August of Württemberg

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Prince August of Württemberg
Prince August on a lithograph from 1847

Friedrich August Eberhard von Württemberg (born January 24, 1813 in Stuttgart ; † January 12, 1885 in Zehdenick ) was a Prussian colonel general of the cavalry with the rank of field marshal and commanding general of the guard corps for over 20 years .

Life

Prince August von Württemberg was the youngest son of Prince Paul von Württemberg (1785–1852), the brother of King Wilhelm I , and Princess Charlotte of Saxony-Hildburghausen (1787–1847). At the age of 16, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown as a sub-lieutenant in the Württemberg Army and on January 10, 1831 he was promoted to Rittmeister 2nd class in the 1st Cavalry Regiment.

In April 1831 he switched to Prussian services with the approval of his uncle, the King of Württemberg . There he was initially the Regiment Garde du Corps allocated and a year later the Major transported. On March 30, 1836, promoted to lieutenant colonel and on March 30, 1838 to colonel , August von Württemberg was given command of the Guard Cuirassier Regiment on February 8, 1840 for four years . On March 30, 1844 , he rose to major general , took over the 1st Guard Cavalry Brigade on the same day and on April 4, 1850 he was promoted to lieutenant general . With a short break of two years, during which he was in command of the 7th Division in Magdeburg on April 6, 1854 , he remained loyal to the cavalry. On August 5, 1856 he took over the leadership of the Guard Cavalry Division and from February 19 to September 18, 1857 he was in command of the 2nd Guard Division . On September 19, 1857 August von Württemberg became the commanding general of III. Army Corps , but changed this position on June 3, 1858 and became Commander of the Guard Corps. He held this position for over 20 years.

In the German War of 1866 he was part of the army of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm and, as a general of the cavalry, commanded the Guard Corps in the victorious battles at Soor and Burkersdorf . In the Battle of Königgrätz on July 3, 1866, the occupation of Chlum by his units was decisive. However, his very capable chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand von Dannenberg , played a major role in the victories . After the campaign, the Prussian King Wilhelm I awarded him the order Pour le Mérite and appointed him chief of the Posenen Uhlan Regiment No. 10 in Züllichau , which after his death from January 27, 1889 until its dissolution in 1919, was also called the Prince wore.

During the Franco-Prussian War , the Guard Corps was involved in the Battle of Gravelotte on August 18, 1870 . The large association suffered considerable losses, which could have been avoided. The attack over the wide plain was precipitous and without supporting artillery fire. The later encirclement of the enemy by the Saxon troops could not be exploited either. The Guard Corps was assigned to the Meuse Army of Crown Prince Albert of Saxony under the leadership of August von Württemberg and took part in the Battle of Sedan and the siege of Paris . In this campaign, too, the chief of his staff was Ferdinand von Dannenberg, who had been appointed general. For his services in this war he received a grant of 100,000 thalers .

Festival of Prince August of Württemberg

August von Württemberg represented his cousin, King Karl , at the imperial proclamation in Versailles on January 18, 1871. After the end of the war he remained in command of the guard corps and received the oak leaves for the order Pour le Mérite and both classes of the Iron Cross from the Prussian king . On September 2, 1873, he was appointed colonel general of the cavalry with the rank of field marshal. As the successor to General Field Marshal Friedrich von Wrangel , he was transferred to the Marche region in June 1878 . He remained in this position for another four years. On August 24, 1882, he asked for his departure from active service, which was granted to him with the award of the diamonds to the Order of the Black Eagle .

During a hunting trip in Zehdenick near Berlin , August von Württemberg died on January 12, 1885. The funeral service took place four days later in the Berlin garrison church. He was transferred to Ludwigsburg and buried in the local castle church in the family crypt .

The Feste Prinz August von Württemberg , later St. Privat (1872–1875), the fortress of Metz was named after him; also near Berlin in 1898 the Prinz-August-von-Württemberg-Strasse bordering the barracks of the guard cuirassiers at Tempelhofer Feld (today overbuilt by Columbiadamm ).

Württemberg nobleman

As prince of the royal house , August von Württemberg had been a member of the Württemberg Chamber of Notaries since 1830 , but never took part in its meetings. He was represented by other members of the Chamber, most recently by Andreas von Renner .

progeny

August von Württemberg had with Marie Bethge (1830–1869), who was raised to the nobility as "Frau von Wardenberg" in 1868, the common daughter Katharina Helene (1865–1938). Katharina Helene von Wardenberg married the captain and later general of the infantry Dedo von Schenck (1853–1918) in Berlin in 1884 .

literature
  • Frank Raberg : Biographical handbook of the Württemberg state parliament members 1815-1933 . On behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-17-016604-2 , p. 1040 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Theodor Toeche-Mittler: The imperial proclamation in Versailles on January 18, 1871 with a directory of the festival participants. Ernst Siegfried Mittler and Son, Berlin 1896.
  2. ↑ Heinrich Schnaebeli: photographs of the imperial proclamation in Versailles. Berlin 1871.
  3. ↑ Prinz-August-von-Württemberg-Strasse . In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein
personal data
SURNAME Württemberg, August of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Württemberg, Friedrich August Eberhard Herzog von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian colonel general with the rank of field marshal
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1813
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1885
Place of death Zehdenick