Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz
Encyclopedia
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
, Niederschlesien - 3 February 1836 at Gut Zölling, Kreis Freystadt
Landkreis Freystadt i. Niederschles.
The Landkreis Freystadt i. Niederschles. was a district of the German state Prussia from 1816 to 1945. It was part of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia, before 1919 the Prussian Province of Silesia. On 1 January 1945 it included:...
, before Kreis Sagan, Niederschlesien) was a Prussia
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 of cavalry", the "hero of Dennewitz" and "liberator of Wittenberg", military governor of the Rhine province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
and of Breslau. He was Gutsherr of Zölling, which his wife had inherited, and the Gütern Ober- and Nieder-Briesnitz as well as Schönbrunn, all in the district Sagan.
As to the year of his birth, there are different statements: The year 1763 is belied by his gravestone inscription and the "Seniority List of the royal 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...
for the year 1801"; in his marriage certificate of 1787, his age is indicated as 28 years, according to which he would have been born in 1759. In other sources, one finds the years 1761 and 1764, though 1763 is more likely to be correct.
Family
Though nothing certain is known as to his parents, his mother was an only daughter from the old SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n noble family of Dobschütz. His father is thought to have been a civil servant in Brzeg
Brzeg
Brzeg is a town in southwestern Poland with 38,496 inhabitants , situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on the left bank of the Oder...
. Since almost every detail of his military career is known yet there is not a single reference to his parents or birthplace in the official documents, he may have been illegitimate or descended from an illegitimate branch of the family.
On 27 November 1787, as a 22-year-old second lieutenant, he married the 17-year-old Henriette von Braun (1770, probably at Gut Zölling - April 5, 1854, Glogau, Lower Silesia) at Gut Zölling. She was the eldest daughter of Hans Carl Christoph von Braun and Maria Sophia von Lehwald. The marriage remained childless, though they adopted Friedrich Heinrich Konrad Viktor von Lützow (1818–1831), a nephew of Henriette.
Training
After attending GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Brieg (before 1776), Dobschütz had begun his military career at 14 by entering the 11th Dragoon Regiment as a junker
Junker
A Junker was a member of the landed nobility of Prussia and eastern Germany. These families were mostly part of the German Uradel and carried on the colonization and Christianization of the northeastern European territories during the medieval Ostsiedlung. The abbreviation of Junker is Jkr...
(v. Mitzladd, v. Bosse, v. Voss), rising to ensign on 26 December 1778 and serving in the garrison at Sagan
Zagan
Zagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778-79. On 24 August 1785 he rose to second lieutenant in his dragoon regiment.
In July 1786 Peter von Biron
Peter von Biron
Peter von Biron was the last Duke of Courland from 1769 to 1795.Peter was born in Jelgava as the son of Ernst Johann von Biron, future Duke of Courland, and his wife Benigna von Trotha. When 16 years old, he was forced to follow his family into the Siberian exile. In 1769, Peter was given the...
, Duke of Courland, joined the garrison, as did the Duke of Sagan
Zagan
Zagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
in 1786. The July issue of the "Schlesischen Provinzialblätter" included the following: "around 6 o'clock at the Schultheater im Schloß of the officers were drilled. Herr Lieutenant von Dobschütz directed the whole and played the main role with old Beyfall. His Highness honoured him with a gold medal, costing 12 ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
s." In 1787 Dobschütz married.
First Coalition
On 30 May 1791 he became first lieutenant and on 13 May 1791 was appointed staff-captain (captain). Then, between 1793 and 1795, he joined the War of the First Coalition against the French (participating in the battles at PirmasensPirmasens
Pirmasens is a district-free city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It is famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called Pirmasens from 1818 until 1997, when it was renamed Südwestpfalz....
, Kaiserslautern
Battle of Kaiserslautern
The Battle of Kaiserslautern was a battle of the War of the First Coalition , fought near the German city of Kaiserslautern...
and Trippstadt
Trippstadt
Trippstadt is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
). During this time he remained in the 11th Dragoon Regiment and on 20 November 1794 he rose to the rank of major.
Grünberg
In 1795 he served in the garrison at GrünbergGrünberg
Grünberg is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany.- Neighbouring communities :To the north Grünberg borders the municipality Rabenau and the town Homberg , to the east the municipality Mücke , to the south the town Laubach and to the west the municipality Reiskirchen.- Constituent...
, where in 1798 his commander major-general von Voss remarked he was "a good staff officer, who was not lacking in military skills, and endeavours to gain more, brave before the enemy, who recommended himself". On 14 March 1799 he was appointed head of the 4th Squadron, in which post he twice weekly distributed Rumford's Soup
Rumford's Soup
Rumford's Soup was an early effort in scientific nutrition. It was invented by Count Rumford around 1800 as a ration for the prisoners and the poor of Bavaria, where he was employed as an advisor to the Duke....
to children and the poor. The "Schlesischen Provinzialblätter " wrote on 18 February 1804 "Herr Major von Dobschütz ...always worthy of the most notable awards, has become the first free-willing member of this institution. He also let this soup be prepared at his own expense." Already on 24 July 1798 he qualified for a rise to the canonicate at St Nikolai zu Magdeburg, awarded him by Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
.
Third and Fourth Coalitions
On 15 June 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and on 15 June 1806 to oberstOberst
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...
. Also in 1806 he took part in the Silesian campaign, in which he was captured by the French. On 13 March 1807 he had already been listed by the king for "replacement" (i.e. release from active service), but after the Peace of Tilsit (July 9, 1807) he was still part of a prisoner exchange. In a letter dated 20 December 1808 Dobschütz asked the king that he be reinstated in the army, but on 24 February 1809 this request was finally rejected.
Reluctantly withdrawing into civilian life, Dobschütz gathered round him a circle of like-minded Patriots. In January 1810 Dobschütz again asked the king to re-enlist him, but received a letter again rejecting the request on 28 February. The letter did, however, promise to make him an officer on half pay. On 1 November 1812 he was the temporary head of the Amt of the Landrat for Landkreis Sagan, his birthplace, all the while making repeated rejected requests to re-enlist.
Sixth Coalition
At the beginning of the War of the Sixth Coalition, on the very day of the Prussian declaration of war against France (16 March 1813) he made another request to join up. He was accepted on 1 April and from May, again as an Oberst, he was president of the organising-committee for the establishment of the Silesian LandwehrLandwehr
Landwehr, or Landeswehr, is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large scale, low strength fortifications...
en.
On 6 May 1813 he was made Divisions-Chef of the 2nd Division of the Silesian Landwehr of Landkreises of Glogau, Sagan, Sprottau, Schwiebus and Grünberg. On 23 May he received the command of Crossen
Crossen
Crossen may refer to:* Crossen an der Elster, municipality in Thuringia, Germany* Zwickau-Crossen, part of Zwickau in Saxony, Germany* Crossen , German name of Krosno Odrzańskie, Poland* part of the municipality Erlau in Saxony, Germany...
(in whose organisation he had been instrumental), and started on 24 May began with the Marsch. On 27 May he claimed a transition at Crossen - one for the Silesian Army and the important Berlin posts - against the French superiority under marshal Claude Victor-Perrin. Dobschütz deceived his opponent into thinking he had a military force that did not in fact exist - of 4.5 battalions and 5 squadrons the infantry was defective and the cavalry and artillery lacked munitions.
On 4 August 1813 Dobschütz was promoted to major-general in command of IV Army Corps ("von Tauentzien"), a reserve corps. In this role he took part in several coalition victories such as those in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
at Großbeeren, Zahna
Zahna
Zahna is a town and a former municipality in Wittenberg district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany not far from Federal Highway B 2 and about 11 km east of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. It was the seat of the former administrative community of Elbaue-Fläming...
(4 September 1813), Jüterbog and Dennewitz
Battle of Dennewitz
The Battle of Dennewitz took place on 6 September 1813 between the forces of the First French Empire and an army of Prussians and Russians of the Sixth Coalition. It occurred in Dennewitz, a village of Germany, in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W...
(6 September 1813), and most especially at Großenhain
Großenhain
Großenhain is a Große Kreisstadt in the district of Meißen, Saxony, Germany.-History:...
(Sachsen) and Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
(Sachsen-Anhalt), becoming known as the "hero of Dennewitz". Thus, for example, at Mühlberg on the Elbe (Brandenburg) on 19 September 1813 he beat 3 French chasseur
Chasseur
Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] is the designation given to certain regiments of French light infantry or light cavalry troops, trained for rapid action.-History:...
regiments and captured their commander Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord
Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord
Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord, 2nd Duke of Talleyrand, 2nd Duke of Dino , , was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars. As the son of Archambaud de Talleyrand-Périgord and Madeleine Olivier de Senozan de Viriville , he was the nephew of the minister Talleyrand...
, with only 1 squadron of black hussars and 2 squadrons of the Pommeranian Landwehr and colonel Slowaisky's two "Pulks" (i.e. regiments) of Cossacks.
After a short command at Berlin, on 22 October 1813 he began the siege of Wittenberg, held by the French under general Jean François Cornu de Lapoype. On the night of 12/13 January 1814, at 2am, he finally took its fortress, despite having requested the king to be relieved of this command on 20 November the previous year. An important source for the siege is the Diary of the siege artillery for the evening of 28 December 1813 to the morning of 13 January 1814, written by the "Plauzen, Obrist and commanding engineer-officers of the 4th Army Corps, tasked with managing the siege of Wittenberg" written on 14 November 1814. It contains the following account:
An unknown source quoted Dobschütz's words to his soldiers before the storming:
After the capture of Wittenberg he was commander of the corps blockading the citadel of 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...
and, after the corps took it on 16 May 1814, commandant of Erfurt. On 19 October 1814 Dobschütz was made military commandant of the Prussian occupying forces in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in the Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
, and in this post he set up a smoking ban in the city.
Memberships
- Brother of the St. Johannisloge Masonic lodgeMasonic LodgeThis article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
Zur Eintracht im Orient of Berlin (from 1817). Georg Friedrich Raschke (1772–1849) in 1837 painted an oil portrait of him as a Freemason. - Brother of the Freimaurer-St. Johannisloge Zur biederen Vereinigung im Orient of Groß-Glogau (from 1817)
- Brother (4th Degree) of the Freimaurer-Schottenloge Zur Vervollkommnung im Orient of Glogau (from 1817)
- Member of the Military Society of Berlin (1802–1805)
Honours
- Honorary doctorate at the philosophical faculty (entry in the dean's book for the faculty on 30 April 1814) and masters in the liberal artsLiberal artsThe term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
at the University of Wittenberg - Honorary doctorate in philosophy or possibly all four faculties at the University of ErfurtUniversity of ErfurtThe University of Erfurt is a public university located in Erfurt, Germany. Originally founded in 1379, the university was closed in 1816 for the next 177 years...
(22 May 1814 entry in the "Matricula Baccalariorum et Magistrorum") (Blatt 156 b, Stadtarchiv Erfurt) - A bastion in the old fortifications of Wittenberg was known as the "Dobschütz-Bastion" from 1864 (the 50th anniversary of the storming) until their reconstruction.
- On 13 January 1934 (the 120th anniversary of the storming) part of the Große Rothemarkstraße was renamed the Dobschützstraße, with the theology professor Ernst von DobschützErnst von DobschützErnst Adolf Alfred Oskar Adalbert von Dobschütz was a German theologian, textual critic, author of numerous books and professor at the University of Halle, the University of Breslau, and the University of Strasbourg...
representing the family. The name survives to this day, though "Eppeton" (pseudonym) criticised it during the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
:
- The first iron plaque by the road in the Rahmen der Straßentaufe is now lost - it read "To recapitulate / to the liberators of our city / from French domination / Major General / Leopold Wilhelm v. Dobschütz / and to the Prussian soldiers / who fell in the siege and / storming of the fortress. / The rewarding Lutherstadt Wittenberg / 13 January 1814 - 13 January 1934". This was replaced by an enamel plaque during the DDRGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(with the wrong date of 14 January), replaced itself by a new one after reunification.
Orders and decorations
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
2nd Class (1813, with blank field) - Russian Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
3rd Class (1813 with blank field) - Commander-cross of the Swedish Order of the SwordOrder of the SwordThe Order of the Sword is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Order of the Seraphim and the Order of the Polar Star.Awarded to officers, and originally intended as an award for bravery and particularly long or useful service, it...
(1813 for Zahna) - Iron Cross 1st Class (1813 for Dennewitz)
- Russian Order of Saint Anna 1st class (1813 for Mühlberg)
- Order of the Red EagleOrder of the Red EagleThe Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements...
3rd Class - Order of the Red Eagle 2nd class with oak leavesOak leaf clusterAn oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
(1815 for command of the Rhine Provinces) - Order of the Red Eagle 1st class with oak leaves (by a cabinet order of 16 January 1824)
- Service Cross (1825)
External links
- http://books.google.de/books?id=dGuImJatCnMC&pg=PA46&dq=%22von+Dobsch%C3%BCtz%22&lr=#PPA45,M1 Hermann Krüssel: Horatius aquisgranensis. Aachen im Spiegel des neulateinischen Dichters Johann Gerhard Joseph von Asten(1765–1831), Seite 45, Georg Olms Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3487127202 bzw. ISBN 9783487127200