Karl Freiherr von Müffling
Encyclopedia
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 generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
Biography
Born in HalleHalle, 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...
, Muffling entered the Prussian army in 1790.
In 1799 Muffling contributed to a military dictionary edited by Lieutenant W. von Leipziger, and in the winter of 1802-1803, being then a subaltern
Subaltern (rank)
A subaltern is a chiefly British military term for a junior officer. Literally meaning "subordinate," subaltern is used to describe commissioned officers below the rank of captain and generally comprises the various grades of lieutenant. In the British Army the senior subaltern rank was...
, he was appointed to the newly-formed general staff as quartermaster-lieutenant. He had already done survey work, and was now charged with survey duties under the astronomer Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach (1754–1832). In 1805, when in view of a war with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
the army was placed on a war footing, Müffling was promoted captain and assigned to the general staffs, successively, of General von Wartensleben, 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....
and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
.
In 1806 Muffling served under Hohenlohe, Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and Blücher, and was included in the capitulation of the latter's corps at Ratekau
Ratekau
Ratekau is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km northeast of Lübeck.It is the place where Blücher surrendered after the Battle of Lübeck in 1806....
on 7 November 1806, the day after the Battle of Lübeck
Battle of Lübeck
The Battle of Lübeck took place on 6 November 1806 in Lübeck, Germany between soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and troops of the First French Empire under Marshals Joachim Murat, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, and Nicolas Soult...
. After this he entered the civil service of the Duke of Weimar. He rejoined the army on the outbreak of the War of Liberation
War of liberation
A War of liberation is a conflict which is primarily intended to bring freedom or independence to a nation or group. Examples might include a war to overthrow a colonial power, or to remove a dictator from power. Such wars are often unconventional...
in 1813, and was placed on the headquarters staff of the army of Silesia. His business qualities and common sense were greatly valued, though the temperamental differences between Müffling and August von Gneisenau
August von Gneisenau
August Wilhelm Antonius Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau was a Prussian field marshal. He was a prominent figure in the reform of the Prussian military and the War of Liberation.-Early life:...
often led to friction, especially as the former was in a measure the representative of the antiquated topographical school of strategists, to whom (rightly in the main) the disaster of the Battle of Jena was attributed. In the interval between the first occupation of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, Müffling served as chief of the staff to the Russian General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly , was a Russian Field Marshal and Minister of War during Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and War of the Sixth Coalition.-Early life:...
and to General Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf
Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf
Friedrich Emil Ferdinand Heinrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf , born and died in Berlin, was a Prussian field marshal and a member of the old junker family von Kleist....
. He was Prussian commissioner at the Duke of Wellington's
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
headquarters in the Waterloo campaign, and was involved in the various controversies which centred round the events at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
on June 16, 1815.
After the final fall of Napoleon Muffling served on the staff of the army of occupation in France and was for some months military governor of Paris. He spent a part of his time on the Rhine in survey work, and was employed by King Frederick William III in various diplomatic missions. In 1821 he became chief of the general staff at Berlin, and though he has been accused of indulging his taste for topographical work at the expense of training for war, his work was not wasted, for he gave an excellent organization to the general staff, and executed elaborate and useful surveys. In 1829 he visited Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and St Petersburg in connection with negotiations for peace between Russia and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. He took a prominent part in the military and civil history of Prussia, and from 1838-1847 was governor of Berlin. He was also the inventor of a system of hachuring
Hachure map
Hachures are an older mode of representing relief. They show orientation of slope, and by their thickness and overall density they provide a general sense of steepness. Being non-numeric, they are less useful to a scientific survey than contours, but can successfully communicate quite specific...
for maps. Failing health compelled his retirement in the latter year, and he died on the 10 January 1851, at his estate of Ringhofen near 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...
.