Wilhelm René de l'Homme de Courbière

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilhelm René de l'Homme de Courbière

Guillaume "Wilhelm" René de l'Homme, Seigneur de Courbière (born February 25, 1733 in Maastricht , † July 23, 1811 in Graudenz ), was a Prussian Field Marshal General of French origin and Governor General of West Prussia . He became famous through the defense of Graudenz in 1807 and through the bon mot " il existe encore un Roi de Graudenz " ( ... so there is still a king of Graudenz! ).

Life

origin

Courbière monument in Graudenz around 1900, removed after the fortress was taken over by Poland in 1920

Guillaume de Courbière came from a Huguenot aristocratic family from the Dauphiné , who had to leave their home in France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) because of their Protestant faith . He was the son of the in Dutch related services majors Alexis Baron de l'Homme de Courbière and his wife Angentia, born Ridder.

Military career

Like his father, Courbière was initially in the Dutch service with the "d'Aylva" infantry regiment from 1746 and gained his first military experience during the War of the Austrian Succession while defending the fortress of Bergen op Zoom against the French. He retired in 1753 and subsequently lived in Bois-le-Duc . On April 1, 1758, he entered the service of King Frederick II of Prussia as an engineer-captain during the Seven Years' War , who gave him command of a company of the free battalion " von Mayr ". After he had distinguished himself in the siege of Schweidnitz in 1758 , the king promoted him to major on October 20, when he was only twenty-five, and gave him command of the “Colignon” (formerly “Mayr”) battalion. After he had distinguished himself again with this unit in 1759 in the defense of Herrnstadt against the Russian army under Marshal Saltykow , he was appointed lieutenant colonel and chief of this battalion on March 6, 1760 (Colignon received another battalion). After the siege of Dresden in 1760, he received the order Pour le Mérite along with ribbon money of 100 gold pieces. In the battles at Liegnitz and Torgau, as well as on other occasions, Courbière earned further services.

After the end of the war, Courbière's free battalion was the only Prussian unit of its kind that was not disbanded. In 1763 he himself was appointed commandant of Emden , where he also married. Here he freed the writer Johann Gottfried Seume, who had been imprisoned for desertion , took him on as a private tutor for his children and was a "generous, compassionate superior" to him. In 1771 he was promoted to colonel , took part in the formation of fusilier units , received the rank of major general in 1780 and lieutenant general in 1780 . During the Revolutionary Wars against France he commanded the Prussian guards , took Verdun in 1792 , decided the Battle of Pirmasens in 1793 and commanded an army corps in 1794 . 1798 Courbière was General of Infantry and in the Revue on June 5, 1802 in Königsberg Knight of the Black Eagle beaten. Friedrich Wilhelm III. appointed him on May 23, 1803 as governor of Graudenz.

Although Courbière was a typical example of the aging and aging of the Prussian officer corps , the behavior of the 74-year-old general during the collapse of Prussia after the defeat in the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt on October 14, 1806 in the Fourth Coalition War was one of the few notable exceptions While most of the other Prussian fortresses surrendered to the French with little or no resistance, he successfully defended Graudenz against Napoleon's troops, who besieged it from January 22nd to December 12th, 1807. He was not only known for the bravery with which he held the fortress despite the unreliable troops and difficult supply situation, but also for his quick-wittedness. Although he spoke only broken German, he answered the besiegers' repeated calls for surrender "coarse and German". Courbière only corresponded with his opponents in French after the peace agreement.

Napoleon's adjutant, General Savary , wrote after Courbière had already declined the third invitation to speak:

“ I might have the right to treat you like those Catalan commanders who, recognizing their ancient dynasty, were yoked, despite their resistance, under cruel conditions. The Lord whom they claim to serve (ie Friedrich Wilhelm III. ) Has given us all his rights by giving us his states. "

Courbière replied when this passage was read to him by the French parliamentarian Lieutenant Colonel Aymé:

“ Votre Général me dit ici qu'il n'y a plus un Roi de Prusse, puis que les Français ont occupé ses états. Eh bien, ça se peut; mais s'il n'y a plus un Roi de Prusse, il existe encore un Roi de Graudenz. Dites cela à votre général. "

(" Your general tells me here that there is no longer a King of Prussia because the French have occupied his lands. Well, so be it. But even if there is no longer a King of Prussia, there is still one King of Graudenz. Tell your general! ")

Incidentally, as the Defense Service Journal says, "the governor replied to this letter with shell and bullet fire."

Courbière was able to hold Graudenz successfully until the conclusion of the peace of Tilsit . On July 21, 1807 he received the rank of Field Marshal General and Governor General of West Prussia, but stayed in Graudenz, where he died on July 25, 1811 and was buried in the fortress grounds.

family

In Emden in 1766 he married Sophie, née von Weiß (* 1741; † February 5, 1809), daughter of the former commandant Johann Caspar Julius von Weiß from Leerort . The couple had nine children. Their descendants still exist today. Her son Ludwig Heinrich (1777–1813) died in the battle of Großgörschen . His daughter Caroline Juliane (born June 10, 1775, † September 9, 1843) married Major General August Ernst von Kamptz .

Duels

Despite a ban on duels, the general was involved in Handel several times. His wife was able to curb his anger more often, but two duels from his time in Emden have been handed down, one of them with a major Sussmilch, who had been transferred to Emden as a punishment and severely wounded his commander in the shoulder. He then fled to neighboring Holland. The second duel was with an already retired Dutch colonel. A quarrel that had been smoldering for a long time ended in a duel in front of the Nordertor (and a large audience on the ramparts). The duel ended for the general with badly bleeding wounds on his face.

Honors

Courbièrestrasse in Berlin-Schöneberg and Emden are named after de l'Homme de Courbière .
The Graudenz fortress bore his name until it was taken over by Poland in 1920 and the infantry regiment "von Courbière" (2nd Posensches) No. 19 until it was dissolved at the end of the First World War . The Max-Josef-Metzger-Platz in Berlin-Wedding was called “Courbièreplatz” from 1887 to 1994.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerhard von Scharnhorst : Head of the Military Reorganization (Prussia 1808-1809) , p. 169.
  2. ^ Yearbook of the German Nobility . Volume 2, 1898, p. 220 .
personal data
SURNAME Courbière, Wilhelm René de l'Homme de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Courbière, Guillaume René de l'Homme Seigneur de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Field Marshal General of French origin and Governor General of West Prussia
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1733
PLACE OF BIRTH Maastricht
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1811
Place of death Graudenz