Great Northern War against the Swedish side. Köhler fought at several battles and was promoted to an officer in 1719, at the age of 34. The Great Northern War ended in 1721 with a Russian-side victory. Russia and its allies gained power in Europe whilst the power of Sweden declined.

After his return from the war to Berlin, Christopher Köhler married the daughter of a high ranking member of the army in 1722, more specifically a member of the general staff of the Prussian general and German prince Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau. Her name was Christiane von Strauchberger and she was the daughter of Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau's general staff member Friedrich von Strauchberger.

Christiane von Strauchberger gave birth to one son and one daughter.

Christopher Köhler died in 1740 at the age of 55 and historians nowadays believe that he died of lung cancer. He died before the death of King Friedrich Wilhelm I and the reign of the world-famous King Friedrich II 'The Great' of Prussia.