Georg Ludwig von Wiersbitzki

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Georg Ludwig von Wiersbitzky ( April 1717 in Lekellen, † March 9, 1778 in Kyritz ) was a Prussian major general , chief of the Cuirassier Regiment No. 2 and knight of the Pour le Mérite .

Life

origin

Georg Ludwig was the second son of Daniel von Wiersbitzky (1682–1766) heir to Dorschen and Wilkasch near Goldapp . His mother was Sophie Juliane Kalau von Hofe († May 7, 1728). In 1732 his father married Katharina Dorothea von Rautter (* 1710) from the Mehleden family, a daughter of Samuel von Rautter.

Military career

Wiersbitzki joined the cadet corps in Berlin in 1730 and became a free corporal in infantry regiment No. 23 in 1733 . In 1737 he became second lieutenant .

First Silesian War

In the First Silesian War Wiersbitzki fought on April 10, 1741 in the Battle of Mollwitz . On April 28th he was at the siege of Brieg under the command of Lieutenant General Christoph Wilhelm von Kalckstein .

In 1742 he entered Moravia with the corps , some units came as far as Lower Austria. A brigade of four battalions under Major General von Selchow was surrounded by an Austrian corps in the town of Austerlitz . The Austrians had already advanced into the suburbs when it was decided to send Lieutenant von Wiersbitzky, Lieutenant von Selchow ( Regiment No. 1 ) and Ensign von Keller ( Regiment No. 22 ) as scouts . After the three of them had snuck through the Austrian lines, they came to the village of Mischow, where Prussian troops were standing. It was regiment no. 13 under Dönhof with two battalions, the dragoon regiment "Alt-Möllendorf" no. 6 and 100 hussars . After the commander, Colonel Dönhof, learned of the situation, he managed to open a corridor in the Prussian-occupied area through which the four battalions could withdraw without losses. From there they marched up to the main army.

Second Silesian War

In the Second Silesian War he fought in the siege of Prague . On November 27, 1745 he was with the Truchsess von Waldburg brigade when they attacked near Jaromires in Bohemia and Wiersbitzky was seriously injured. He fell from his horse and was presumed dead, left lying while the fighting continued. His supposed corpse had already been looted when a drummer tried to take his boots away. He realized that he was still alive and brought him to the troops in Nachod . From there he was sent to a nearby monastery for treatment. There the severity of his wound became apparent: the shot had gone into the mouth, hit part of the lower jaw and knocked out teeth so badly that one of them got stuck in the tongue. The tooth was removed by a surgeon, and his tongue had to be operated twice, so that he could not speak for twenty weeks. When he was restored, he returned to his regiment . Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia had heard of him and caused him to join his cuirassier regiment No. 2 in mid-May 1745 (14 days before Hohenfriedeberg). He subsequently fought in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg and the Battle of Thrush . After the war he became adjutant general to the prince and was given his own apartment in the prince's palace in Berlin . On March 8, 1746 he was Rittmeister and received his own company . In 1753 he was sent to numerous imperial cities for advertising .

Seven Years War

During the Seven Years' War he entered Bohemia with the royal army. He fought in the battle of Lobositz . In Kolin he was fighting on the left wing of the Prussians when his horse was shot to death. When the army had to withdraw from Bohemia to Saxony, Wiersbitzki fought in the Nollendorfer mountains and lost another horse.

He fought in the battle of Breslau and again in Leuthen . Then he came to a corps under General Driesen , which was to besiege 4,000 Austrians under Colonel Ferdinand von Bülow in Liegnitz . But the Austrians had already surrendered to Prince Moritz (December 26, 1757). Wiersbitzky got the order with 200 men to escort the prisoners to the Bohemian border near Königszahn. Subsequently he was assigned to the Siege Corps of Schweidnitz . After taking the fortress, he joined Prince Heinrich's army in Saxony. In the corps under Driesen he was present at the advance of the Prussians to Bamberg. After the troops were back in Saxony, the cuirassier regiments "Prince Heinrich" No. 2 and "Margrave Friedrich" No. 5 were sent under the command of General Zieten to Frankfurt an der Oder , where on August 7, 1758 they took over the corps under Dohna met. The battle of Zorndorf followed, where he subsequently had the task of protecting the battlefield from looters with 200 men. Then the two regiments came to Prince Heinrich's corps, which were supposed to relieve the besieged Dresden .

In 1759 he was with the corps of General Itzenplitz , which advanced to Bamberg in order to conquer the storage facilities there. On this occasion he stole a large amount of money in a castle, which he gave to the state treasury. For this he received a letter of thanks from Prince Heinrich . Then he came to the corps of General Fink in the Bautzen area . At Hoyerswerda he fought with General Belling against the Austrians, taking over 100 prisoners. The Fink corps was then moved to Frankfurt an der Oder to take part in the battle of Kunersdorf on August 12th .

On August 15, 1760, the battle of Liegnitz broke out . The night before he received an order from General Zieten to switch off an enemy battery . He met a regiment of grenadiers protecting this battery. After requesting and receiving reinforcements, he drove out the grenadiers and took over 300 prisoners. The action was noticed by King Friedrich II . This sent his wing adjutant Major von Götzen , who gave him the Pour le Mérite and promotion to lieutenant colonel during the battle .

After the peace of 1763

In 1764 Wiersbitzki became colonel and in 1765 commander in the "Czettritz" dragoon regiment No. 4 . On September 26, 1768 he received the cuirassier regiment "Prince Heinrich" No. 2 and on September 21, 1769 he was promoted to major general. When the War of the Bavarian Succession broke out, his regiment was also deployed. He died on March 9, 1778 in Kyritz.

family

Wiersbitzki was married to Julia Sophie von Graevenitz (born March 26, 1729 - August 20, 1811) since September 22, 1750 . Se was the daughter of the Prignitz country director Ernst Wilhelm von Graevenitz (born March 29, 1693 - February 25, 1765) and his wife Helmine Frederike von Rohr from the house of Penzlin. He had numerous children (nine sons and four daughters). His descendants often called themselves Corvin-Wiersbitzki again :

  • Heinrich (1766–1823) Major, postal director in Gumbinnen ∞ Catharina Wilhelmine Sophie Mandel (1786–1851), parents of Otto von Corvin
  • Ferdinand Hans Helmuth Ernst Friedrich (* September 14, 1761; † April 15, 1826) ∞ Ernestine Wilhelmine Henriette von Düringshofen (* January 18, 1773; † June 18, 1809)
  • Gottlob Karl Ludwig (* 1756 - † January 4, 1817), Prussian hussar major general
  • August Leopold Friedrich (* March 2, 1773; † October 14, 1806 - died near Auerstädt) ∞ Sophie Henriette Louise Auguste Georgine von Eickstedt (* September 30, 1785; † March 2, 1810)
  • Albertine Sophia ∞ Karl Christoph Joachim von Arnim (* 1764; † March 20, 1821) on Blankensee
  • Wilhelmine Friederike Dorothee ∞ Karl Christoph Joachim von Arnim (1764–1821)

literature

  • Gustav Sommerfeldt : On the history of the noble family v. Wiersbitzki (Wierzbicki). In: Messages from the literary society Masovia. 5, 1900.
  • Gustav Sommerfeldt : On the biography of some members of the Corvin-Wiersbitzk family , In Altpreußische Monatsschrift 36 p. 589 digitized
  • Anton Balthasar König : Georg Ludwig von Wiersbitzki . In: Biographical lexicon of all heroes and military figures who made themselves famous in the Prussian service . tape 4 . Arnold Wever, Berlin 1791, p. 218 ( Georg Ludwig von Wiersbitzki at Wikisource [PDF]).
  • Speeches which will take place after February 25th. 1765. The blessed death of the ... Mr. Ernst Wilhelm von Grävenitz, heir Truchses of Churmarck Brandenburg, Königl. Prussia. Highly appointed state directors of the Priegnitz ... have been held . (Digitized version)
  • Eduard Lange : The soldiers of Frederick the Great. Hermann Mendelssohn, Leipzig 1853, p. 127. (digitized version)
  • Genealogical paperback of the knights and Aristocratic families, 1879. Fourth year, p.102f

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Œuvres de Frédéric le Grand - Works of Frederick the Great. P. 111. (digitized version)
  2. ^ Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : New Prussian Adelslexicon . P. 334. (digitized version)
  3. ↑ On April 11, 1809, the widow married Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Friedrich Wilhelm von Kalckreuth (* October 8, 1768; † March 26, 1829), cf .: Gothaisches genealogical paperback of noble houses 1906. Seventh year, p.348
  4. ↑ Gustav Sommerfeldt : On the biography of some members of the Corvin-Wiersbitzk family , In Altpreußische Monatsschrift 36 p. 625 digitized
personal data
SURNAME Wiersbitzki, Georg Ludwig von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Corvin-Wiersbitzky, Georg Ludwig von; Wiersbitzky, Georg Ludwig Corvin von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian major general
DATE OF BIRTH April 1717
PLACE OF BIRTH Lekellen
DATE OF DEATH March 9, 1778
Place of death Kyritz