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Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin | |
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Born | Löwitz, Swedish Pomerania, Swedish Empire | 26 October 1684
Died | 6 May 1757 72) Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Holy Roman Empire | (aged
Allegiance | |
Service/ | Infantry |
Years of service | c. 1700–1757 |
Rank | Field Marshal |
Battles/wars |
Kurt Christoph, Graf von Schwerin (26 October 1684 – 6 May 1757) was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall , one of the leading commanders under Frederick the Great.
He was born in Löwitz, Swedish Pomerania, and at an early age entered the Dutch army, with which he served at Schellenberg and at Blenheim.
In 1707 he became a lieutenant-colonel in the army of the duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and was present at Ramillies and Malplaquet, and with the Swedish commander Stenbock at Gadebusch. In 1713 he was with Charles XII of Sweden in his captivity at Bender, and in 1718 was made major-general.
In 1719 he opposed the Hanoverian Army which invaded Mecklenburg (in the course of which he fought a brilliant action at Walsmühlen on 6 March 1719), and in the following year entered the service of the king of Prussia. At first he was employed in diplomatic missions, but in January 1722 – 1723 he received the command of an infantry regiment. In 1730, as a major-general, he was a member of the court martial which tried the crown prince Frederick for desertion, and in 1733, at the head of a Prussian army, conducted with great skill the delicate and difficult task of settling the Mecklenburg question.
In the following year he became lieutenant-general and in 1739 general of infantry. During the life-time of King Frederick William, Schwerin was also employed in much administrative work. Frederick the Great, on his accession, promoted Schwerin to the rank of general field marshal and made him a count. Early in the First Silesian War, he justified his sovereign's choice by his brilliant leadership at the Battle of Mollwitz (10 April 1741), which, when he had persuaded the king to leave the battlefield explaining that he may be captured as a defeat was likely, [1] converted a doubtful battle into a victory which decided for the time being the fate of Silesia.
After the conclusion of the war he was governor of the important fortresses of Brieg and Neisse. In the Second Silesian War (1744–1745), Schwerin commanded the army which, marching from Glatz, met the king's army under the walls of Prague, and in the siege and capture of that place he played a distinguished part (10 September 1744).
Some time afterwards, the king being compelled to retreat from Bohemia, Schwerin again distinguished himself, but, resenting a real or fancied slight, retired to his estate, to which, and its inhabitants, he devoted his energies during the years of peace.
He reappeared on the field at the outbreak of the Third Silesian War (1756), and during the first campaign conducted the war on the Silesian side of Bohemia; and in 1757, following the same route as in 1744, again joined Frederick at Prague. On 6 May followed the Battle of Prague; leading on a regiment of the left wing to the attack with its colours in his hand, he shouted "Let all brave Prussians follow me!" after which he was struck and killed by a cannonball. [2] Thomas Carlyle gives his cry as, "Heran, meine Kinder" ("This way, boys!"). [3]
Frederick erected a statue on the Wilhelmplatz (today part of Wilhelmstraße) to his foremost soldier, and a monument on the field of Prague commemorates the place where he fell. Since 1889 the 14th (3rd Pomeranians) Infantry of the German army had borne his name.
Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as Count , not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, it has formed part of family names since 1919.
The Silesian Wars were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia and Habsburg Austria for control of the Central European region of Silesia. The First (1740–1742) and Second (1744–1745) Silesian Wars formed parts of the wider War of the Austrian Succession, in which Prussia was a member of a coalition seeking territorial gain at Austria's expense. The Third Silesian War (1756–1763) was a theatre of the global Seven Years' War, in which Austria in turn led a coalition of powers aiming to seize Prussian territory.
In the Battle of Prague or Battle of Štěrboholy, fought on 6 May 1757 during the Third Silesian War, Frederick the Great's 64,000 Prussians forced 60,000 Austrians to retreat, but having lost 14,300 men, decided he was not strong enough to attack Prague. The battle is mentioned in the famous German ballad Lenore written in 1773 by Gottfried August Bürger.
The Battle of Kolín (Kolin) on 18 June 1757 saw 54,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 34,000 Prussians under Frederick the Great during the Third Silesian War. Prussian attempts to turn the Austrian right flank turned into piecemeal frontal attacks and were defeated in five and a half hours of combat. The Prussians lost 13,733 men, the Austrians 8,100. Frederick gave up the siege of Prague as well as his planned march on Vienna and retreated to Saxony.
The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War. It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders and King Frederick II of Prussia fled the battlefield, but the Prussian Army still managed to attain victory. This battle cemented Frederick's authority over the newly conquered territory of Silesia and gave him valuable military experience.
The Battle of Chotusitz, or Chotusice, sometimes called the Battle of Čáslav, took place on 17 May 1742, in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic; it was part of the 1740 to 1742 First Silesian War, itself a subsidiary of the wider War of the Austrian Succession.
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The Second Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia, and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. It was the second of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
Count Leopold Joseph von Daun, later Prince of Thiano, was an Austrian field marshal of the Imperial Army in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. Daun is considered one of the outstanding military leaders from his time.
The First Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia from Austria. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. It was the first of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
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The Third Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1756 to 1763 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the Seven Years' War. It was the last of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
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Heinrich von Manteuffel, was a Prussian lieutenant general. He participated in the Pomeranian campaign of 1715 and the first two of Frederick's Silesian wars, was wounded at Chotusitz, and commanded an infantry regiment at the beginning of the Seven Years' War. He received the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order Pour le Merite and his name is inscribed on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Schwerin, Kurt Christoph, Count von". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 393–394.