David von Neumann

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David Neumann , von Neumann from 1779 , (born August 29, 1734 in Königsberg , † April 16, 1807 in Cosel ) was a Prussian major general who became known as the defender of the Cosel Fortress in 1807.

The Siege of Cosel. Oil painting by Wilhelm von Kobell , 1808

Life

David Neumann came from a middle-class East Prussian family and was the son of the businessman of the same name and his wife Katharina Elisabeth, née Schwartz. Neumann enrolled at the Albertus University in Königsberg on May 7, 1753 and was court master of the sons of Chancellor Friedrich Alexander von Korff .

Officer under three Prussian kings and in three wars

When the Seven Years' War broke out , Neumann joined the von Kleist Freikorps of the Prussian Army . In January 1760 he became second lieutenant . He fought in the battle of Freiberg and in the battle of Döbeln . After the Treaty of Hubertusburg , King Friedrich II kept Neumann in the army and in March 1763 transferred him to the "von Lestwitz" infantry regiment . In the following years he was assigned to map the area near Glatz , Schweidnitz and Jauernick in Silesia .

Prime lieutenant since 1770 , Neumann took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778/79 and acted as adjutant general to the regiment chief Hans Christoph von Rothkirch, among other things in the battle at Zuckmantel . For his services Neumann was raised to the Prussian nobility on June 9, 1779 at the instigation of Rothkirch . On February 1, 1784, Neumann was promoted to captain , then to company commander in his regiment and on December 9, 1792 to major .

In the campaign of 1795/95 Neumann fought near Kaiserslautern , participated in the blockade of Landau and in the battles near Hochheim, Saarbrücken and Bouvines. From March 27, 1793 he was Quartermaster General in the Knobelsdorff Corps and was decorated with the Pour le Mérite for his services during the battle at Saingain on August 3, 1793 . In 1794 King Friedrich Wilhelm II sent him to Koblenz to organize the troops of the Elector of Trier and to prepare the defense. When the infantry regiment "Courbière" was set up , Neumann was its first commander in 1797 and, on May 26, 1801, from Friedrich Wilhelm III. promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Commandant of Cosel

In 1807, the Friedrich Wilhelms Tower was still missing a bombproof roof. It had to replace a layer of earth several meters thick. State in 2004

On September 11, 1802, the king appointed him in recognition of his services and because he wanted to spare him the "hardships of field service" as the commander of the fortress Cosel (Ko'zle), which had been under construction since 1797, with a salary of 1200 thalers and an allowance of 500 thalers and promoted him to colonel on August 24, 1804 .

At the beginning of the Fourth Coalition War , the Cosel fortifications were still largely unfinished . Neumann had the equipment and the inundation system repaired with care and energy . The supplies were sufficient for two months for the 6,000 men of the planned crew. But there were only 4,300 men. The bulk of the men consisted of third battalions unfit for campaigning and newly established national battalions armed only with scythes and lances. The cantons of the Coseler garrison were mainly in Upper Silesia and New Silesia . The Polish recruits had to be brought here by force and tended to desert .

On January 23, 1807, French and Bavarian troops under General Deroy trapped Cosel. Despite foreseeable discipline problems and with no prospect of relief , Neumann declined a request to surrender , whereupon the siege and bombardment of the fortress began on February 3rd . Neumann's persistent defense of the fortress meant that the positions of the besiegers were inundated twice by the Oder during the spring melt in March . On March 15, they gave up their positions in front of Cosel, withdrew their guns in favor of the sieges of Glogau , cleared the right bank of the Oder and limited themselves to a partial blockade of the fortress. Neumann immediately ordered an outage and arranged for food and other supplies to be delivered to the fortress. At the end of March Neumann's son, Lieutenant August Wilhelm von Neumann , managed to get the report of success through the French lines to the king in Königsberg .

David von Neumann died on April 16, 1807 after an accident injury of gangrene . He was buried on the Rheinsdorf bastion in Cosel.

The fortress was more tightly enclosed in late April and then suffered from a lack of drinking water. More and more soldiers perished in the hospitals in the weeks that followed. Finally, Neumann's successor Colonel Ludwig Wilhelm von Puttkamer (1739-1820) concluded a surrender on June 10 with the French commander, Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Hechingen , according to which Cosel was to be handed over to him on July 16, 1807. The arrival of the news of the peace of Tilsit prevented this on July 14th and Cosel remained in Prussia.

The king had answered Neumann's report with the promotion of Neumann to major general and with the promise to the citizens of Kosel to support the reconstruction of their city in the coming peace:

“The highest cabinet order Kydullen April 11, 1807, To Colonel von Neumann zu Kosel; My dear, etc. Your son, who is with the von Sanitz regiment, sent me your report of 31st BC. M. and the journal of the siege of the Kosel fortress entrusted to you correctly and I am sending it back to you with the present reply. I now see very well the difficulties you had to struggle with in defense. But it also makes you all the more honorable that you have overcome them all and preserved the fortress. I recognize this with an obliging thank you and will certainly use a decent opportunity to give you active proofs of my particular satisfaction as well as I certainly count on you to reject a new attack, if the enemy should tent it, just as happily and that You will not let the fortress fall into the enemy's hands in any way or under any condition [..] Your very highest handwritten postscript: As proof of my excellent satisfaction with your clever and steadfast behavior, I hereby advance you to major general and expect this to serve as your further encouragement becomes. "

Cosel only received the cabinet order after the ratification of the capitulation on June 18, 1807. David von Neumann had died without having learned of his appointment as general. King Wilhelm I paid tribute to his decisive role in the successful defense of Cosel in 1880 by allowing Neumann's descendants to use the name von Neumann-Cosel .

family

David von Neumann was married to Elisabeth Josepha Maria Antonia, born von Jost (1745–1827) since November 14, 1780. The marriage had six children.

  • Friedrich David (1781–1785)
  • Helene Charlotte Christiane Elisabeth (* / † 1784)
  • August Wilhelm (1786–1865), Prussian infantry general and head of the Prussian military cabinet . During the fighting for Cosel he served as an adjutant to his father ∞ Amalie von Dresky (* August 17, 1788; † February 9, 1859)
  • Friedrich Albert (1787–1818), Prussian major and commander of the Breslau Guard Landwehr Battalion
  • Elisabeth Amalie Henriette Juliane (1791–1794)
  • Amalie Henriette Juliane (* 1795)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ As the date of birth Priesdorff (Lit., p. 273) gives August 29, 1734, Bernhard von Poten (Lit.) August 29, 1737. Priesdorff's information matches that on Neumann's grave, see web link.
  2. ↑ The king's letter is reprinted in Priesdorff (Lit.), p. 274.
  3. ↑ On the Cosel Fortress 1807 see Eduard von Höpfner (lit.).
  4. ↑ On Höpfner's funeral, p. 289.
  5. ↑ Gustaf Lehmann: The knights of the order pour le mérite. Mittler, Berlin 1913, Volume 1, pp. 465-466.
personal data
SURNAME Neumann, David von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Neumann, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian officer, most recently major general
DATE OF BIRTH August 29, 1734
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1807
Place of death Cosel