Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm Freiherr von Romberg (* July 17, 1729 at Brünninghausen Palace ; † May 21, 1809 in Berlin ) was a Prussian lieutenant general who, as governor of Stettin, handed over the city and fortress to French troops in 1806 without a fight, for which he was imprisoned for life was convicted.

Life

origin

He was born in 1729 as a member of the Westphalian aristocratic family Romberg at Brünninghausen Castle , the family seat. His parents were Conrad Stefan von Romberg (1691–1755) and his wife Maria Christine, born von Bottlenburg called Kessel zu Caspersbrok (1700–1771). His father was lord of Brünninghausen, Bladenhorst, Kolvenburg and Dönhoff, Drost von Hörde and Lünen and director of the knighthood in the march.

Military career

In 1746 he joined the Infantry Regiment "Graf Wied" of the Prussian Army as a private corporal . During the Seven Years' War he was badly wounded in the Battle of Kolin in 1757.

In 1773 he succeeded Christoph Siegmund von Wallenrodt († after 1778) in command of the III. Standing grenadier battalion . In 1774 he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite . In 1780 he became the commander of the von Wolffersdorff infantry regiment under the command of Karl Friedrich von Wolffersdorff ; in the same year he was promoted to colonel , then in 1787 to major general .

In 1788 he became chief of the infantry regiment “von der Marwitz” and in 1792 received the Order of the Red Eagle . After another promotion to lieutenant general in 1794, he was finally appointed governor of Stettin , the capital of the Prussian province of Pomerania , in 1799 . This position was intended as a quiet supply position for the deserving general. The letter from King Friedrich Wilhelm II addressed to Romberg begins with the sentence: “Since it will undoubtedly be pleasant for you to get into a calmer relationship when your strength is reduced, I want to give you the vacant government in Stettin ... . "

In 1806 the Fourth Coalition War against Napoleon was waged in Europe . On October 14, 1806, the French troops defeated the Prussian army in the battle of Jena and Auerstedt . On October 28, 1806, Prenzlau , southwest of Stettin, surrendered , in which a Prussian army under Prince Hohenlohe surrendered to the French troops almost without a fight. When French troops appeared in front of Stettin the following day and demanded the surrender of the fortified city, Romberg decided on the surrender without a fight. It took place on October 30, 1806 to the French cavalry general Lasalle , who had appeared in front of the fortress with only two hussar regiments. No officer had previously spoken out decisively against the surrender in a council of war. The two generals subordinate to Romberg, namely Major General Kurd Gottlob von Knobelsdorff as commandant of the fortress and Major General Bonaventura von Rauch as commandant of Fort Prussia, had agreed to the transfer.

The surrender of Stettin without a fight joins the surrender of other Prussian fortresses when the Prussian army was largely in disarray after the lost battle of Jena and Auerstedt. Romberg was established in March 1809 to peacefully surrender by a Prussian military tribunal to life imprisonment sentenced. With his "Ortelsburger Publicandum" of December 1, 1806, King Friedrich Wilhelm III . worked towards a draconian punishment of all generals and staff officers who had reached a decision similar to that of Romberg.

Because of his poor health, Romberg did not have to serve his prison sentence; he died on May 21, 1809 in Berlin .

family

Romberg married in 1780 Eleonore von Krosigk (1760–1829), daughter of the Brunswick head captain and Anhalt state parliament sub-director Anton Friedrich von Krosigk and his wife Helene Ehrengard, née von Alvensleben .

The couple had several children including:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the baronial houses. 1876, sixth and twentieth year, p. 638.
  2. ^ Journal of Art, Science, and the History of War. Volume 80, Issue 7, ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin, Posen and Bromberg 1850, p. 47.
  3. ^ Necrology. In: New Nekrolog der Deutschen on the year 1833. P. 300.
personal data
SURNAME Romberg, Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Romberg, Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1729
PLACE OF BIRTH Brünninghausen Castle
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1809
Place of death Berlin