Friedrich Gotthelf von Falkenhayn

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Friedrich Gotthelf von Falkenhayn (born October 17, 1719 in Schwiebus , † March 6, 1786 in Schweidnitz ) was a Prussian lieutenant general , governor of the fortress Schweidnitz and Drost zu Petershagen near Minden .

Life

In 1731 he went into Prussian service and came to Regiment No. 31 (Dossow) stationed in Wesel . As there the grenadier company was built, it was in May 1735 Ensign and 1738 Seconde Lieutenant . In 1743 the Marquis de Varenne took over the regiment and was transferred to Breslau with him . In the same year he became Premier Lieutenant . During the Second Silesian War he took part in the siege of Prague. In March 1752 he became a staff captain and received his own company in September . In the Seven Years Warhe fought on April 21, 1757 in Reichenberg and took part in the battle of Prague on May 6, 1757 , where he was seriously wounded. In May 1758 he was promoted to major . In 1759 he took part in the battles of Kay and Kunersdorf . In 1760 he received his own grenadier battalion , which consisted of four grenadier companies from regiments No. 31 (Lestwitz) and No. 29 (Knobloch). He fought with the battalion during the siege of Dresden (July 13-22, 1760).

On August 15 he fought with the battalion in the battle of Liegnitz . There it fought with distinction, Falkenhayn received the Pour le Mérite and was appointed lieutenant colonel out of turn . On November 3, he was able to distinguish himself again in the Battle of Torgau . He was given command of the city abandoned by the Austrians and the 8,000 Austrian prisoners. In February 1761 he became a colonel . During the winter the king entrusted him with various business deals that he did to his satisfaction. He then joined the army of General von Schenkendorf . He fought with his grenadiers in Silesia, where he was able to prove his talent again and again. In 1762 he came to the Platen Corps in Saxony. He was in Merseburg (February 27, 1762) when the later Austrian General Otto tried in vain to attack the Prussians there. In the spring of 1763 he was sent to Silesia to support the siege of Schweidnitz. If the Austrians failed, he was wounded and taken prisoner. He was also unlucky that a Prussian bomb hit the room in which the prisoner was interned, injuring him again. When the fortress surrendered on October 9, he was released and returned to his battalion. After that he was appointed commander of Regiment No. 43 (Zieten). In 1766 he was transferred back to Breslau and received regiment No. 38 (Zastrow) in September of that year . On July 8, 1766, he was appointed to Drost von Petershagen near Minden . In August 1767 he was also appointed major general.

During the War of the Bavarian Succession he was in the king's army and in June 1778 he became lieutenant general. In 1781 he was already seriously ill, so the king appointed him governor of Schweidnitz, for which he had to surrender his regiment. He died on March 6, 1786 in Schweidnitz.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Falkenhayn, Friedrich Gotthelf from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general, governor of the fortress Schweidnitz and Drost zu Petershagen near Minden
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1719
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwiebus in Silesia
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1786
Place of death Schweidnitz