Alfred van der Smissen
Alfred Louis Adolphe Graves Baron van der Smissen (born February 1, 1823 in Brussels ; † June 16, 1895 ibid) was a Belgian general .
Life
His father was General Jacques van der Smissen, who led an artillery battalion at the Battle of Waterloo . At the age of 20, Alfred joined the Belgian army and became an officer. He served with French troops as a captain in the Foreign Legion in the suppression of the Kabyle uprising in Algeria in 1851.
In 1864 he accompanied Archduke Maximilian of Austria and his wife Charlotte , the daughter of the Belgian king, to Mexico as the commander of an approximately 2,000-strong Belgian volunteer legion . However, since this troop was quite inexperienced, they suffered heavy losses in the initial phase. After his return to Belgium, Baron van der Smissen was from 1870 to 1875 in command of the 1st Grenadier Regiment, the guards of the Belgian king. He was then in command of the 6th (1875) and 9th (1875–1877) Infantry Brigades. 1877–1882 he headed the 4th Infantry Division. From 1883 until his death he was the king's wing adjuster. He was instrumental in suppressing a workers' uprising in Charleroi in 1886 . Van der Smissen requested his discharge from the military on July 30, 1890, because he considered the award of the medal by War Minister Charles Pontus to be an insulting measure for his officer corps .
literature
- Smissen, Baron van der . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892, Volume 14, Page 1037
Web links
- Website about the Austria-Hungarian army (English)
- Ars moriendi (Dutch)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Van der Smissen, Alfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Van der Smissen, Alfred Louis Adolphe Graves Baron (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Belgian general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 1, 1823 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brussels , Belgium |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 16, 1895 |
| Place of death | Brussels , Belgium |