Berlin hussar coup

Andreas Hadik from Futak

As Berlin Hussars strike targeted military action in was Seven Years War known in the course of the Prussian capital Berlin by troops of the imperial Field Marshal Lieutenant Count András Hadik was occupied on 16 October 1757 for one day. The suggestion for this came from Prince Karl Alexander of Lorraine , under whose command Hadik was.

initial situation

The Elster Castle in Elsterwerda , the starting point of the foray

Plan of the attack on Berlin

In autumn 1757 Count Hadik camped with a small troop in Radeburg . The armies of the King of Prussia and the Prince of Anhalt were in the vicinity of Leipzig . Duke Ferdinand's troops camped near Magdeburg . At Breslau the allied imperial troops faced the Prussian troops. The Swedes, which were also allies, were north of Berlin. So both the enemy troops and the allied Imperial troops were far away.

Hadik wrote in his diary: “The way to Berlin is now free!” He came up with the plan to take Prussia's capital Berlin in a coup, demand a rich war contribution and then withdraw just as quickly. Hadik had a thorough investigation carried out and issued his orders only a day in advance and very briefly.

course

On October 10, 1757, Andreas Hadik von Futak assembled his small corps in Elsterwerda, then Electoral Saxony . It consisted of 900 infantry , 2100 Szluin and Gradiskan border troops , 1000 cuirassiers and 1100 hussars , including the complete hussar regiment "Baranyay" under its commander Colonel von Ujházy (later: Hussar Regiment No. 8 ). In addition, six guns were carried. In addition to Hadik, Generals Paul Freiherr von Babocsay, Count Mittrovsky and General von Kleefeld were also involved.

As cover, von Kleefeld stayed behind with 1000 border guards, 240 cuirassiers, 300 hussars and two guns in Elsterwerda. Colonel Ferdinand Franz von Ujházy secured the marching column with 300 hussars from his regiment. 100 hussars with selected horses were supposed to maintain communication between the generals in the marching stations.

Hadik left Elsterwerda on October 11, 1757 with 3,500 men and reached the city of Luckau via Dobrilugk the next day . Here Ujházy and his department left the main column to move via Golßen and Baruth to Mittenwalde and collect as much war tax as possible on the way. The main column under Count Hadik marched via Lübben towards the Spree and reached Königs Wusterhausen on October 15 . Here Hadik ordered Colonel Ujházy to march on Potsdamer Strasse towards Berlin. His main power broke out in Königs Wusterhausen on the night of October 16 to remain undetected. She left the main road and reached the Schlesisches Tor in front of Berlin through the royal forest . Hadik had to pretend a far greater power than was actually available to him, and so he ordered campfires to be set up in a wide circle at night, of which as many as possible were lit. With the demand of 300,000  thalers fire tax, Count Hadik sent a trumpeter to the city, but the magistrate was unable to negotiate because the city was under a military governor.

The Berlin customs wall

The storm that followed was directed first at the Schlesisches Tor and the Spreebrücke. With 1,400 riders from various regiments, Count Hadik penetrated the Silesian Gate and led them against two Prussian battalions that had taken up positions in the streets of the Louisen suburb and were completely wiped out by Hadik's troops within a few minutes. General Babocsay was wounded in this attack and died shortly afterwards.

A 300 to 400-strong division of Prussian infantry, which had set up near the Kottbusser Tor , fled but was overtaken, cut down or captured by Hadik's hussars.

Accompanied by the Berlin commandant von Rochow , the Queen of Prussia left the city and retired to the Spandau Fortress , where the state treasure was also taken. A plunder avoid the city paid around 200,000 dollars contribution and 25,000 dollars to the troops, was immediately distributed to the troops, the Hadik. With an express relay entitled Out of the Walls of Berlin , he reported the storming of the city to Prince Karl of Lorraine.

When Prince Moritz von Dessau, sent by the king for relief , was only two hours away from the city with his strong troops, Hadik and his troops left the city again on the night of October 17, 1757. The losses suffered by the Austrians in the whole action were small. They amounted to ten dead, 28 wounded and four horses. They then moved via Storkow and Lieberose . A department was sent to Frankfurt (Oder) , which collected another 30,000 thalers contribution and reunited with the main column in Lieberose. On October 20th they reached the town of Spremberg via Cottbus , where an urgently needed rest day was inserted. After Hadik had moved on towards Hoyerswerda , they were finally out of pursuit.

Colonel Ujházy secured the march on the right with the hussars of his regiment. There were skirmishes with hussars from General Seydlitz and Ujházy lost 20 men. A Rittmeister who was on patrol with 50 hussars was taken prisoner by the Prussians. On October 22nd, 1757, Ujházy reached General von Kleefeld's camp near Elsterwerda, the starting point of the action.

Hadik receives the Maria Theresa Order

Maria Theresa of Austria

Andreas Hadik von Futak later received the following letter from Maria Theresa:

"We have the most gracious satisfaction with you because of the undertaking against Berlin that you carried out so wisely and well, and that the steadfast bravery shown not only by the generals, officers and commons, but also by the blind bravery shown by the latter in sothaner occassion." Obedience and withdrawn behavior are enough to show exceptional pleasure, wanting to give pleasure and refer to what will come to you, as our Oberstfeldzeugmeister Baron Marschall, through our court war council. Remaining in favor of you with imperial and royal grace and grace. "

- Maria Theresia m. p.

Count Hadik received the Grand Cross of the Maria Theresa Order for his deed . He was the second hussar general to receive this highest honor. Count Franz Nádasdy had already received this for his services in the Battle of Kolin in June 1757. The award of the award took place in the first doctorate on March 7, 1758. In addition, the Empress gave him 3,000  ducats . In the same year Hadik was appointed general of the cavalry .

Frederick the Great is said to have never forgiven Hadik for this foray into his capital, although the city got away with it relatively happily.

reception

Hussars on the occasion of the 250th anniversary in Elsterwerda

The successful campaign gave its name to the proverbial hussar piece . The following anecdote has also come down to us about this event in the Seven Years' War :

As a knightly gesture to the Empress Maria-Theresia, Count Hadik wanted to bring the ruler a souvenir from the hostile capital. He asked a Berlin manufactory for a dozen precious women's gloves that were stamped with the Berlin coat of arms . After receiving it, he immediately sent it to Vienna in a wooden box . The Berliners had tricked him - it was only left gloves.

On the occasion of the 250th anniversary, the traditional association of the Esterházy Hussars from Eisenstadt, founded in 2000 by Zoltán Kickinger and Prince Anton Esterházy , repeated Count Hadik's legendary ride. On October 14, 2007, Lieutenant Colonel Zoltán Kickinger received the plaque of honor for the city of Elsterwerda and its hussars in front of the Elsterwerda Castle, and a commemorative medal from the local mayor. Over the next few days, the historic route took us via Sonnewalde, Luckau, Lübben and Königs Wusterhausen to Berlin.

The DEFA filmed the episode of the Berlin Hussars d'etat in 1971 under the title Hussars in Berlin . Manfred Krug played the role of Hadik von Futak .

literature

• Günter Dorn / Joachim Engelmann: The battles of Frederick the Great . Bechtermünz / Weltbild, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-242-9 .
• Georg Duwe: Berlin in another hand . Fateful hours of the Prussian capital and residence city from the 30 Years War to the Wars of Independence. Biblio, Osnabrück 1991, ISBN 3-7648-1788-7 .
• Herman Granier: The Russians and Austrians in Berlin in October 1760 . In: Hohenzollern yearbook . tape 2 , 1898, p. 113-145 .
• Vladimir Kuznetsov: The Berlin hussar coup . District Museum Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg , Berlin 2012 (online: PDF; 148 p., 4.75 MB ).
• Alber Naudé: The capture of Berlin by the Austrians in October 1757 and the flight of the royal family from Berlin to Spandau . In: Märkische research . tape 20 . Berlin 1887, p. 149-170 .
• Tibor Tibor Simányi: The Austrians in Berlin. The hussar coup of Count Hadik in 1757 . Amalthea, Vienna / Munich 1987, ISBN 3-85002-246-3 .
• Jürgen Wilke: Circumstances news of the attack on the Royal Residentz, Berlin by Russian Imperial troops under the command of He. Generals and Counts of Totleben . Propst Süßmilch describes his experiences in the autumn of 1760. In: Berlin in the past and present. Yearbook of the Berlin State Archives . Siedler, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-88680-379-1 , p. 17-60 .
• Gustav Ritter Amon von Treuenfest: History of the k. k. Hussar Regiment No. 8 . Vienna 1880.
• Egon Sauer von Nordendorf: Austrian military history: Austrian cavalry, from the beginning to the present . Special tape. Stöhr, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-901208-19-4 .
• Lars-Holger Thümmler: The Austrian Army in the Seven Years War . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus Berlin, 1993, ISBN 3-89488-050-3 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ esterhazy-husaren.at ( Memento of the original from October 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Harald Skala: Occupation of Berlin 1757. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 2, 2017 ; Retrieved April 14, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Friedrich Wolfgang Götz Berlichingen-Rossach (Count of.): History of the knight Götz von Berlichingen with the iron hand and his family . Brockhaus, January 1, 1861 ( google.de [accessed April 14, 2017]).
4. ^ Hadik . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 7, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 994.
5. ↑ The Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire Seventh Part Habsburg - Hartlieb, pp. 171–172 names March 5, 1758 as the date of appointment
6. ↑ Derersch Gruber names December 19, 1758 as the date  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Hussars back in Elsterwerda after 250 years. In: Lausitzer Rundschau , Bad Liebenwerda regional edition , October 16, 2007