This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (May 2018)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the German article.
Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 6,496 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Otto Magnus von Schwerin]]; see its history for attribution.
You should also add the template {{Translated|de|Otto Magnus von Schwerin}} to the talk page.
Otto Magnus (Martin) von Schwerin (21 June 1701 - 14 August 1777) was a Prussian general in the army of Frederick the Great.
His parents were the Prussian colonel Johann Georg (Hans Jürgen) von Schwerin (3 May 1668 - 5 June 1712) and Maria Esther von Dockum. His mother was the daughter of Martin Arnd von Dockum from the Duchy of Geldern and Magdalena Esther von Loë of Oldenpiel. His brother Frederick Leopold (1699–1750) was also a Prussian general.
Military career
Schwerin's grave
As a 13-year-old boy (1714), he entered the Prussian military service on the Kürassierregiment zu Pferd „Kronprinz“ (Cuirassier-of-Horse Regiment "Crown Prince"). At the beginning of the First Silesian War Schwerin was already Lieutenant-Colonel and Commander of the Markgräflich Bayreutschen Dragoonsregiment ("Margraviateof Bayreuth's Dragoon Regiment"). Both his regiment and himself, however, did not gain any laurels in the battles at Mollwitz in 1741 and Chotusitz in 1742: the latter was particularly painful, when his regiment was dispersed by the enemy cavalry before the advance. In addition, he was seriously wounded and captured by the Austrians. Frederick the Great then decreed the royal disgrace of his cavalry.
Returning to his garrison town of Pasewalk after the peace, Schwerin devoted himself with zeal to the intense training of his regiment. Frederick II was very satisfied with his work and ordered the commanders of the three East Prussian Dragoon regiments to go to Pasewalk and learn from Schwerin.
Schwerin's fame came on 4 June 1745, in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg, by the famous charge of his regiment Bayreuth under Gessler and his leadership. After the battle Frederick the Great said to him, "Schwerin, such a deed as this day is not to be found in all the Roman history," and rewarded Schwerin with the promotion to major general and the award of the Order Pour le Mérite. Later, Schwerin also got the territorial administrative governorship (Amthauptmann) of the Prussian towns of Stettin and Fischhausen, which earned 10,000 thaler annual income.
King Friedrich was less satisfied with Schwerin's achievements in peacetime, because the general was soon known for having fun carousing with his officers. Frederick exhorted him "to stop from drinking," but without success. In 1755, during the autumn maneuver at Stargard, Schwerin received such a sharp reprimand from the king, "A mischief that pulls him once more." He then withdrew to his estates in Pomerania and asked for leave, which however was not granted. After a year, the Seven Years' War broke out and Frederick urged Schwerin to resume the command of his regiment, which the General did. In 1756, Schwerin was promoted to lieutenant-general, and distinguished himself again in the battle of Lobositz (1 October 1756), but he took leave in 1757. On account of his conflict with Frederick II, he was never raised to the rank of baron or count, and von Schwerin remained a simple lord.
In 1761, Otto von Schwerin, who lived in Busow, bought the Dargibell estate from Leonhard von Eickstedt. The hard-drinking rider general built a pavilion with a wine cellar, the so-called "drinking house", on a trench-guarded tower hill. There he celebrated hunting and drinking bouts with his former officers from Pasewalk.
Otto Magnus von Schwerin died on his Busow estate near Anklam on 14 August 1777.
Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Seydlitz was a Prussian officer, lieutenant general, and among the greatest of the Prussian cavalry generals. He commanded one of the first Hussar squadrons of Frederick the Great's army and is credited with the development of the Prussian cavalry to its efficient level of performance in the Seven Years' War. His cavalryman father retired and then died while Seydlitz was still young. Subsequently, he was mentored by Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Seydlitz's superb horsemanship and his recklessness combined to make him a stand-out subaltern, and he emerged as a redoubtable Rittmeister in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748) during the First and Second Silesian Wars.
Kurt Christoph, Graf von Schwerin was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall, one of the leading commanders under Frederick the Great.
Hans Joachim von Zieten, sometimes spelled Johann Joachim von Ziethen,, also known as Zieten aus dem Busch, was a cavalry general in the Prussian Army. He served in four wars and was instrumental in several victories during the reign of Frederick the Great, most particularly at Hohenfriedberg and Torgau. He is also well known for a raid into the Holy Roman Empire during the Second Silesian War, known as Zieten's Ride. After engaging in a reputed 74 duels, and fighting in four wars, he died in his bed at the age of 86.
The Cuirassier Regiment "Queen" (Pomeranian) No. 2 was a Prussian cavalry regiment. Formed in 1717 as Dragoner-Regiment Nr.5 Bayreuth Dragoner it was originally a dragoon regiment and was part of the Prussian order of battle until 1918. The Bayreuth Dragoons achieved fame for their role in winning the Battle of Hohenfriedberg in 1745. In 1819 it was transformed into a cuirassier regiment.
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, who were retreating from defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, and troops of the First French Empire under Marshals Murat, Bernadotte, and Soult, who were pursuing them. In this War of the Fourth Coalition action, the French inflicted a severe defeat on the Prussians, driving them from the neutral city. Lübeck is an old Baltic Sea port approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Hamburg.
Friedrich Leopold Graf von Gessler (or Geßler; was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall and one of Frederick the Great's most famous cavalry generals.
"Der Hohenfriedberger", also called "Hohenfriedberger Marsch" or "Der Hohenfriedberger Marsch", is one of the most classic and well known German military marches. It takes its name from the victory of the Prussians over the allied Austrians and Saxons on June 4, 1745 during the Second Silesian War at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg, near Striegau.
In the Battle of Prenzlau or Capitulation of Prenzlau on 28 October 1806 two divisions of French cavalry and some infantry led by Marshal Joachim Murat intercepted a retreating Prussian corps led by Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen. In this action from the War of the Fourth Coalition, Hohenlohe surrendered his entire force to Murat after some fighting and a parley. Prenzlau is located about 90 kilometers north of Berlin in Brandenburg.
The Capitulation of Pasewalk on 29 October 1806 resulted in the surrender of Oberst (Colonel) von Hagen's 4,200 Prussian soldiers to an inferior force of two French light cavalry brigades led by Generals of Brigade Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud and Antoine Lasalle. The Prussians were completely demoralized after a two-week-long retreat following their decisive defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. Pasewalk is 110 kilometers north of Berlin and about 40 kilometers west of Szczecin (Stettin), Poland.
In the Capitulation of Stettin on 29–30 October 1806, Lieutenant General Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg surrendered the garrison and fortress to a much smaller French light cavalry brigade led by General of Brigade Antoine Lasalle. This event was one of a number of surrenders by demoralized Prussian soldiers to equal or inferior French forces after their disastrous defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October. Stettin, now Szczecin, Poland, is a port city on the Oder River near the Baltic Sea, about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northeast of Berlin.
Joachim Bernhardt von Prittwitz and Gaffron (1726–1793) was a Prussian officer credited with saving the life of Frederick the Great at the Battle of Kunersdorf. At the time, he was a cavalry captain in Hans Joachim von Zieten's Hussar regiment. He became the head of gendarmes regiment, and inspector general of the cavalry of Brandenburg March and Magdeburg in 1775. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1785 and general of cavalry in 1788. Frederick awarded him the Order Pour le Mérite and the Order of the Black Eagle. In 1851, Prittwitz was included on the panels of the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great as one of the key figures in the establishment of the Prussia state.
Karl Wilhelm von Dieskau was a Prussian lieutenant general and general inspector of the artillery. He participated in twelve campaigns, ten battles, nine sieges. He received the Black Eagle Order, the Order Pour le Mérite, and was included in 1851 on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great. He is general credited with creating Frederick the Great's vaunted horse artillery.
Gustav Bogislav von Münchow was a Prussian general. In the early years of the reign of Frederick the Great, Münchow was not only a soldier and a diplomatic confidant, but he also earned a reputation for the improvement of Prussian military medical care. He was honored with the Black Eagle Order and his name is listed on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.
Dubislav Friedrich von Platen was a Prussian officer in Frederick the Great's army. A cavalry general, he was also Governor of Königsberg, a Knight of the Order of Saint John, and a recipient of the Order of the Black Eagle. An active cavalry officer in all of the wars fought by Frederick—the War of Austrian Succession, the Second Silesian War, the Seven Years' War and, finally, the War of Bavarian Succession — he was commemorated on Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great in 1851 erected by Frederick's great-great nephew, Frederick William IV.
Hans Friedrich von Platen was a royal Prussian general of the cavalry. While in service in the Prussian Army, he fought in the Great Turkish War, the War of Spanish Succession and the Great Northern War. Both of his sons were Prussian generals,; the youngest, Dubislav Friedrich von Platen, was a trusted and successful general of Frederick the Great.
Christoph Carl von Bülow was the Royal Prussian General of the Cavalry, commander of the Dragoons regiment Markgraf von Anspach-Bayreuth, general inspector of the cavalry in Prussia, Knight of the Black Eagle Order, as well as official chief of Memel and Oletzkow. His name is included on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.
Anton Friedrich von Krockow (4 January 1714 – 7 September 1778) was a Prussian lieutenant general.
Johann Paul von Werner was chief of the Prussian Hussar Regiment No. 6 ; he also received the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite. Initially in Austrian service, he fought against Spain, France, the Ottoman Empire and against Prussia. One of Frederick the Great's trusted diplomats, Hans Karl von Winterfeldt, recruited him into Prussian service in 1750; subsequently, he fought for Prussia against the Austrians in the Seven Years' War and the War of Bavarian Succession. He was wounded once, and taken prisoner several times. The Prussian playwright Gotthold Lessing modeled the character of the sergeant in his Minna von Barnhelm on Werner.
Peter Ernst von Pennavaire was the son of a French advocate (attorney) in Toulouse who fled France in about 1685. He served in the Prussian army, achieving the rank of lieutenant general of cavalry and proprietor of the Leib-Carabiniers. He was the recipient of the Black Eagle Order and Pour le Mérite. At age 80, he led his cavalry in a charge at the Battle of Breslau at the Austrian front, and died of complications from injuries he received there.
The 13 Cuirassier regiments of Old Prussia were formed in the mid-17th to mid-18th centuries, and formed the basis of Frederick the Great's vaunted cavalry.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
