Christian von Massenbach

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Christian Karl August Ludwig Freiherr von Massenbach (born April 16, 1758 in Schmalkalden , † November 21, 1827 in Bialokosz , Province of Posen ) was a Prussian colonel and writer from the southern German line of the Freiherren von Massenbach .

Life

His father was the chief forester Georg Wilhelm von Massenbach (1721–1788), his mother Friederike, nee. von Edelsheim (1724–1791). Christian von Massenbach grew up in Schmalkalden and later in the rule of Massenbach near Heilbronn. He was a pupil of the High Charles School of Duke Carl von Württemberg . There he had a childhood friendship with Friedrich Schiller .

An officer in the Württemberg Guard since 1778 , Massenbach joined Frederick the Great's entourage in 1782 . In 1786 he joined the Prussian quartermaster staff and wrote numerous mathematical and military works that cemented his reputation as a future commanding officer. In 1785 he became editor of the military monthly and employee of Friedrich Nicolais General German Library .

Massenbach took part in the Prussian invasion of Holland in 1787 and in the war against France until the Peace of Basel . During this time he was also a teacher at the Potsdam Military Engineering Academy . In 1788 he married Amalie von Gualtieri in the Potsdam garrison church , a daughter of the Huguenot pastor von Bernau near Berlin and sister of Marie von Kleist , a close relative and friend of the poet Heinrich von Kleist . In 1791 he was appointed major and wing adjutant to the Prussian King. In this role he campaigned intensively for reforms in the field of Prussian foreign and financial policy, the training and further education of officers and the further development of cartography . When the Military Society in Berlin, founded by Scharnhorst and others in 1802 , which was intended to improve the further training of staff officers , expanded considerably to include members, Massenbach founded a "subsidiary" in Potsdam.

Despite these reform efforts, the corps of Prince Friedrich Ludwig zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen , whose chief of staff was Massenbach, was defeated in the Battle of Jena on October 14, 1806. The retreat led in a wide arc around Berlin. At Prenzlau , Prince Hohenlohe decided to surrender on October 28th . As a result of a wrong assessment of the situation in Massenbach, he had the supposedly safe and senseless death of his soldiers in mind. The actions of the commander in chief triggered a series of capitulations by Prussian troops and fortresses. Prince Hohenlohe took responsibility for this and Massenbach escaped a possible punishment, although many attributed considerable contributory negligence to the defeats and surrender of the Hohenlohe Army Corps. After the events of 1806, Massenbach retired to his estate Bialokosch in the Duchy of Warsaw . He later tried to justify himself in several writings and published three volumes of his widely acclaimed memoir . The fourth volume, which contained a critical account of the events of 1806 and the uncovering of the causes of the failure of the Prussian army , was drafted and destroyed by the Prussian king in 1810.

From 1816 to 1817 he was a member of the state assembly of the Kingdom of Württemberg as a representative of his brother Reinhard von Massenbach. He spoke out vehemently against the royal draft constitution and pleaded for a strong state parliament with only one chamber and a parliamentary form of government. In 1817 Massenbach was expelled from Württemberg for political activities for a national constitution .

In the same year he was arrested in Frankfurt am Main at the request of the Prussian government, extradited and transferred to the Küstrin fortress . He was accused of wanting to publish official secrets in his writings, which in 1819 earned him a conviction of 14 years imprisonment for treason , seven years of which he served partly in Küstrin and partly at Glatz Fortress. In 1826 Christian von Massenbach was pardoned and died on November 21, 1827 in Bialokosch, Birnbaum district . He is buried in the estate's forest cemetery.

family

Christian von Massenbach was married to Amalie Henriette de Gualtieri (1767–1846) since 1788 . She was the daughter of pastor Albert Samuel de Gualtieri (1729–1778) from Magdeburg and his wife Margaretha Bastide . Her sister was Marie von Kleist, the wife of Friedrich Wilhelm Christian von Kleist (1764-1820). The couple had two sons and four daughters, namely:

  • Adelheid Friedricke Henriette Luise Amalie Wilhelmine (* January 4, 1790 - December 1846) ⚭ February 7, 1822 Karl von Rappard (1794-1853)
  • Albertine Philipine (7 August 1791 - 11 February 1833)
  • Wilhelm (January 4, 1795 - October 31, 1813)
  • Matilde Aurora (* October 24, 1795 - † March 5, 1855) ⚭ May 2, 1818 Friedrich Wilhelm Count of Brandenburg (1792–1850)
  • Karoline Wilhelmine Auguste Henriette (December 1, 1797 - November 6, 1811)
  • Georg Sylvius Curd Julius Erich Magnus (* July 30, 1799; † February 1, 1885) ⚭ Sophie von Gemmingen-Steinegg (* May 28, 1810; † August 24, 1888)

Works

  • Marc-Aurel and Sülly , 1806, digitized
  • Recollections of great men . Amsterdam (1808), digitized
  • Memoirs on the history of the Prussian states under the government of Friedrich Wilhelm II. And Friedrich Wilhelm III. 3 Vols. Amsterdam (1809-10), Volume 1 , Volume 2 , Volume 3
  • Historical memorabilia on the history of the decline of the Prussian state since 1794 together with my diary about the campaign of 1806. In two parts. With four situation maps and tarpaulins . Amsterdam (1809); New edition 1979 in the Haidnian Antiquities series with an afterword by Hans-Werner Engels .
  • Memoirs about my relations with the Prussian state and especially with the Duke of Braunschweig . 2 vols. Amsterdam (1809)
  • To all German men , 1817, digitized

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the capitulation at Prenzlau see Großer Generalstab (Ed.): 1806. The Prussian Officer Corps and the Investigation of the War Events, Mittler, Berlin 1906, pp. 184–240
  2. ^ Information from the home district of Meseritz on the Bialokosch estate and cemetery
personal data
SURNAME Massenbach, Christian von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Massenbach, Christian Karl August Ludwig Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian colonel and writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1758
PLACE OF BIRTH Schmalkalden
DATE OF DEATH November 21, 1827
Place of death Bialokosz , Poznan Province