Ernst von Rüchel
Encyclopedia
Ernst von Rüchel, born 21 July 1754 – died 14 January 1823, fought in the army of the Kingdom of Prussia
during the French Revolutionary Wars
. Afterward he held various appointments as a diplomat and a military inspector. In 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars
he held an important army command but was involved in the crushing defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
. Wounded, he managed to escape the French pursuit, but never commanded troops in combat again.
, Poland
.
With the rank of Oberst
(colonel
), Rüchel fought against the First French Republic during the War of the First Coalition. During the Siege of Mainz from 10 April to 23 July 1793, he commanded a brigade consisting of the Thadden and Legat Fusilier
Battalions and the Wolframsdorf Grenadier Battalion. After promotion to General-Major, he led the Prussian contingent during the Second Battle of Wissembourg
. The units coming under his orders were eight battalions in the Infantry Regiments Kleist
# 12, Wolframsdorf # 37, and Hertzberg # 47, two foot jäger
companies, three squadrons of the Wolfradt Hussar Regiment # 6, one and a half horse artillery batteries, and a half 6-pound foot battery.
On 23 May 1794, Rüchel led a column in a minor Prussian victory at the Battle of Kaiserslautern. On this occasion he led three battalions each of the Infantry Regiments Rüchel # 30 and Wolframsdorf, the Ernst Fusilier Battalion # 19, three foot jäger companies, three squadrons each of the Eben Hussar Regiment # 2 and Voss Dragoon Regiment # 11, two foot artillery batteries, and one horse artillery battery. At the Peace of Basel
in 1795, Prussian abandoned the First Coalition to concentrate her energies on the Third Partition of Poland
.
, Rüchel was given command of the westernmost of the three Prussian armies. The other two armies were led by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
and Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
. In early October, Hohenlohe's army assembled near Rudolstadt
and Brunswick's at Erfurt
. Rüchel's army was split between Eisenach
and Gotha
with Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach's division farther south at Schmalkalden
and Johann Friedrich von Winning's detachment at Vacha
.
Emperor Napoleon I of France
thrust his 180,000-man army through the Frankenwald
, winning the Battle of Schleiz
on 9 October and the Battle of Saalfeld
on 10 October. The Prussian high command concentrated their armies on the west bank of the Saale
River. They planned for Brunswick to move north toward Halle
, while Hohenlohe covered his eastern flank by defending at Jena
. On 14 October, Brunswick's army ran head on into Louis Davout's III Corps near Auerstedt and was badly defeated. Meanwhile, Napoleon fell on Hohenlohe at the Battle of Jena with the bulk of his army. Rüchel had been told to stay at Weimar until Saxe-Weimar's division arrived. He made the soldierly decision to march at once with his 15,000 troops to assist Hohenlohe. Unfortunately, by the time his corps arrived, the battle was lost.
Historian David G. Chandler
argues that Rüchel was unfairly criticized for his belated appearance. He received news of the battle at 9:00 AM and left his camp at Weimar immediately. His troops marched five kilometers in one hour, then they deployed from march columns into platoon columns with flank guards out and the artillery at the ready. At 10:30 AM, he got a misleading note from Hohenlohe saying that the battle was going well. Around noon Hohenlohe sent him another message asking for immediate assistance. Just before his troops reached Kapellendorf
around 1:00 PM, a courier brought news that the Prussian army was defeated. It took Rüchel a total of four hours to move 12 kilometers, including the time it took to break camp; this was not a slow pace by Prussian standards. He brought 15,000 troops and 40 field pieces to the battlefield. Altogether, there were 25 squadrons from five cavalry regiments, three foot jäger companies, 14 musketeer battalions from seven infantry regiments, four fusilier battalions, two grenadier battalions, three foot batteries, and two horse batteries.
Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach
, Hohenlohe's chief of staff
, directed Rüchel to move east from Kapellendorf. Dutifully, he advanced his corps across the Herressener Bach in echelon order, but with both flanks in the air. Chandler notes that the unwise decision to attack was Hohenlohe's. Soon after it was committed to battle, Hohenlohe rode up to take personal command of the corps. Though the French V Corps of Marshal Jean Lannes
was stopped in its tracks, Rüchel's left was soon turned by one of Marshal Nicolas Soult's IV Corps divisions. Instructing his cavalry to cover a retreat, Rüchel ordered his infantry to fall back. His cavalry came under a terrific bombardment by French artillery and the regiments were thrown into confusion. At this moment, Marshal Joachim Murat
directed the French Reserve Cavalry into the contest, with a division of cuirassiers in the lead. Without cavalry protection, Rüchel's troops were ridden over and sent fleeing to the rear in irretrievable rout.
Wounded, Rüchel narrowly avoided capture during the next few weeks. During the maneuvers that ended in the Battle of Eylau
on 7 and 8 February 1807, Rüchel commanded the 4,000-strong Prussian garrison of Königsberg
. At that time, Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq
led the 9,000-man Prussian field force.
Rüchel died on 14 January 1823 in Haseleu, Pomerania
.
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Afterward he held various appointments as a diplomat and a military inspector. In 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
he held an important army command but was involved in the crushing defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
. Wounded, he managed to escape the French pursuit, but never commanded troops in combat again.
Early career
Rüchel was born on 21 July 1754 in Ziezeneff in what was then Prussian territory, but is now CieszeniewoCieszeniewo
Cieszeniewo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Świdwin, within Świdwin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately east of Świdwin and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin.Before 1945 the area was part of Germany...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
With the rank of Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
(colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
), Rüchel fought against the First French Republic during the War of the First Coalition. During the Siege of Mainz from 10 April to 23 July 1793, he commanded a brigade consisting of the Thadden and Legat Fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
Battalions and the Wolframsdorf Grenadier Battalion. After promotion to General-Major, he led the Prussian contingent during the Second Battle of Wissembourg
Second Battle of Wissembourg (1793)
The Second Battle of Wissembourg from 6 December 1793 to 9 February 1794 saw an army of the First French Republic under General Lazare Hoche fight a series of clashes against an army of Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and Hessians led by General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. There were significant...
. The units coming under his orders were eight battalions in the Infantry Regiments Kleist
Franz Kasimir von Kleist
Franz Casimir von Kleist was a lieutenant general and statesman of Kingdom of Prussia. He stemmed from a long line of poets and generals. Born 25 January 1736 in Stettin, he died on 30 March 1808...
# 12, Wolframsdorf # 37, and Hertzberg # 47, two foot jäger
Jäger
Jäger is the German word for "hunter", and also a common Jäger is the [[German language|German]] word for "[[hunter]]", and also a common Jäger is the [[German...
companies, three squadrons of the Wolfradt Hussar Regiment # 6, one and a half horse artillery batteries, and a half 6-pound foot battery.
On 23 May 1794, Rüchel led a column in a minor Prussian victory at the Battle of Kaiserslautern. On this occasion he led three battalions each of the Infantry Regiments Rüchel # 30 and Wolframsdorf, the Ernst Fusilier Battalion # 19, three foot jäger companies, three squadrons each of the Eben Hussar Regiment # 2 and Voss Dragoon Regiment # 11, two foot artillery batteries, and one horse artillery battery. At the Peace of Basel
Peace of Basel
The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France .* The first of the three treaties of 1795, France made peace with Prussia on 5 April; , * The Second was with Spain on 22 July, ending the War of the Pyrenees; and*...
in 1795, Prussian abandoned the First Coalition to concentrate her energies on the Third Partition of Poland
Third Partition of Poland
The Third Partition of Poland or Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1795 as the third and last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Background:...
.
1806 and later
In 1806 Rüchel was the commander-in-chief of the Infantry Regiment # 2. During the War of the Fourth CoalitionWar of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
, Rüchel was given command of the westernmost of the three Prussian armies. The other two armies were led by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick
Charles William Ferdinand , Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, was a sovereign prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and a professional soldier who served as a Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia...
and Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen was a Prussian general and the eldest son of Prince John Frederick of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen....
. In early October, Hohenlohe's army assembled near Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt
Rudolstadt is a town in the German Bundesland of Thuringia, close to the Thuringian Forest to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north....
and Brunswick's at Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
. Rüchel's army was split between Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
and Gotha
Gotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
with Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach's division farther south at Schmalkalden
Schmalkalden
- Notable people :*Christoph Cellarius, scholar, born 22 November 1638, died 4 June 1707 in Halle*Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach, colonel, born 16 April 1758, died 21 November 1827 at Białokosz...
and Johann Friedrich von Winning's detachment at Vacha
Vacha
Vacha may refer to:*Acorus calamus, Vacha an ayurvedic medicine, mentioned in the bible*Vacha Dam, a dam in Bulgaria*Vacha , a river in Bulgaria...
.
Emperor Napoleon I of France
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
thrust his 180,000-man army through the Frankenwald
Frankenwald
thumb|View to DöbrabergThe Franconian Forest is a mid-altitude mountain range in Northern Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the district of Upper Franconia and forms the geological connection between the Fichtelgebirge and the Thuringian Forest...
, winning the Battle of Schleiz
Battle of Schleiz
The Battle of Schleiz took place on October 9, 1806 in Schleiz, Germany between a Prussian-Saxon division under Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien and a part of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's I Corps under the command of Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon. It was the first clash of the War of...
on 9 October and the Battle of Saalfeld
Battle of Saalfeld
The Battle of Saalfeld saw Marshal Lannes and a division of his V Corps defeat 8,300 Prussians under Prince Louis Ferdinand.-Battle:Prince Louis Ferdinand was one of the principal advocates of resuming war against the French....
on 10 October. The Prussian high command concentrated their armies on the west bank of the Saale
Saale
The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...
River. They planned for Brunswick to move north toward Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, while Hohenlohe covered his eastern flank by defending at Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
. On 14 October, Brunswick's army ran head on into Louis Davout's III Corps near Auerstedt and was badly defeated. Meanwhile, Napoleon fell on Hohenlohe at the Battle of Jena with the bulk of his army. Rüchel had been told to stay at Weimar until Saxe-Weimar's division arrived. He made the soldierly decision to march at once with his 15,000 troops to assist Hohenlohe. Unfortunately, by the time his corps arrived, the battle was lost.
Historian David G. Chandler
David G. Chandler
David G. Chandler was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Oxford University awarded him the D. Litt. in 1991...
argues that Rüchel was unfairly criticized for his belated appearance. He received news of the battle at 9:00 AM and left his camp at Weimar immediately. His troops marched five kilometers in one hour, then they deployed from march columns into platoon columns with flank guards out and the artillery at the ready. At 10:30 AM, he got a misleading note from Hohenlohe saying that the battle was going well. Around noon Hohenlohe sent him another message asking for immediate assistance. Just before his troops reached Kapellendorf
Kapellendorf
Kapellendorf is a municipality in the Weimarer Land district of Thuringia, Germany....
around 1:00 PM, a courier brought news that the Prussian army was defeated. It took Rüchel a total of four hours to move 12 kilometers, including the time it took to break camp; this was not a slow pace by Prussian standards. He brought 15,000 troops and 40 field pieces to the battlefield. Altogether, there were 25 squadrons from five cavalry regiments, three foot jäger companies, 14 musketeer battalions from seven infantry regiments, four fusilier battalions, two grenadier battalions, three foot batteries, and two horse batteries.
Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach
Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach
Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach , Prussian soldier, was born at Schmalkalden, and educated at Heilbronn and Stuttgart, devoting himself chiefly to mathematics....
, Hohenlohe's chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
, directed Rüchel to move east from Kapellendorf. Dutifully, he advanced his corps across the Herressener Bach in echelon order, but with both flanks in the air. Chandler notes that the unwise decision to attack was Hohenlohe's. Soon after it was committed to battle, Hohenlohe rode up to take personal command of the corps. Though the French V Corps of Marshal Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, was a Marshal of France. He was one of Napoleon's most daring and talented generals. Napoleon once commented on Lannes: "I found him a pygmy and left him a giant"...
was stopped in its tracks, Rüchel's left was soon turned by one of Marshal Nicolas Soult's IV Corps divisions. Instructing his cavalry to cover a retreat, Rüchel ordered his infantry to fall back. His cavalry came under a terrific bombardment by French artillery and the regiments were thrown into confusion. At this moment, Marshal Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
directed the French Reserve Cavalry into the contest, with a division of cuirassiers in the lead. Without cavalry protection, Rüchel's troops were ridden over and sent fleeing to the rear in irretrievable rout.
Wounded, Rüchel narrowly avoided capture during the next few weeks. During the maneuvers that ended in the Battle of Eylau
Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
on 7 and 8 February 1807, Rüchel commanded the 4,000-strong Prussian garrison of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
. At that time, Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq
Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq
Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq was a Prussian cavalry general best known for his command of the Prussian troops at the Battle of Eylau.-Biography:...
led the 9,000-man Prussian field force.
Rüchel died on 14 January 1823 in Haseleu, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
.