Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz
Encyclopedia
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...
soldier and one of the greatest German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
s.
Early life
Seydlitz was born in KalkarKalkar
Kalkar is a municipality in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the Rhine, approx. 10 km south-east of Cleves. The most famous building of Kalkar is its church St...
in the Duchy of Cleves
Duchy of Cleves
The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
, where his father Daniel Florian von Seydlitz, a major of Prussian cavalry, was stationed. After his father's death in 1728 his mother brought him up in straitened circumstances , but at the age of fourteen he went as a page to the court of the Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
Frederick William
Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt was born 17 November 1700, Oranienbaum Castle near Dessau and died 4 March 1771, Wildenbruch Castle. He was Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt from 1711 to 1771 and a knight of the Order of the Black Eagle...
of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Brandenburg-Schwedt
Brandenburg-Schwedt was a cadet line of the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg-Prussia who administered territories in the north of the Margraviate of Brandenburg...
, who had been his father's colonel. During this time under the "Mad" Margrave, Seydlitz conceived his passion for tobacco, women, and feats of daredevil horsemanship. He acquired a superb mastery of horsemanship, and many stories tell of his feats, the best known of which involved riding between the sails of a windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
in full swing.
Early career
In 1740 Seydlitz received a commission as a cornetCornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
in the margrave's regiment of Prussian cuirassier
Cuirassier
Cuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
s. Serving as a subaltern in the First Silesian War, he was taken prisoner in May 1742 after so gallant a defence that King Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
offered to exchange an Austrian
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
captain for him. In 1743 the king made him a captain in the 4th Hussars, and he brought his squadron to a state of conspicuous efficiency. He served through the Second Silesian War, and after Hohenfriedberg
Battle of Hohenfriedberg
The Battle of Hohenfriedberg or Hohenfriedeberg, also known as the battle of Striegau, now Dobromierz, was one of the crowning achievements of Frederick the Great...
won promotion to major at the age of twenty-four.
At the close of the war Seydlitz had an opportunity of successfully handling 15 squadrons in front of the enemy, and this, with other displays of his capacity of leading cavalry in the searching tests of Frederick's reviews, secured his promotion in 1752 to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and in 1753 to the command of the 8th cuirassiers. In his hands this regiment soon became a pattern to the rest of the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
. In 1755 he was made colonel.
Seven Years' War
The next year, the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
broke out. In May 1757, regardless of the custom of keeping the heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry is a class of cavalry whose primary role was to engage in direct combat with enemy forces . Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, they were generally mounted on large powerful horses, and were often equipped with some form of scale,...
in reserve, he brought his regiment forward to join the advance guard at the Battle of Prague; he nearly lost his life attempting to ride through a marshy pool. Also, at Kolin
Battle of Kolin
-Results:The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war. This disaster forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice...
in June 1757, at the head of a cavalry brigade, he distinguished himself in checking the Austrian pursuit by a brilliant charge. Two days later, the king made him major-general and awarded him the Orden Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
. He felt he had deserved the promotion for a long time, for he responded to Hans Joachim von Zieten
Hans Joachim von Zieten
Hans Joachim von Zieten , also known as Zieten aus dem Busch, was a cavalry general in the Prussian Army...
's congratulations by saying, "It was high time, Excellency, if they wanted more work out of me. I am already thirty-six." Excepting this, Seydlitz was generally admired for his modesty and his virtues, both private and military, with a supreme coup d'œil
Coup d'œil
Coup d'œil is a term taken from French, that more or less corresponds to the words glimpse or glance in English. The literal meaning is "stroke of [the] eye"....
that allowed him to utilize the cavalry to its full potential.
In the dismal weeks that followed the disaster of Kolin, Seydlitz asserted his energy and spirit in cavalry encounters on four occasions. On the morning of the Battle of Rossbach
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place during the Seven Years' War near the village of Roßbach, in the Electorate of Saxony. Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire...
(1757-11-05), Frederick superseded two senior generals and placed Seydlitz in command of the whole of his cavalry. The battle resulted in the complete rout and disorganization of the enemy, and in achieving the result only seven battalions of Frederick's army had fired a shot - the rest had been the work of Seydlitz and his 38 squadrons. The same night, the king awarded him the Order of the Black Eagle
Order of the Black Eagle
The Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg . In his Dutch exile after WWI, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family...
, and promoted him lieutenant-general. Unfortunately, during the melee he had received a wound, and remained out of action for four months. Seydlitz' health was a frequent problem, undermined by his notorious promiscuity under the Margrave, and even the slightest wound incapacitated him.
Seydlitz rejoined the king in 1758, and at the Battle of Zorndorf
Battle of Zorndorf
The Battle of Zorndorf was a battle fought on August 25, 1758 during the Seven Years' War, fought between the forces of the Russians troops under the command of Count William Fermor – and a Prussian army under King Frederick the Great...
, Seydlitz's cavalry again saved the day. At Hochkirch, with 108 squadrons he covered the Prussian retreat, and in the disaster of Kunersdorf
Battle of Kunersdorf
The Battle of Kunersdorf, fought in the Seven Year's War, was Frederick the Great's most devastating defeat. On August 12, 1759, near Kunersdorf , east of Frankfurt , 50,900 Prussians were defeated by a combined allied army 59,500 strong consisting of 41,000 Russians and 18,500 Austrians under...
, he received a severe wound in a hopeless attempt to storm a hill held by the Russians. During his convalescence he married Countess Albertine Hacke. He rejoined the army in May 1760, but his health was so impaired that Frederick sent him home again. While in the capital, he helped organise a defence of the city during the Austro-Russian Raid on Berlin
Raid on Berlin
The Raid on Berlin took place in October 1760 during the Seven Years' War when Austrian and Russian forces occupied the Prussian capital of Berlin for several days. After raising money from the city, and with the approach of further Prussian reinforcements, the occupiers withdrew...
. Although he was unable to prevent the enemy from briefly occupying the city, Frederick later praised him for his conduct.
Seydlitz did not reappear at the front until 1761. He received command of a wing of Prince Henry's
Prince Henry of Prussia
Frederick Henry Louis , commonly known as Henry , was a Prince of Prussia. He also served as a general and statesman, and, in 1786, was suggested as a candidate for a monarch for the United States....
army, composed of troops of all arms, and many doubts were expressed as to his fitness for this command, as his service had hitherto been with the cavalry exclusively. He answered his critics with his conduct at Freiberg
Battle of Freiberg
The Battle of Freiberg was fought on October 29, 1762 and was the last great battle of the Seven Years' War.-Background:Prince Henry of Prussia, younger brother of King Frederick II of Prussia, although commanding an army made up mostly of ‘second line’ troops and free- battalions, decided to take...
on October 29, 1762, in which, leading his infantry and his cavalry in turn, he decided the day.
Later life
After the Treaty of HubertusburgTreaty of Hubertusburg
thumb|right|300px|Hubertusburg, WermsdorfThe Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg by Prussia, Austria, and Saxony. Together with the Treaty of Paris, it marked the end of the French and Indian War and of the Seven Years' War. The treaty ended the continental...
(1763) he became inspector-general
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
of the cavalry in Silesia
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919.-Geography:The territory comprised the bulk of the former Bohemian crown land of Silesia and the County of Kladsko, which King Frederick the Great had conquered from the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th...
, where eleven regiments were permanently stationed and where Frederick sent all his most promising officers to be trained by him.
In 1767, Seydlitz was made a general of cavalry, but his later years were clouded by domestic unhappiness. His wife was unfaithful to him, and his two daughters, each several times married, were both divorced, the elder once and the younger twice. Some misunderstanding brought to an end his formerly close friendship with the king, and only in his last illness, a few weeks before his death, did the two meet again. Seydlitz died of paralysis at Ohlau in Silesia in 1773.