Levin August von Bennigsen | |
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 Portrait byGeorge Dawe (1820) | |
| Other name(s) | Russian:Леонтий Леонтьевич Беннигсен,romanized: Leonty Leontyevich Bennigsen[1] |
| Born | (1745-02-10)10 February 1745 Braunschweig,Electorate of Hanover,Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 3 December 1826(1826-12-03) (aged 81) Banteln,Kingdom of Hanover,German Confederation |
| Allegiance |  Electorate of Hanover Russian Empire |
| Service | Hanoverian ArmyRussian Army |
| Rank |  General of the Cavalry |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of St. Andrew Order of St. George Order of St. Vladimir Order of St. Alexander Nevsky Order of St. Anna Golden Weapon for Bravery Order of the Black Eagle Royal Guelphic Order Order of the Elephant Legion of Honour Order of the Sword Military Order of Maria Theresa |
| Children | 8 |
| Vilna Governor General | |
| In office July 23, 1801 – October 2, 1806 | |
| Preceded by | Mikhail Kutuzov |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Korsakov |
Levin August Gottlieb Theophil,[a] Graf[2]von Bennigsen (Russian:Левин Август Готлиб Теофиль фон Беннигсен,romanized: Levin Avgust Gotlib Teofil' fon Bennigsen, as well inRussian:Леонтий Леонтьевич Беннигсен,romanized: Leontiy Leont'yevič Bennigsen; 10 February 1745 – 3 December 1826) was a Germangeneral in the service of theRussian Empire. Bennigsen made a name for himself inRussian history as the man who foughtNapoleon Bonaparte with distinction at theBattle of Eylau; but, suffering from ill-health, he was then defeatedat Friedland several months later. Bennigsen also played a pivotal role in decisively defeating Napoleon in theWar of the Sixth Coalition.
Bennigsen was born on 10 February 1745 into aHanoverian noble family inBraunschweig (English toponym: Brunswick).[3] His family owned several estates at Banteln in Hanover.[3] Bennigsen served successively as a page at the Hanoverian court and as an officer of foot-guards,[4] and four years later, in 1763, as captain, he participated in the final campaign of theSeven Years' War.[3] In 1764, after the death of his father and his marriage to Baroness Steinberg, he retired from theHanoverian Army, and settled at the estates he owned in Banteln.[3] In 1773, shortly after reentering Hanoverian service for a brief period, he entered the Russian service as a field officer, and was subsequently accepted into the Vyatka musketeer regiment in the same year.[3][4] He fought against the Turks in 1774 and in 1778, becoming lieutenant-colonel in the latter year. In 1787 his conduct at the storming ofOchakov won him promotion to the rank ofbrigadier, and he distinguished himself repeatedly in smashing theKościuszko Uprising (battles of Lipniszki, Soły) and in thePersian War of 1796 where he foughtat Derbent.[4][3] On 9 July 1794, he was promoted to major general for his accomplishments in the former campaign, and on 26 September 1794 he was awarded theOrder of St. George of the Third Degree and an estate inMinsk Governorate.[3]
In 1798, Bennigsen was fired from military service by TsarPaul I allegedly because of his connections withPlaton Zubov.[citation needed] It is known that he took an active part in the planning phase of the conspiracy to assassinate Paul I, but his role in the actual killing remains a matter of conjecture. Tsar Alexander I made himgovernor-general of Lithuania in 1801, and in 1802 a general of cavalry.[4]
In 1806, Bennigsen was in command of one of the Russian armies operating againstNapoleon, when he fought theBattle of Pultusk and met the emperor in person in the bloodybattle of Eylau (8 February 1807).[4] In theBattle of Pultusk he resisted French troops underJean Lannes before retreating. This brought him the Order of St. George of the Second Degree while after the battle of Eylau he was awardedOrder of St. Andrew — the highest order in the Russian empire.[5] Here he could claim to have inflicted the first reverse suffered by Napoleon, but six months later Bennigsen met with thecrushing defeat of Friedland (14 June 1807) the direct consequence of which was thetreaty of Tilsit.[4]
Bennigsen was heavily criticised for theBattle of Friedland and for the decline of discipline in the army[citation needed] and now retired for some years, but in the campaign of 1812 he reappeared in the army in various responsible positions. He was present atBorodino, and defeatedMurat in theengagement of Tarutino[4] where he was wounded in the leg,[5] but on account of a quarrel with MarshalKutuzov, the Russian commander-in-chief, he was compelled to retire from active military employment on 15 November.[4]
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After the death of Kutuzov, Bennigsen was recalled and placed at the head of an army.[4] Bennigsen participated in the battles ofBautzen andLützen,[citation needed] leading one of the columns that made the decisive attack on the last day of theBattle of Leipzig (16–19 October 1813). On the same evening he was made a count by the emperor Alexander I, and he afterwards commanded the forces which operated againstMarshal Davout in North Germany,[4] most notably in the year-longSiege of Hamburg (1813–14). After theTreaty of Fontainebleau, he was awarded the St. George order of the First Degree — the highest Russian military order – for his actions in theNapoleonic wars in general.[citation needed]
After the general peace Bennigsen held a command from 1815 to 1818, when he retired from active service and settled on his Hanoverian estate of Banteln nearHildesheim.[4] By the end of his life he completely lost his sight.[5] He died on 3 December 1826, inBanteln, eight years after he had retired.[3] His son, CountAlexander Levin von Bennigsen (1809-1893) was a distinguished Hanoverian statesman.[4]
Bennigsen wrote the three-volume"Mémoires du général Bennigsen", which was published in Paris in 1907-1908.[3] Though they contain "fascinating" details regarding the Russian wars and battles between 1806 and 1813, the work often beautifies historical facts.[3] English edition of Bennigsen's memoirs of 1806-1807 campaign appeared in 2023.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bennigsen, Levin August".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 742. Also referred to in War and Peace.| International | |
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