Eugen von Bernhardi

Eugen Dietrich Karl Wilhelm von Bernhardi (born February 5, 1822 in Saalfeld , † February 15, 1910 in Charlottenburg ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

Eugen was the son of the Prussian major Ferdinand von Bernhardi (1790–1871) and his wife Sophie, born Freiin von Hoverbeck called von Schoenaich (1800–1882).

Military career

Bernhardi attended high school in Elbing . On January 25, 1840, he joined the 1st Jäger Department of the Prussian Army and was promoted to Second Lieutenant by September 1843 . On the occasion of revolutionary unrest , he was commanded with a train to maintain order from May to September 1848 to Drengfurth . On November 21, 1848 he was transferred to the Guard Rifle Battalion . At the beginning of 1852 Bernhardi was assigned to the rifle factory in Sömmerda for six months to familiarize himself with the Dreyse needle gun . Bernhardi rose to prime lieutenant in October 1852 and was commanded from August 1855 to June 1856 for instruction on the needle gun to the Guard Dragoons Regiment . For the same reason he was in command of the Kaiser Alexander Grenadier Regiment from October 1856 to June 1857 . Subsequently, Bernhardi acted as a company commander in the 2nd Battalion in the 4th Guards Landwehr Regiment. There he rose to captain at the end of July 1857 and was appointed company commander on June 30, 1859 . On June 7, 1860, he was commanded again as a company commander in the Kaiser Alexander Grenadier Regiment, and Bernhardi was transferred to this regiment on July 1, 1860 when he was appointed chief of the 9th Company. When he was promoted to major on April 3, 1866, he joined the 3rd Guard Grenadier Regiment Queen Elisabeth . For the duration of the mobile relationship on the occasion of the war against Austria , Bernhardi was commander of the 2nd battalion in the 1st Guards Grenadier Landwehr Regiment. After the war he returned to the 3rd Guard Grenadier Regiment Queen Elisabeth and was given command of the 2nd Battalion. In this position he rose to lieutenant colonel on July 26, 1870 and took part in the fighting at Gravelotte , Beaumont , Sedan and Le Bourget as well as the siege of Paris in 1870/71 during the war against France .

Awarded with both classes of the Iron Cross , Bernhardi was commissioned after the peace treaty on June 20, 1871 under position à la suite, initially with the command of the 4th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment No. 24 (Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) and on November 4, 1871 appointed regimental commander. He became colonel on January 18, 1872 . After Bernhardi had handed over his regiment to his successor Wilhelm von Albert on September 20, 1876, he was appointed major general of the army and on October 17, 1876 commander of the 44th Infantry Brigade stationed in Kassel . In this position, King Wilhelm I awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd Class with Oak Leaves, on September 24, 1878 . After being given the character of Lieutenant General, he was finally put up for disposal on June 10, 1882 with the statutory pension .

After his departure , Bernhardi received the Order of the Crown, 2nd class with a star, on the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Le Bourget on October 30, 1895 . After his death he was buried on February 19, 1910 in the old Luisenfriedhof in Charlottenburg.

family

Bernhardi married Marie Luise Eytelwein (1827–1920) on May 20, 1850 in Berlin. She was a daughter of the secret finance councilor Albert Eytelwein. The marriage resulted in the following children:

• Martha (1852-1854)
• Klara (* 1856) ⚭ October 12, 1877 grape caster, Prussian captain in the 4th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment No. 24 (Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
• Walter Eugen Albert (* 1863), Prussian Major and Course Major in Szczecin

literature

• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 9, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 986919780 , pp. 323-324, no. 2913.