Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch

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Grave site in the Invalidenfriedhof, Berlin

Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch (born December 13, 1763 in Magdeburg , † April 3, 1838 in Berlin ) was a Prussian lieutenant general . Also called Pirch I to distinguish it from his brother .

Life

origin

He came from the noble Pomeranian soldier family Pirch . His father was the Prussian infantry general Otto von Pirch (1733-1813), inspector general in Pomerania and governor of Kolberg , his mother was his first wife Charlotte Friederike, née von Winckelmann (1740-1781). His brother was the Prussian Lieutenant General Otto von Pirch (1765-1824).

Military career

In 1775 Pirch joined the infantry regiment "von Hessen-Kassel" of the Prussian army as a private corporal . There he became portepeefähnrich in 1777 and ensign in 1780 . In 1782 Pirch was promoted to battalion adjutant and in 1786 became second lieutenant . During the campaign in Holland in 1787 Pirch served as adjutant general to the head of the regiment, General von Eckartsberg . He stayed in this position in the years 1789/90 during the occupation of Liège under the command of General Martin Ernst von Schlieffen . After a three-month recovery phase, Pirch became an inspection adjutant in the Franconian infantry inspection under General von Gravenitz in Bayreuth in 1792 and took part in the siege of Mainz in 1793. In 1795 he was promoted to staff captain. 1797 move to Prince Hohenlohe in Breslau as first adjutant of the Lower Silesian infantry inspection. Promotion to major in the same year . Pirch took part in the Battle of Jena with the prince in 1806 during the Fourth Coalition War. After that, when Prenzlau surrendered, he became a French prisoner of war, from which Pirch returned in 1808. He remained closely connected to his previous boss, Prince Hohenlohe, whose personal bravery he repeatedly emphasized and to whom he remained loyal even in times of disaster.

On May 20, 1809 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commander of the 2nd West Prussian Infantry Regiment . At the end of May 1809, Pirch was assigned to lieutenant general von Stutterheim in Berlin, who was conducting the investigation into the Schill case .

At the beginning of the spring campaign of 1813, Pirch became a colonel in command of the Upper Silesian Brigade and soon after became major general . In the fights at Großgörschen and Haynau he distinguished himself particularly and received both classes of the Iron Cross . During the armistice he was transferred to the II Army Corps under von Kleist. Pirch also proved himself in the following battles near Dresden , Kulm and Leipzig . Here, on October 18, he sat at the head of the 2nd West Prussian Infantry Regiment, which, despite grueling grappling fire, carried out the infantry attack on Probstheida. For this, Pirch was awarded the oak leaves for the Pour le Mérite on December 24, 1813 .

In 1814 Pirch fought under General Blücher . After the Peace of Paris he stayed with his brigade in Aachen and took over the leadership of the II Army Corps in Borstell's place at the beginning of the campaign in 1815 . He played a prominent part in the battles at Ligny and Belle Alliance . After the latter, Gneisenau commissioned him to relocate General Grouchy, who was standing at Wavre with around 18,000 French . Due to the exhaustion of his troops, he could not get rid of this order in the sense of Gneisenau, the reconnaissance failed, and Grouchy escaped.

Pirch gave command of the II Army Corps to Prince August of Prussia , under whose command he besieged and captured the fortresses of Maubeuge and Philippeville. After the Second Peace of Paris, Pirch was promoted to lieutenant general and chief of the 1st brigade in the mobile army corps in France . At the end of October 1815, Pirch received a gift of 4,000 thalers from his king . In addition, the following year he was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle First Class with Oak Leaves. In the spring of 1816, Pirch submitted his departure due to health problems. King Friedrich Wilhelm III. refused, and a visit to the baths in Aachen brought no improvement. On September 21, 1816, he was granted leave with an annual pension of 1,500 thalers.

After his departure, he was allowed to wear the French Order of Military Merit , the Grand Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor and the Russian Order of St. George III. Class granted.

Pirch now lived quietly and withdrawn in Berlin with his relatives and friends. He read a lot and occupied himself with music. Pirch remained mentally fresh into old age. He was buried next to his brother Otto in the local invalids cemetery.

rating

Pirch's performance was controversial among contemporaries. This is how Blücher's adjutant, Count Nostitz , who got to know Pirch in the campaign of 1815, judged : “ He is more capable of correctly interpreting and executing orders received in subordinate positions than in a higher position independently and from his own point of view the demands of the moment in connection with the to satisfy the big picture. ".

literature
personal data
SURNAME Pirch, Georg Dubislav Ludwig von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1763
PLACE OF BIRTH Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH April 3, 1838
Place of death Berlin