Count August Neidhardt von Gneisenau | |
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%2c_1818.jpg) Gneisenau byGeorge Dawe, 1818 | |
| Born | (1760-10-27)27 October 1760 |
| Died | 23 August 1831(1831-08-23) (aged 70)
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| Allegiance |  Habsburg Monarchy Principality of Ansbach Kingdom of Prussia |
| Service years | 1779–1831 |
| Rank | _Epaulette.gif) Generalfeldmarshall |
| Commands | VIII Prussian Corps |
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August Wilhelm Antonius Graf[1] Neidhardt von Gneisenau[2] (27 October 1760 – 23 August 1831) was aPrussianfield marshal. He was a prominent figure in the reform of the Prussian military and theWar of Liberation.
Gneisenau was born atSchildau in theElectorate of Saxony. He was the son of aSaxon lieutenant of artillery, August William Neidhardt, and his wife Maria Eva Neidhardt, née Müller. He grew up in great poverty at Schildau, and subsequently atWürzburg andErfurt. In 1777 he entered theUniversity of Erfurt, but two years later joined anAustrian regiment quartered there. In 1782, taking the additional name ofGneisenau from some lost estates of his family in Austria, he entered as an officer the service of theMargrave ofBayreuth-Ansbach. With one of that prince's mercenary regiments inBritish pay, he saw active service and gained valuable experience in theAmerican Revolutionary War. Returning in 1786, he applied for Prussian service, and KingFrederick the Great gave him a commission as first lieutenant in the infantry.[3]
MadeStabskapitän (Staff Captain) in 1790, Gneisenau served inPoland from 1793 to 1794. Ten years of subsequent quiet garrison life inJauer enabled him to undertake wide-ranging studies of military and political history. In 1796 he married Caroline von Kottwitz.[3]
In 1806 Gneisenau served as one ofPrince Hohenlohe's staff-officers, fought atSaalfeld (10 October 1806) andJena (14 October 1806), and a little later commanded a provisional infantry brigade which fought underL'Estocq in theLithuanian campaign. Early in 1807, thePrussian Army sent Major von Gneisenau as commandant toKolberg, which, though small and ill-protected, with the additional assistance of Schill and Nettelbeck succeeded inholding out againstNapoleonic forces until thePeace of Tilsit of July 1807. The commandant received the highly prizedPour le Mérite and promotion to lieutenant-colonel.[3]
A wider sphere of work now opened to Gneisenau. As chief of engineers, and a member of the reorganizing committee, he played a great part, along withScharnhorst, in the work of reconstructing the Prussian army.[4] Though primarily devoted to the problem of military reorganization, he exercised considerable influence on the general policy of theMinistry (established in December 1808) as well.[citation needed] A colonel in 1809, he soon drew upon himself, by his energy, the suspicion of the dominant French, and soon after the fall ofStein (January 1809), Gneisenau retired. But after visiting Austria,Imperial Russia,Sweden andEngland on secret missions, he returned toBerlin and resumed his place as a leader of the patriotic party.[5]
Open military work and secret machinations tested his energy and patriotism equally, and after the outbreak of theWars of Liberation in 1812, Major-General Gneisenau becameBlücher's quartermaster-general. Thus began the connection between these two soldiers which has furnished military history with one of the best examples of harmonious co-operation between a commander and his chief of staff. With Blücher, Gneisenau served in the capture ofParis in 1814; his military character perfectly complemented Blücher's, and under this happy guidance the troops of Prussia, at times defeated but never discouraged, fought their way into the heart ofFrance. The plan for the march onParis, which led directly to the abdication ofNapoleon in April 1814, was specifically the work of the chief of staff. In 1814, as a reward for his distinguished service, Gneisenau — along withYorck,Kleist, andBülow — was elevated to the rank ofcount, while at the same time Blücher became Prince ofWahlstatt.[5]
In 1815, once more chief of Blücher's staff, Gneisenau played a very conspicuous part in theWaterloo campaign of June/July 1815. Senior generals such as Yorck and Kleist had been set aside in order that the chief of staff should take command in case of need, and when on the field ofLigny (16 June 1815) the old field marshal was disabled, Gneisenau assumed command of the Prussian army.[5] He rallied the army and directed it towardsWavre, from where part of it marched to joinWellington at theBattle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, where the flanking attack by the Prussians helped to decide the battle.
On the field of Waterloo, Gneisenau carried out a pursuit that resulted in the capture of Napoleon's carriage. In the days following the battle, Gneisenau saw that the Prussian forces reached Paris before Wellington. In reward Gneisenau gained further promotion and the PrussianOrder of the Black Eagle.
In 1816 Gneisenau was appointed to command theVIII Prussian Corps, but soon retired from the service, both because of ill health and for political reasons.[5]
For two years Gneisenau lived in retirement at his estate,Erdmannsdorf inSilesia, but in 1818 he became governor of Berlin, as successor toKalckreuth, and member of the Staatsrath (Council of State). In 1825 he was promoted to general field marshal. In 1831, soon after the outbreak of thePolish insurrection of 1830, he was appointed to the command of the Army of Observation on the Polish frontier, withClausewitz as his chief of staff. AtPosen he was struck down bycholera and died on 24 August 1831, soon followed by his chief of staff, who fell a victim to the same disease in November.[5]
He received the following orders and decorations:[6]
Kingdom of Prussia:
Austrian Empire:
Kingdom of Bavaria: Grand Cross of theMilitary Order of Max Joseph,27 February 1814[9]
Kingdom of Hanover: Grand Cross of theRoyal Guelphic Order,1827[10]
Netherlands: Grand Cross of theMilitary William Order,8 July 1815[11]
Russian Empire:
A statue byChristian Daniel Rauch was erected in Berlin in 1855, and in memory of the siege of 1807, the Kolberg grenadier regiment received his name in 1889. One of his sons led a brigade of the VIII Army Corps in theFranco-Prussian War in 1870.
A painting of him byMarie von Brühl is in the collection ofDeutsches Historisches Museum.[13]
One of the four operations of theGerman Spring Offensive of 1918 was named after him.[14]
Several German navy ships, including the World War I armored cruiserSMSGneisenau, the World War IIbattleshipGneisenau, and apost-war training frigate were named after him.
Additionally, severalGerman cities have streets named "Gneisenaustraße" (Gneisenau Street), includingBerlin (which has an U-bahn stop in his name),Leipzig,Hamburg,Hanover andHeidelberg.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gneisenau, August Wilhelm Anton, Count Neithardt von".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Preceded by: Gerhard von Scharnhorst | Chief of the Prussian General Staff 1813-14 | Followed by: Karl von Grolman |
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