Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Encyclopedia
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (ˈɡɛphaɐ̯t ˈleːbəʁɛçt fɔn ˈblʏçɐ; December 16, 1742 – September 12, 1819), Graf
(Count
), later elevated to Fürst
(Prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussia
n Generalfeldmarschall
(field marshal) 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 honoured with a bust
in the German
Walhalla temple
near Regensburg
.
The honorary citizen of Berlin
, Hamburg and Rostock
bore the nickname "Marschall Vorwärts" ("Marshal Forward") because of his approach to war
fare. A popular German
idiom
, "rangehen wie Blücher" ("attack it like Blücher"), meaning that someone is taking very direct and aggressive action, in war or otherwise, refers to Blücher.
, Mecklenburg
, a Baltic port in northern Germany. His family had been landowners in northern Germany since at least the 13th century.
He began his military career at sixteen, when he joined the Swedish Army
as a Hussar
. At the time Sweden
was at war with Prussia
in the Seven Years' War
. Blücher took part in the Pomeranian campaign
of 1760, where he was captured in a skirmish with Prussian Hussars. The colonel of the Prussian regiment, Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling
, was impressed with the young hussar and had him join his regiment.
He took part in the later battles of the Seven Years' War, and as a hussar
officer gained much experience of light cavalry work. In peace, however, his ardent spirit led him into excesses of all kinds, such as mock execution
of a priest suspected of supporting Polish uprisings in 1772. Due to this, he was passed over for promotion to Major
. Blücher sent in a rude letter of resignation, which Frederick the Great
granted in 1773: Der Rittmeister von Blücher kann sich zum Teufel scheren (Cavalry Captain von Blücher can go to the devil).
He then settled down to farming, and in fifteen years he had acquired an honorable independence, a wife, 7 children, and membership in the Freemasons
. During the lifetime of Frederick the Great
, Blücher was unable to return to the army, but after the king's death in 1786, he was reinstated as a major in his old regiment, the Red Hussars in 1787.
Blücher took part in the expedition to the Netherlands
in 1787, and the following year was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1789 he received Prussia's highest military order
, the Pour le Mérite
, and in 1794 he became colonel of the Red Hussars. In 1793 and 1794 he distinguished himself in cavalry actions against the French, and for his success at Kirrweiler
was promoted to major general. In 1801 he was promoted to lieutenant general.
, Blücher fought at Auerstedt
, repeatedly charging at the head of the Prussian cavalry, but too early and without success. In the retreat of the broken armies he commanded the rearguard of the army of Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
. Upon the capitulation
of the main body after the Battle of Prenzlau
on 28 October, he found his progress toward the northeast blocked. He led a remnant of the Prussian army away to the northwest, after having secured 34 cannon in cooperation with Gerhard von Scharnhorst
. At the Battle of Lübeck
his force was defeated by two French corps on 6 November. The next day, trapped against the Danish
frontier by 40,000 French troops, he was compelled to surrender with 7,800 soldiers at Ratekau
. Blücher insisted that a clause be written in the capitulation document that he had to surrender due to lack of provisions and ammunition, and that his soldiers be honoured by a French formation along the street. He was allowed to keep his sabre and to move freely, bound only by his word of honour, and soon was exchanged for Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno, and was actively employed in Pomerania, at Berlin
, and at Königsberg
until the conclusion of the war.
After the war, Blücher was looked upon as the natural leader of the Patriot Party, with which he was in close touch during the period of Napoleonic domination. But his hopes of an alliance with Austria
in the war of 1809 were disappointed. In this year he was made general of cavalry. In 1812 he expressed himself so openly on the alliance of Russia
with France
that he was recalled from his military governorship of Pomerania and virtually banished from the court
.
Following the start of the 1813 War of Liberation
, Blücher was again placed in high command, and he was present at Lützen
and Bautzen
. During the armistice
, he worked on the organization of the Prussian forces; when the war was resumed, he became commander-in-chief of the Army of Silesia, with August von Gneisenau
and Muffling as his principal staff officers and 40,000 Prussians and 50,000 Russians under his command.
The irresolution and divergence of interests usual in allied armies found in him a restless opponent. Knowing that if he could not induce others to co-operate he was prepared to attempt the task at hand by himself often caused other generals to follow his lead. He defeated Marshal Macdonald
at the Katzbach
, and by his victory over Marshal Marmont
at Möckern led the way to the decisive defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig
. This was the fourth battle between Napoleon and Blücher and the first that Blücher won. Leipzig was taken by Blücher's own army on the evening of the last day of the battle.
On the day of Möckern (October 16, 1813) Blücher was made a field marshal, and after the victory he pursued the French with his accustomed energy. In the winter of 1813–1814 Blücher, with his chief staff officers, was mainly instrumental in inducing the allied sovereigns to carry the war into France itself.
The combat of Brienne
and the Battle of La Rothière
were the chief incidents of the first stage of the celebrated campaign of 1814, and they were quickly followed by victories of Napoleon over Blücher at Champaubert
, Vauchamps
, and Montmirail
. But the courage of the Prussian leader was undiminished, and his victory against the vastly outnumbered French, at Laon
(March 9 and 10) practically decided the fate of the campaign.
After this, Blücher infused some of his energy into the operations of the Prince Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia, and at last this army and the Army of Silesia marched in one body directly towards Paris. The victory of Montmartre
, the entry of the allies into the French capital, and the overthrow of the First Empire
were the direct consequences.
Blücher was inclined to punish the city of Paris severely for the sufferings of Prussia at the hands of the French armies, but the allied commanders intervened. Blowing up the Jena Bridge near the Champ de Mars
was said to have been one of his contemplated acts.
On June 3, 1814, he was made Prince of Wahlstatt (in Silesia
on the Katzbach battlefield
). Soon afterward he paid a visit to England
, where he was received enthusiastically everywhere he went.
After the war he retired to Silesia, but the return of Napoleon from Elba
soon called him back to service. He was put in command of the Army of the Lower Rhine, with General August von Gneisenau
as his chief of staff. In the campaign of 1815, the Prussians sustained a serious defeat at the outset at Ligny
(June 16), in the course of which the old field marshal was repeatedly ridden over by cavalry and lay trapped under his dead horse for several hours, his life saved only by the devotion of his aide-de-camp
, Count Nostitz. He was unable to resume command for some hours, and Gneisenau drew off the defeated army and rallied it. After bathing his wounds in brandy, and fortified by liberal internal application of the same, Blücher rejoined his army. Gneisenau feared that the British had reneged on their earlier agreements and favored a withdrawal, but Blücher convinced him to send two Corps to join Wellington at Waterloo
. He then led his army on a tortuous march along muddy paths, arriving on the field of Waterloo in the late afternoon. With the battle hanging in the balance Blücher's army intervened with decisive and crushing effect, his vanguard drawing off Napoleon's badly needed reserves, and his main body being instrumental in crushing French resistance. This victory led the way to a decisive victory through the relentless pursuit of the French by the Prussians. The allies re-entered Paris on July 7.
Prince Blücher remained in the French capital for a few months, but his age and infirmities compelled him to retire to his Silesia
n residence at Krieblowitz (now Krobielowice
in Poland
), where he died in 1819, aged 76.
Blücher retained to the end of his life that wildness of character and proneness to excesses which had caused his dismissal from the army in his youth, but, however they may be regarded, these faults sprang always from the ardent and vivid temperament which made him a dashing leader of people. Whilst by no means a military genius, his sheer determination and ability to spring back from errors made him a competent leader.
He was twice married, in 1773 to Karoline Amalie von Mehling (1756–1791), and in 1795 to Amalie von Colomb (1772–1850), sister of General Peter von Colomb. By his first marriage, he had seven children, two sons and a daughter surviving infancy. Statues were erected to his memory at Berlin
, Breslau, Rostock
and Kaub
.
In gratitude for his service, an early British locomotive engineer named a locomotive after him, and Oxford University granted him an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Laws), about which he is supposed to have said that if he was made a doctor they should at least make Gneisenau an apothecary.
Three ships of the German navy have been named in honour of Blücher. The first to be so named was a corvette
built at Kiel
's Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG (later renamed the Krupp-Germaniawerft
) and launched 20 March 1877. Taken out of service after a boiler
explosion in 1907, she ended her days as a coal freighter in Vigo
, Spain.
On 11 April 1908, the Panzerkreuzer SMS Blücher
was launched from the Imperial Shipyard in Kiel. This ship was sunk on 24 January 1915 in WWI
at the Battle of Dogger Bank
.
The World War II German heavy cruiser Blücher
was sunk in the invasion of Norway: both ships to carry the name Blücher in the World Wars were sunk within eight months of the respective war commencing.
His campaign journal covering the years 1793 to 1794 was published in 1796:
A second edition of this diary, together with some of Blücher's letters, was published in 1914:
An account of his life, with his death at Krieblowitz and family history, was written by Gebhard Leberecht, the fourth Prince Blücher, and edited by his wife Evelyn Princess Blücher with Desmond Chapman-Huston:
Graf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
(Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
), later elevated to Fürst
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
(Prince) von Wahlstatt, 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 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...
(field marshal) who led his army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
against Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
in 1813 and 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...
in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington
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...
.
He is honoured with a bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Walhalla temple
Walhalla temple
The Walhalla temple is a hall of fame that honors laudable and distinguished Germans, famous personalities in German history — politicians, sovereigns, scientists and artists of the German tongue". The hall is housed in a neo-classical building above the Danube River, east of Regensburg, in...
near Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
.
The honorary citizen of 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...
, Hamburg and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
bore the nickname "Marschall Vorwärts" ("Marshal Forward") because of his approach to war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
fare. A popular German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
, "rangehen wie Blücher" ("attack it like Blücher"), meaning that someone is taking very direct and aggressive action, in war or otherwise, refers to Blücher.
Early life
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher was born in RostockRostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
, Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, a Baltic port in northern Germany. His family had been landowners in northern Germany since at least the 13th century.
He began his military career at sixteen, when he joined the Swedish Army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
as a 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....
. At the time Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
was at war with 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...
in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. Blücher took part in the Pomeranian campaign
Pomeranian War
The Pomeranian War was a theatre of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin....
of 1760, where he was captured in a skirmish with Prussian Hussars. The colonel of the Prussian regiment, Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling
Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling
Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling was a Prussian Hussar general under Frederick the Great.- Biography :...
, was impressed with the young hussar and had him join his regiment.
He took part in the later battles of the Seven Years' War, and as a 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....
officer gained much experience of light cavalry work. In peace, however, his ardent spirit led him into excesses of all kinds, such as mock execution
Mock execution
A mock execution is a stratagem in which a victim is deliberately but falsely made to feel that his execution or that of another person is imminent or is taking place. It may be staged for an audience or a subject who is made to believe that he is being led to his own execution...
of a priest suspected of supporting Polish uprisings in 1772. Due to this, he was passed over for promotion to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. Blücher sent in a rude letter of resignation, which 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...
granted in 1773: Der Rittmeister von Blücher kann sich zum Teufel scheren (Cavalry Captain von Blücher can go to the devil).
He then settled down to farming, and in fifteen years he had acquired an honorable independence, a wife, 7 children, and membership in the Freemasons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
. During the lifetime of 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...
, Blücher was unable to return to the army, but after the king's death in 1786, he was reinstated as a major in his old regiment, the Red Hussars in 1787.
Blücher took part in the expedition to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1787, and the following year was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1789 he received Prussia's highest military order
Military decoration
A military decoration is a decoration given to military personnel or units for heroism in battle or distinguished service. They are designed to be worn on military uniform....
, the 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....
, and in 1794 he became colonel of the Red Hussars. In 1793 and 1794 he distinguished himself in cavalry actions against the French, and for his success at Kirrweiler
Kirrweiler
Kirrweiler is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
was promoted to major general. In 1801 he was promoted to lieutenant general.
Napoleonic Wars
Blücher was one of the leaders of the war party in Prussia in 1805–1806 and served as a cavalry general in the disastrous campaign of the latter year. At the double Battle of Jena-AuerstedtBattle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
, Blücher fought at Auerstedt
Auerstedt
Auerstedt is a municipality in the Weimarer Land district of Thuringia, Germany. It lies northeast of Weimar. On October 14, 1806, the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, a decisive victory for Napoleon I of France, took place near Auerstedt. As a result, the leader of the victorious French forces,...
, repeatedly charging at the head of the Prussian cavalry, but too early and without success. In the retreat of the broken armies he commanded the rearguard of the army of 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....
. Upon the capitulation
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
of the main body after the Battle of Prenzlau
Battle of Prenzlau
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...
on 28 October, he found his progress toward the northeast blocked. He led a remnant of the Prussian army away to the northwest, after having secured 34 cannon in cooperation with Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Gerhard Johann David Waitz von Scharnhorst was a general in Prussian service, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, noted for both his writings, his reforms of the Prussian army, and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars....
. At 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...
his force was defeated by two French corps on 6 November. The next day, trapped against the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
frontier by 40,000 French troops, he was compelled to surrender with 7,800 soldiers 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....
. Blücher insisted that a clause be written in the capitulation document that he had to surrender due to lack of provisions and ammunition, and that his soldiers be honoured by a French formation along the street. He was allowed to keep his sabre and to move freely, bound only by his word of honour, and soon was exchanged for Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno, and was actively employed in Pomerania, 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...
, and at Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
until the conclusion of the war.
After the war, Blücher was looked upon as the natural leader of the Patriot Party, with which he was in close touch during the period of Napoleonic domination. But his hopes of an alliance with Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
in the war of 1809 were disappointed. In this year he was made general of cavalry. In 1812 he expressed himself so openly on the alliance of Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
with France
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
that he was recalled from his military governorship of Pomerania and virtually banished from the court
Royal court
Royal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:* The Royal Court , Timbaland's production company*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court...
.
Following the start of the 1813 War of Liberation
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
, Blücher was again placed in high command, and he was present at Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
. During the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
, he worked on the organization of the Prussian forces; when the war was resumed, he became commander-in-chief of the Army of Silesia, with 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:...
and Muffling as his principal staff officers and 40,000 Prussians and 50,000 Russians under his command.
The irresolution and divergence of interests usual in allied armies found in him a restless opponent. Knowing that if he could not induce others to co-operate he was prepared to attempt the task at hand by himself often caused other generals to follow his lead. He defeated Marshal Macdonald
Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald
Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald, 1st duke of Taranto was a Marshal of France and military leader during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Family background:...
at the Katzbach
Battle of Katzbach
The Battle of Katzbach on 26 August 1813, was an accidental engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the forces of the First French Empire under Marshal MacDonald and a Russo-Prussian army of the Sixth Coalition under Prussian Marshal Graf von Blücher...
, and by his victory over Marshal Marmont
Auguste Marmont
Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, 1st Duke of Ragusa was a French General, nobleman and Marshal of France.-Biography:...
at Möckern led the way to the decisive defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
. This was the fourth battle between Napoleon and Blücher and the first that Blücher won. Leipzig was taken by Blücher's own army on the evening of the last day of the battle.
On the day of Möckern (October 16, 1813) Blücher was made a field marshal, and after the victory he pursued the French with his accustomed energy. In the winter of 1813–1814 Blücher, with his chief staff officers, was mainly instrumental in inducing the allied sovereigns to carry the war into France itself.
The combat of Brienne
Battle of Brienne
The Battle of Brienne was fought on January 29, 1814, and resulted in the victory of Emperor Napoleon I's French forces over the Russian and Prussian forces commanded by the Prussian Generalfeldmarschall Prince von Blücher....
and the Battle of La Rothière
Battle of La Rothiere
The Battle of La Rothière was fought on 1 February 1814 between the French Empire and allied army of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and German States previously allies with France. The French were led by Emperor Napoleon and the coalition army was under the command of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher...
were the chief incidents of the first stage of the celebrated campaign of 1814, and they were quickly followed by victories of Napoleon over Blücher at Champaubert
Battle of Champaubert
The Battle of Champaubert was the opening engagement of the Six Days Campaign. It was fought on February 10, 1814 by a French force under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Olssufiev...
, Vauchamps
Battle of Vauchamps
The Battle of Vauchamps, the final major engagement of the Six Days Campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition, was fought on 14 February 1814...
, and Montmirail
Battle of Montmirail
The Battle of Montmirail was a battle fought near Montmirail, France, during the Six Days Campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. It was fought on February 11, 1814, and resulted in the victory of the French under Emperor Napoleon I over the Russians under General Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken and the...
. But the courage of the Prussian leader was undiminished, and his victory against the vastly outnumbered French, at Laon
Battle of Laon
The Battle of Laon was the victory of Blücher's Prussian army over Napoleon's French army near Laon.-Prelude:An Allied coalition attempted to complete the destruction of Napoleon's French Empire in 1814. France had been defeated in Russia in 1812 and in Central Europe in 1813...
(March 9 and 10) practically decided the fate of the campaign.
After this, Blücher infused some of his energy into the operations of the Prince Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia, and at last this army and the Army of Silesia marched in one body directly towards Paris. The victory of Montmartre
Battle of Paris (1814)
The Battle of Paris was fought during the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of Napoleon I.-Background:...
, the entry of the allies into the French capital, and the overthrow of the First Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
were the direct consequences.
Blücher was inclined to punish the city of Paris severely for the sufferings of Prussia at the hands of the French armies, but the allied commanders intervened. Blowing up the Jena Bridge near the Champ de Mars
Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war...
was said to have been one of his contemplated acts.
On June 3, 1814, he was made Prince of Wahlstatt (in Silesia
Silesia
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...
on the Katzbach battlefield
Battle of Katzbach
The Battle of Katzbach on 26 August 1813, was an accidental engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the forces of the First French Empire under Marshal MacDonald and a Russo-Prussian army of the Sixth Coalition under Prussian Marshal Graf von Blücher...
). Soon afterward he paid a visit to England
Allied sovereigns' visit to England
The Allied sovereigns' visit to England occurred in June 1814 to celebrate the peace following the defeat of France and abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte in April 1814...
, where he was received enthusiastically everywhere he went.
Hundred Days and later life
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
soon called him back to service. He was put in command of the Army of the Lower Rhine, with General 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:...
as his chief of staff. In the campaign of 1815, the Prussians sustained a serious defeat at the outset at Ligny
Battle of Ligny
The Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
(June 16), in the course of which the old field marshal was repeatedly ridden over by cavalry and lay trapped under his dead horse for several hours, his life saved only by the devotion of his 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...
, Count Nostitz. He was unable to resume command for some hours, and Gneisenau drew off the defeated army and rallied it. After bathing his wounds in brandy, and fortified by liberal internal application of the same, Blücher rejoined his army. Gneisenau feared that the British had reneged on their earlier agreements and favored a withdrawal, but Blücher convinced him to send two Corps to join Wellington at 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...
. He then led his army on a tortuous march along muddy paths, arriving on the field of Waterloo in the late afternoon. With the battle hanging in the balance Blücher's army intervened with decisive and crushing effect, his vanguard drawing off Napoleon's badly needed reserves, and his main body being instrumental in crushing French resistance. This victory led the way to a decisive victory through the relentless pursuit of the French by the Prussians. The allies re-entered Paris on July 7.
Prince Blücher remained in the French capital for a few months, but his age and infirmities compelled him to retire to his Silesia
Silesia
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 residence at Krieblowitz (now Krobielowice
Krobielowice
Krobielowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kąty Wrocławskie, within Wrocław County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Prior to 1945 it was part of Germany. It lies approximately south-east of Kąty Wrocławskie and south-west of the regional capital...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), where he died in 1819, aged 76.
Legacy
In 1945 his grave was destroyed by Soviet troops and his corpse exhumed. As of 2008, in Poland, von Blücher's grave remains in its destroyed state.Blücher retained to the end of his life that wildness of character and proneness to excesses which had caused his dismissal from the army in his youth, but, however they may be regarded, these faults sprang always from the ardent and vivid temperament which made him a dashing leader of people. Whilst by no means a military genius, his sheer determination and ability to spring back from errors made him a competent leader.
He was twice married, in 1773 to Karoline Amalie von Mehling (1756–1791), and in 1795 to Amalie von Colomb (1772–1850), sister of General Peter von Colomb. By his first marriage, he had seven children, two sons and a daughter surviving infancy. Statues were erected to his memory 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...
, Breslau, Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
and Kaub
Kaub
Kaub is a town in Germany, state Rhineland-Palatinate, district Rhein-Lahn-Kreis. It is part of the municipality Loreley. It is located on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. 50 km west from Wiesbaden. It is connected to Wiesbaden and Koblenz by railway. Population 1100...
.
In gratitude for his service, an early British locomotive engineer named a locomotive after him, and Oxford University granted him an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Laws), about which he is supposed to have said that if he was made a doctor they should at least make Gneisenau an apothecary.
Three ships of the German navy have been named in honour of Blücher. The first to be so named was a corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
built at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
's Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG (later renamed the Krupp-Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...
) and launched 20 March 1877. Taken out of service after a boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
explosion in 1907, she ended her days as a coal freighter in Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
, Spain.
On 11 April 1908, the Panzerkreuzer SMS Blücher
SMS Blücher
SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser to be built by the German Imperial Navy . She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British s...
was launched from the Imperial Shipyard in Kiel. This ship was sunk on 24 January 1915 in WWI
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
at the Battle of Dogger Bank
Battle of Dogger Bank (1915)
The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle fought near the Dogger Bank in the North Sea on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet....
.
The World War II German heavy cruiser Blücher
German cruiser Blücher
Blücher was the second of five heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine, built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in...
was sunk in the invasion of Norway: both ships to carry the name Blücher in the World Wars were sunk within eight months of the respective war commencing.
Campaigns
- 1760: Pomeranian Campaign (as SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
soldier; captured by Prussia; changed sides) - Seven Years' War
- 1787: Expedition to the Netherlands with Red Hussars
- 1793–1794: French campaigns with Red Hussars
- 1806: Auerstadt, Pomerania, Berlin, Königsberg
- 1813: Lützen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Möckern, Leipzig
- 1814: Brienne, La Rothière, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Château-Thierry, Montmirail, Laon, Montmartre
- 1815: Lower Rhine (Battle of LignyBattle of LignyThe Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
), Battle of WaterlooBattle of WaterlooThe 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...
Works
His collected writings and letters (together with those of Yorck and Gneisenau) appeared in 1932:- Gesammelte Schriften und Briefe / Blücher, Yorck, Gneisenau, compiled and edited by Edmund Th. Kauer (Berlin-Schöneberg: Oestergaard, [1932])
His campaign journal covering the years 1793 to 1794 was published in 1796:
- Kampagne-Journal der Jahre 1793 und 1794 (Berlin: Decker, 1796)
A second edition of this diary, together with some of Blücher's letters, was published in 1914:
- Vorwärts! Ein Husaren-Tagebuch und Feldzugsbriefe von Gebhardt Leberecht von Blücher, introduced by General Field Marshal von der GoltzColmar Freiherr von der GoltzWilhelm Leopold Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz also known as Goltz Pasha, was a Prussian Field Marshal and military writer.-Military career:...
, edited by Heinrich Conrad (Munich: G. Müller, [1914])
An account of his life, with his death at Krieblowitz and family history, was written by Gebhard Leberecht, the fourth Prince Blücher, and edited by his wife Evelyn Princess Blücher with Desmond Chapman-Huston:
- Memoirs of Prince Blücher (London: Murray, 1932)
External links
- Blüchers Zug von Auerstedt bis Ratekau und Lübecks Schreckenstage (1806) - German publication about Blücher This source gives “Black Hussars” for the name of his old regiment.