Hans Karl von Winterfeldt
Encyclopedia
Hans Karl von Winterfeldt (April 4, 1707 – September 8, 1757), Prussia
n general, was born at Vanselow Castle (now in Siedenbrünzow
, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) in Swedish Pomerania
, he was Lord of several estates. His education was imperfect, and in later life he always regretted his want of familiarity with the French language
. He entered the cuirassier
regiment of his uncle, Major-General von Winterfeld (now the 12th) until 1720, and was promoted cornet
after two years service. But he was fortunate enough, by his stature and soldierly bearing, to attract the notice of Frederick William I
, who transferred him to the so-called giant regiment of grenadiers as a lieutenant
. Before long he became a personal aide-de-camp
to the king, and in 1732 he was sent with a party of selected non-commissioned officer
s to assist in the organization of the Russia
n army.
While the guest of Marshal Munnich
at St. Petersburg, Winterfeldt fell in love with and married his cousin Julie von Maltzahn, who was the marshal's stepdaughter and a maid-of-honor to the grand-duchess Elizabeth. On returning to Prussia he became intimate with the crown prince
, afterwards Frederick the Great
, whom he accompanied in the Rhine campaign of 1734
. This intimacy, in view of his personal relations with the king, made Winterfeldt's position very delicate and difficult, for Frederick William
and his son were so far estranged that, as every one knows, the prince was sent before a court-martial
by his father, on the charge of attempting to desert, and was condemned to death. Winterfeldt was the prince's constant friend through all these troubles, and on Frederick II's accession, he was promoted major and appointed aide-de-camp to the new sovereign.
When the first War of the Austrian Succession
broke out Winterfeldt was sent on a mission to St. Petersburg, which, however, failed. He then commanded a grenadier battalion with great distinction at the battle of Mollwitz
, and won further glory in the celebrated minor combat of Rothschloss, where the Prussian hussar
s defeated the Austria
ns (May 17, 1741). One month from this day Winterfeldt was made a colonel
, as also was Zieten
, the cavalry
leader who had actually commanded at Rothschloss, though the latter, as the older in years and service, bitterly resented the rapid promotion of his junior. After this Frederick chiefly employed Winterfeldt as a confidential staff officer to represent his views to the generals, a position in which he needed extraordinary tact and knowledge of men and affairs, and as a matter of course made many enemies.
In the short peace before the outbreak of the second war he was constantly in attendance upon the king, who employed him again, when the war was resumed, in the same capacity as before, and, after he had been instrumental in winning a series of successful minor engagements, promoted him (1745) major-general, to date from January 1743.
For his great services at Hohenfriedberg
, Frederick gave him the captaincy of Tatiau, which carried with it a salary of 500 thaler
s a year. Later on he became Governor of Kolberg in Pomerania. At Battle of Hennersdorf
, where the sudden and unexpected invasion of the Austro-Saxons
was checked by the vigour of Zieten, Winterfeldt arrived on the field in time to take a decisive share. Once again the rivals had to share their laurels, and Zieten actually wrote to the king in disparagement of Winterfeldt, receiving in reply a full and generous recognition of his own worth and services, coupled with the curt remark that the king intended to employ General von Winterfeldt in any way that he thought fit. During the ten years peace that preceded the next great war, Winterfeldt was in constant attendance upon the king, except when employed on confidential missions in the provinces or abroad. For example he was sent to London for negotiating the Convention of Westminster. In 1756 he was made a lieutenant-general and received the Order of the Black Eagle
and the Order Pour le Mérite
.
In this year he was feverishly active in collecting information as to the coalition that was secretly preparing to crush Russia, and in preparing for the war, he took a leading part in the discussions which eventuated in Frederick's decision to strike the first blow. He was at Pirna
with the king, and advised him against absorbing the Saxon prisoners into his own army. He accompanied Schwerin
in the advance on Prague in 1757 and took a conspicuous part in the battle there. After the defeat of Kolin
, however, Winterfeldt, whom Frederick seems to have regarded as the only man of character whom he could trust to conduct the more delicate and difficult operations of the retreat, found himself obliged to work in close contact with the king's brother, Prince William
, the duke of Brunswick-Bevern, Zieten and others of his enemies.
The operations which followed may be summarized by the phrase everything went wrong; after an angry scene with his brother, the prince of Prussia retired from the army, and when Frederick gave Winterfeldt renewed marks of his confidence, the general animosity reached its height. As it chanced, however, Winterfeldt fell a victim to his own bravery in the skirmish of Moys
near Görlitz
on 7 September. His wound, the first serious wound he had ever received, proved fatal and he died on 8 September.
The court enmities provoked by his twenty years unbroken intimacy and influence with the king, and the denigration of less gifted or less fortunate soldiers, followed him beyond death. Prince William expressed the bitterness of his hatred in almost his last words, and Prince Henry
's memoirs give a wholly incredible portrait of Winterfeldt's arrogance, dishonesty, immorality and incapacity. Frederick, however, was not apt to encourage incompetence in his most trusted officers, and as for the rest, Winterfeldt stood first among the very few to whom the king gave his friendship and his entire confidence. On hearing of Winterfeldt's death, he said, Einen Winterfeldt finde ich nie wieder (I will never ever find again another Winterfeldt.), and a little later, Er war ein guter Mensch, ein Seelenmensch, er war mein Freund (He was a good man, a soulful man; he was my friend.).
Winterfeldt's strength was thinking and acting strategically and his main vision was a united German Empire under a Protestant Emperor.
Winterfeldt was buried at his estate of Barschau, whence, a hundred years later, his body was transferred to the Invalidenfriedhof at Berlin
. A statue was erected to his memory, which stands on the Wilhelmplatz
there, and another was erected in the Bodemuseum on the Museumsinsel. Another forms part of the memorial to Frederick the Great at the boulevard Unter den Linden
.
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n general, was born at Vanselow Castle (now in Siedenbrünzow
Siedenbrünzow
Siedenbrünzow is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany....
, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) in Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
, he was Lord of several estates. His education was imperfect, and in later life he always regretted his want of familiarity with the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. He entered the 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...
regiment of his uncle, Major-General von Winterfeld (now the 12th) until 1720, and was promoted cornet
Cornet (military rank)
Cornet was originally the third and lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, after captain and lieutenant. A cornet is a new and junior officer.- Traditional duties :The cornet carried the troop standard, also known as a "cornet"....
after two years service. But he was fortunate enough, by his stature and soldierly bearing, to attract the notice of Frederick William I
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
, who transferred him to the so-called giant regiment of grenadiers as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Before long he became a personal aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the king, and in 1732 he was sent with a party of selected non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s to assist in the organization of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n army.
While the guest of Marshal Munnich
Burkhard Christoph von Munnich
Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich was a Danish-born German soldier-engineer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He was the major Russian Army reformer and founder of several elite military formations during the reign of Anna of Russia. As a statesman, he is...
at St. Petersburg, Winterfeldt fell in love with and married his cousin Julie von Maltzahn, who was the marshal's stepdaughter and a maid-of-honor to the grand-duchess Elizabeth. On returning to Prussia he became intimate with the crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
, afterwards Frederick the Great
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...
, whom he accompanied in the Rhine campaign of 1734
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
. This intimacy, in view of his personal relations with the king, made Winterfeldt's position very delicate and difficult, for Frederick William
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
and his son were so far estranged that, as every one knows, the prince was sent before a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
by his father, on the charge of attempting to desert, and was condemned to death. Winterfeldt was the prince's constant friend through all these troubles, and on Frederick II's accession, he was promoted major and appointed aide-de-camp to the new sovereign.
When the first War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
broke out Winterfeldt was sent on a mission to St. Petersburg, which, however, failed. He then commanded a grenadier battalion with great distinction at the battle of Mollwitz
Battle of Mollwitz
The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on April 10, 1741, during the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession. It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders but Frederick the Great still managed to...
, and won further glory in the celebrated minor combat of Rothschloss, where the Prussian hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s defeated the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns (May 17, 1741). One month from this day Winterfeldt was made a 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...
, as also was Zieten
Hans Joachim von Zieten
Hans Joachim von Zieten , also known as Zieten aus dem Busch, was a cavalry general in the Prussian Army...
, the 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...
leader who had actually commanded at Rothschloss, though the latter, as the older in years and service, bitterly resented the rapid promotion of his junior. After this Frederick chiefly employed Winterfeldt as a confidential staff officer to represent his views to the generals, a position in which he needed extraordinary tact and knowledge of men and affairs, and as a matter of course made many enemies.
In the short peace before the outbreak of the second war he was constantly in attendance upon the king, who employed him again, when the war was resumed, in the same capacity as before, and, after he had been instrumental in winning a series of successful minor engagements, promoted him (1745) major-general, to date from January 1743.
For his great services at 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...
, Frederick gave him the captaincy of Tatiau, which carried with it a salary of 500 thaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s a year. Later on he became Governor of Kolberg in Pomerania. At Battle of Hennersdorf
Battle of Hennersdorf
The Battle of Hennersdorf, sometimes referred to as Catholic-Hennersdorf, was a minor encounter that took place on November 23, 1745 in Katholisch-Hennersdorf in Silesia during the War of the Austrian Succession. The Prussians under Frederick II defeated the Austrians under Prince Charles...
, where the sudden and unexpected invasion of the Austro-Saxons
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
was checked by the vigour of Zieten, Winterfeldt arrived on the field in time to take a decisive share. Once again the rivals had to share their laurels, and Zieten actually wrote to the king in disparagement of Winterfeldt, receiving in reply a full and generous recognition of his own worth and services, coupled with the curt remark that the king intended to employ General von Winterfeldt in any way that he thought fit. During the ten years peace that preceded the next great war, Winterfeldt was in constant attendance upon the king, except when employed on confidential missions in the provinces or abroad. For example he was sent to London for negotiating the Convention of Westminster. In 1756 he was made a lieutenant-general and received 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 the Order 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....
.
In this year he was feverishly active in collecting information as to the coalition that was secretly preparing to crush Russia, and in preparing for the war, he took a leading part in the discussions which eventuated in Frederick's decision to strike the first blow. He was at Pirna
Pirna
Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt...
with the king, and advised him against absorbing the Saxon prisoners into his own army. He accompanied Schwerin
Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin
Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall, one of the leading commanders under Frederick the Great.-Biography:...
in the advance on Prague in 1757 and took a conspicuous part in the battle there. After the defeat of 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...
, however, Winterfeldt, whom Frederick seems to have regarded as the only man of character whom he could trust to conduct the more delicate and difficult operations of the retreat, found himself obliged to work in close contact with the king's brother, Prince William
August Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Bevern
August Wilhelm, Duke of Brunswick-Bevern , Prussian soldier, son of Ernst Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick-Bevern, was born in Braunschweig in 1715, and entered the Prussian army in 1731, becoming colonel of an infantry regiment in 1739...
, the duke of Brunswick-Bevern, Zieten and others of his enemies.
The operations which followed may be summarized by the phrase everything went wrong; after an angry scene with his brother, the prince of Prussia retired from the army, and when Frederick gave Winterfeldt renewed marks of his confidence, the general animosity reached its height. As it chanced, however, Winterfeldt fell a victim to his own bravery in the skirmish of Moys
Battle of Moys
The Battle of Moys was a battle fought on September 7, 1757 during the Seven Years' War.A Prussian army of 13,000 men fought an Austrian army of double their size. The entire Prussian corps surrendered to the Austrians....
near Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
on 7 September. His wound, the first serious wound he had ever received, proved fatal and he died on 8 September.
The court enmities provoked by his twenty years unbroken intimacy and influence with the king, and the denigration of less gifted or less fortunate soldiers, followed him beyond death. Prince William expressed the bitterness of his hatred in almost his last words, and Prince Henry
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....
's memoirs give a wholly incredible portrait of Winterfeldt's arrogance, dishonesty, immorality and incapacity. Frederick, however, was not apt to encourage incompetence in his most trusted officers, and as for the rest, Winterfeldt stood first among the very few to whom the king gave his friendship and his entire confidence. On hearing of Winterfeldt's death, he said, Einen Winterfeldt finde ich nie wieder (I will never ever find again another Winterfeldt.), and a little later, Er war ein guter Mensch, ein Seelenmensch, er war mein Freund (He was a good man, a soulful man; he was my friend.).
Winterfeldt's strength was thinking and acting strategically and his main vision was a united German Empire under a Protestant Emperor.
Winterfeldt was buried at his estate of Barschau, whence, a hundred years later, his body was transferred to the Invalidenfriedhof at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. A statue was erected to his memory, which stands on the Wilhelmplatz
Wilhelmplatz
Wilhelmplatz is a former square in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany at the corner of Wilhelmstrasse and Voßstraße. The square also gave its name to a Berlin U-Bahn station which has since been renamed Mohrenstraße...
there, and another was erected in the Bodemuseum on the Museumsinsel. Another forms part of the memorial to Frederick the Great at the boulevard Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
.