Gerhard von Scharnhorst

Gerhard von Scharnhorst, painting by Friedrich Bury , around 1810. Scharnhorst's signature:

Scharnhorst statue by Christian Daniel Rauch on Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin, 1822

Gerhard Johann David Scharnhorst , from 1804 von Scharnhorst (born November 12, 1755 in Bordenau near Hanover , † June 28, 1813 in Prague ) was a Prussian lieutenant general and army reformer. Following the guidance of the War Department and the General Staff he drove along with August Neidhardt von Gneisenau the army reform forward. He circumvented the limitation of military strength by the Krümpersystem , the nobility managed privilege to the officer sstellen from, the general led military service and gave the Prussian army a new consciousness. As Chief of Staff Gebhard Leberecht von Blüchers , he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Großgörschen in 1813 and died of the consequences in Prague, where he tried to persuade Austria to join the coalition against Napoleon . Scharnhorst is one of the most important army reformers of the Wars of Liberation and one of the most important lines of tradition in the Bundeswehr .

origin

Scharnhorst birthplace in Bordenau

Scharnhorst monument in Bordenau

Gerhard Johann David Scharnhorst was born on November 12, 1755 in Bordenau near Hanover as the son of Quartermaster Ernst Wilhelm Scharnhorst (1723–1782), who in turn came from a long -established Bordenau Brinksitzer family , that is, a small farmer's family, and his wife Wilhelmine Tegtmeyer (1728–1782) 1796), daughter of the owner of a landscaped property in Bordenau. The previous owners of the estate, which Ernst Wilhelm Scharnhorst inherited after a legal dispute, were members of the powerful corporate representation, called the Calenberg-Grubenhagen landscape . In the 17th century, this actually required belonging to the nobility ; later, however, the "Landstandschaft" no longer depended on the title of nobility, but on the estate. Bordenau was only a small estate that never yielded profitable income and from the point of view of the Prussian guards officers, who later mocked Scharnhorst's origins (ennobled not until 1804), was just a " dump ".

Military career

Scharnhorst monument in Großgörschen

Scharnhorst grave of Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin

Since 1773 Scharnhorst attended the military school built by Count Schaumburg-Lippe on the Wilhelmstein and in 1778 joined General von Estorff's "Estorff" regiment as an ensign in the Hanoverian Reuter regiment . During this time he was stationed in Northeim (then Nordheim ) near Göttingen . In 1779 Scharnhorst became a member of the Freemasons' Association , and his lodge, the Golden Circle, was based in Göttingen.

In 1782 von Scharnhorst was appointed lieutenant in the artillery and at his own request to the war school in Hanover, where he became one of their first teachers and head librarian in the artillery school founded in the same year . In 1783 he went on a military study trip through Bavaria , Saxony , Baden, Austria and Prussia . He then wrote reports on the Bavarian military , which did not do very well in his writings, and soon afterwards he became a teacher at the war school and in 1792 a staff captain .

In the years 1793–1795 he made the campaigns in Flanders and Holland in the Allied army at the head of a mounted battery and played an important role in the retreat from Hondschoote and the defense of Menen , which is why he was at the instigation of General Rudolf von Hammerstein was promoted to major .

Promoted to lieutenant colonel after the war in 1796 , he dealt with literary and military work (such as for the New Military Journal , which is widely recognized in Europe ), in which he processed his experiences from the campaigns from 1793 to 1795. In addition, he submitted several memoranda to his superiors on reforms that, in his opinion, were necessary in the electoral Hanoverian army . Because his reform proposals went unnoticed in Hanover, he joined the Prussian service as lieutenant colonel in the artillery in 1801 and was appointed director of the training institute for young infantry and cavalry officers, on which his teaching had a great influence. Some students later became his friends and collaborators in the army reform , such as Carl von Clausewitz , Hermann von Boyen , Karl von Grolman and Karl von Müffling .

In 1802 he founded the Military Society in Berlin, which General Ernst von Rüchel presided over as President. Society is considered to be the nucleus of army reform.

Elevated to the nobility in 1804 and promoted to colonel , in 1806 he was assigned to General von Rüchel as Chief of Staff, and later to Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand of Braunschweig . During these years he wrote uninterrupted memoranda about reforms such as B. the introduction of a national militia and mobilization.

In the battle of Auerstedt , Scharnhorst led the troops assigned to him excellently, but was wounded in the left side and took part in Blücher's retreat to Lübeck . In a letter to his daughter Julie from Rostock on November 22, 1806, he wrote:

“When Schmit [his servant] sleeps with me in the car, I have the sad freedom to surrender myself completely to the outbreak of pain. It hits me twice because I know all the mistakes, the stupidity, the cowardice that have brought us into the present situation. The only consolation, the internal one, is that I made suggestions from the beginning how we could forestall our misfortune, the establishment of a national militia, the general arming of the country last summer, the reinforcement of the regiments, closer political ties. Likewise, I always showed the correct point of view in the operations; in the battle itself I led the part I was in to victory; in short, I have done a thousand times more for myself than I needed to do. "

Captured with Blücher, but soon exchanged with him again, he attended the battle of Prussian Eylau as Quartermaster General in L'Estocq's corps . He was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his brave and clever use in battle . After the Peace of Tilsit , on July 25, 1807, he was appointed head of the War Department (War Ministry) , chief of the general staff and chairman of the military reorganization commission, the main members of which were Gneisenau , Grolman , Boyen and Clausewitz . In this position he reorganized the army from the ground up by introducing qualification requirements for the officer rank, eliminated the advertising system and created a strong reserve by training the recruits as quickly as possible (the body system ) and helped the soldier rank to improve its reputation: by abolishing the degrading ones Corporal punishment and improving education, especially for officers. He converted the mercenary army into a standing people's army and thus prepared the organization of the Landwehr and the liberation of Germany .

In June 1810, due to French pressure, he had to resign from the office of the Prussian Minister of War "in form", but remained chief of the general staff and used the time gained as the new chief of the engineering corps to build it up. During this time he worked closely with Colonel Gustav von Rauch , who succeeded him as chief of the engineering corps.

When the Russians early in 1813 on the border of Silesia appeared operational Scharnhorst zealously collecting Prussia and conclusion of the treaty of Kalisch with Russia (February 28). Scharnhorst has certainly strongly endorsed the Kalisch military alliance and the foundation of the Iron Cross; However, to see him as the initiator is an overestimation. Chancellor Hardenberg was more decisive for the conclusion of the Kalisch Treaty . Scharnhorst persuaded the king to donate the Iron Cross and when the fighting broke out he was assigned to the Prussian Commander-in-Chief Blücher as Chief of the General Staff of the Silesian Army , with whom he - in vain - demanded a more energetic warfare.

In the Battle of Großgörschen (May 2, 1813) he suffered a gunshot wound to his left knee, and on the same day he was awarded the Iron Cross . A few weeks later, on June 28, 1813, Scharnhorst died in Prague as a result of inadequate treatment of the knee injury when he was on his way to Vienna to persuade Austria to join the coalition.

Burial site and monuments

Scharnhorst was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin in field C, G1, where his grave is distinguished by a monument designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel , with a relief by Friedrich Tieck and the bronze sculpture of a sleeping lion by Theodor Kalide . His sons August and Wilhelm, his daughter Juliane with her husband, Field Marshal Friedrich Graf zu Dohna-Schlobitten , and two grandsons were buried next to him . The grave site is an honorary grave of the city of Berlin . Former comrades-in-arms were buried in the immediate vicinity of Scharnhorst: Gustav von Rauch in 1841 and Hermann von Boyen in 1848. This ensemble of tombs was preserved despite its close proximity to the Berlin Wall that separated the Invalidenfriedhof and was extensively restored after German reunification .

In front of the Neue Wache Unter den Linden in Berlin, King Friedrich Wilhelm III. erect a marble statue of the deceased in 1822 by the master hand of the sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch . It was in 1950 on the orders of SED leader Walter Ulbricht , together with other still images removed, stored and later transferred to the other side of the street. Since 1990, citizens and conservationists have been calling for the original ensemble to be restored, which the State Monument Council has so far rejected.

In Scharnhorst's birthplace Bordenau there is a memorial in front of the house where he was born. A bust made by the sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch is in the Walhalla in Regensburg .

progeny

Scharnhorst had married Klara Schmalz (1762-1803) on April 24, 1785 in Bordenau. The following children were born from the marriage:

• Heinrich Wilhelm Gerhard (1786–1854), Prussian General of the Infantry ∞ Agnes Countess Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1800–1822), eldest daughter of Field Marshal Count Neidhardt von Gneisenau and his wife Juliane born. from Kottwitz . With the death of their son August von Scharnhorst , who died on November 11, 1875 as a major von Pillau , the male line of the Scharnhorsts died out.
• Klara Sophie Julie (born July 28, 1788 in Hanover, † February 20, 1827 in Düsseldorf) ∞ Friedrich Burggraf and Count zu Dohna-Schlobitten , Prussian Field Marshal General
• Sophie Ernestine (born June 3, 1791 in Hanover; † March 5, 1792 ibid)
• Friedrich Gerhard August (born April 20, 1795 in Bordenau, † October 11, 1826 in Berlin), retired Prussian major . D. ∞ Johanna von Schlabrendorf (1804–1867)
• Anna Sophie Emilia (born December 29, 1799 in Hanover; † 1804)

Honor

• In honor of Scharnhorst, a bust was erected in the Regensburg Walhalla , which Christian Daniel Rauch had created in 1830.
• The former Scharnhorst colliery and - derived from it - the districts of Alt-Scharnhorst and Scharnhorst-Ost as well as the district of Scharnhorst in Dortmund bear his name . On the occasion of the 250th birthday of the namesake of the Dortmund-Scharnhorst district , a triptych was created in his honor , which was unveiled on November 12, 2005 as part of a ceremony in the district's wedding room and has its place there.
• In addition, numerous streets in German cities bear his name.
• The establishment of the Bundeswehr was deliberately placed on November 12th in 1955, the 200th birthday of Scharnhorst. On the occasion of his 250th birthday, a solemn pledge was made on November 12, 2005 at his birthplace in Bordenau . This formed the end of the series of events “50 Years of the Bundeswehr”.
• With the school frigate Scharnhorst , the German Navy remembered Scharnhorst.
• The Bundeswehr named some barracks after Scharnhorst, e.g. B. the Scharnhorst barracks in Lingen (Ems) , Northeim , Bremen or Lüneburg , which was redesigned in the mid-1990s in an extensive conversion project into a campus of the University of Lüneburg . The Scharnhorst barracks, a medical barracks in Hamburg-Harburg , was given up in 1993 and the area in the Heimfeld district was built on with a “Scharnhorst Höhe” housing estate.
• Scharnhorst is also commemorated in the Bundeswehr by the Scharnhorst Prize for the best of the year of the officer candidate years of the German Army , the Scharnhorsthaus at the armored troop school in Munster and the Scharnhorstsaal, the auditorium of the army officers' school in Dresden .
• To mark the 150th anniversary of the wars of liberation, the Deutsche Post (GDR) issued a special postage stamp with images of Scharnhorst and Kutusow in 1963 .
• The GDR Scharnhorst Order , founded in 1966, was named after him.
• In 1980 the GDR issued a 10-mark commemorative coin for Scharnhorst's 225th birthday.
• In Hildesheim the Scharnhorstgymnasium bears his name and in Wunstorf the Scharnhorstschule .
• In Wunstorf there is a Scharnhorst memorial stone on the moat at the Auebrücke.
• The Great Cruiser Scharnhorst and the outpost boat Scharnhorst were named after Gerhard von Scharnhorst by the Imperial Navy, and the battleship Scharnhorst by the Navy .
• In his honor, a marble statue created by Christian Daniel Rauch and Karl Friedrich Schinkel was erected in front of the Neue Wache in Berlin in 1822 . It has been located in the Prinzessinnengarten opposite since 1964.

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  Special postage stamp of the Deutsche Post (GDR) for the 150th anniversary of the wars of liberation with pictures of Scharnhorst and Kutusow , 1963

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  Scharnhorst Order of the GDR

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  Scharnhorst triptych by Bruni Braun in Dortmund-Scharnhorst

Works

• Handbook for officers in the applied parts of war science . 3 volumes, Hanover 1787–1790; new complete edition by Hoyer, 1817–1820.
  • Part 1 ( From the artillery , digitized , 1815)
• Military memorabilia . 5 volumes, Hanover 1797–1805.
• Manual of the artillery . Hanover 1804, 1806, 1814.
• Military paperback for use in the field . With a foreword by Ulrich Marwedel, reprint of the 3rd edition from 1794, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1980 (= Bibliotheca Rerum Militarium, XXXI), ISBN 3-7648-0841-1 .
• About the effect of the fire rifle. For the royal. Prussian war schools ( digitized ). Reprint of the edition from 1813. With an introduction by Werner Hahlweg , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1973 (= Bibliotheca Rerum Militarium, XXVI), ISBN 3-7648-0181-6 .
• Selected Writings. With an introduction ed. v. Ursula von Gersdorff , Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1983 (= Bibliotheca Rerum Militarium, XLIX), ISBN 3-7648-1273-7 .
• Selected military writings. Military publishing house of the GDR , Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-327-00024-7 .
• Private and official publications.
  • Volume 1: Schoolchildren, teachers, combatants (Kurhannover until 1795). ed. by Johannes Kunisch, arr. by Michael Sikora and Tilman Stieve (= publications from the archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage, Volume 52.1), Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2002.
  • Volume 2: Chief of Staff and Reformer (Kurhannover 1795–1801). ed. by Johannes Kunisch , arr. by Michael Sikora and Tilman Stieve (= publications from the Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage, Volume 52.2), Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2003
  • Volume 3: Teacher, artilleryman, pioneer (Prussia 1801–1804). ed. by Johannes Kunisch, arr. by Michael Sikora and Tilman Stieve (= publications from the Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage, Volume 52.2), Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2005
  • Volume 4: General Staff Officer between Crisis and Reform (Prussia 1804–1807). ed. by Johannes Kunisch, arr. by Michael Sikora and Tilman Stieve (= publications from the Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage, Volume 52.2), Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2007

literature

• Hermann von Boyen :
  • Contributions to the knowledge of General von Scharnhorst and his official activities in the years 1808–1813. Berlin 1833.
  • About the life and character of Scharnhorst. From the estate of General Clausewitz Berlin 1832.
• OV Schweder: Scharnhorst's life. Berlin 1865.
• Georg Heinrich Klippel : The life of General von Scharnhorst. 3 volumes, Leipzig 1869–1871.
• Max Lehmann: Scharnhorst. 2 volumes, Leipzig 1886–1887.
• Eckardt Opitz (ed.): Gerhard von Scharnhorst. On the nature and work of the Prussian army reform. A conference proceedings. (= Series of publications of the Scientific Forum for International Security . Volume 12). Edition Temmen, Bremen 1998, ISBN 3-86108-719-7 .
• Bernhard von Poten :  Scharnhorst, Gerhard . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 30, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, pp. 588-597.
• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 3, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632780 , pp. 221-239, no. 1115.
• Rudolf Stadelmann : Scharnhorst. Fate and Spirit World. Limes, Wiesbaden 1952.
• Hansjürgen Usczeck: Scharnhorst: theorist, reformer, patriot. Military publishing house of the GDR , Berlin 1979.
• Heinz Stübig : Scharnhorst. The reform of the Prussian army. Muster-Schmidt, Göttingen / Zurich 1988, ISBN 3-7881-0131-8 .
• Klaus Hornung : Scharnhorst. Soldier, reformer, statesman. Bechtle Verlag, Esslingen 2001, ISBN 3-7628-0538-5 .
• Andreas Broicher : Gerhard von Scharnhorst. Soldier - reformer - pioneer. Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2005, ISBN 3-938208-20-1 , with 85 illustrations.
• Ralph Thiele: Gerhard von Scharnhorst. On the identity of the Bundeswehr in the transformation. Bernard & Graefe publishing house. Bonn 2006, ISBN 3-7637-6261-2 .
• Michael Sikora : Scharnhorst, teacher, staff officer, reformer . In: Karl-Heinz Lutz, Martin Rink , Marcus von Salisch (eds.): Reform, reorganization, transformation. On the change in the German armed forces from the Prussian army reforms to the transformation of the Bundeswehr . Commissioned by the Military History Research Office, Oldenbourg, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-486-59714-1 , pp. 43-64.
• Michael Sikora: Traces of a Political Soldier Career. Introduction to: Gerhard von Scharnhorst. Private and official publications. Volume 1: Schoolchildren, teachers, combatants (Kurhannover until 1795). ed. by Johannes Kunisch, arr. by Michael Sikora and Tilman Stieve (= publications from the archives of Preußischer Kulturbesitz, volume 52.1), Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2002, pp. IX – XXX.
• Johannes Kunisch :  Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 22, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-428-11203-2 , p. 574 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Heinz Stübig : Gerhard von Scharnhorst - Prussian general and army reformer. Studies on his biography and reception. Lit, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-643-10255-3 .
• Frank Bauer: Gerhard von Scharnhorst. Creator of general conscription. (= Small series history of the liberation wars 1813-1815, special issue 3), Potsdam 2007.
• Marcelli Janecki , Handbook of the Prussian Nobility , Volume 1, 1892, S.518f
• Edgar Schumacher : Scharnhorst and his work (= German people . [82]). Diederichs, Jena 1935.
• Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der Briefadeligen houses, 1910, fourth year, p.678ff
• Laurenz Demps : Between Mars and Minerva. Signpost Invalidenfriedhof, 1998.

Movie and TV

• Scharnhorst television series , television of the GDR , 5 parts, 1978, director: Wolf-Dieter Panse , with Horst Drinda in the role of Scharnhorst. The series was also broadcast on NDR in 1981 .

Web links

Commons : Gerhard von Scharnhorst  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Gerhard von Scharnhorst in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Gerhard von Scharnhorst  in the German Digital Library
• Article u. a. to Scharnhorst's grave in the Invalidenfriedhof Berlin ( Memento from May 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Grave site on the homepage of the Invalidenfriedhof e. V.
• Journal articles by Scharnhorst from the years 1762–1802 (enter "Scharnhorst" in the search mask for the author)
• GeschiMag - Scharnhorst: reformer of the Prussian army
• ZEIT ONLINE - Gerhard von Scharnhorst: Soldier, but self-thinker

Remarks

1. ↑ https://www.wissen.de/lexikon/scharnhorst-gerhard-johann-david-von
2. ↑ https://www.zeit.de/2013/26/gerhard-von-scharnhorst/komplettansicht
3. ↑ Eugen Lennhoff, Oskar Posner, Dieter A. Binder: Internationales Freemaurerlexikon. Revised and expanded new edition of the 1932 edition, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7766-2161-3 .
4. ↑ Dietmar Schössler : Clausewitz - Engels - Mahan: Outline of a history of ideas of military thought. in the Politics / Research and Science series. Volume 27, Berlin; Münster: Lit, 2009, ISBN 978-3-8258-0220-2 , p. 44. online
5. ^ Karl Gustav von Berneck: A picture of Scharnhorst's life. In: Sheets for literary entertainment . Year 1861, first volume, January to June (containing: No. 1–26.), Leipzig: FA Brockhaus , p. 112. online
6. ↑ Louis Heinrich Friedrich von Sichart: History of the royal Hanoverian army. Fourth volume, fifth period, 1789 to 1803. Hanover: Hahn'sche Hofbuchhandlung , 1871, p. 134 ff. Online via Google books
7. ^ Heinz Stübig: Gerhard von Scharnhorst - Prussian general and army reformer. Studies on his biography and reception. Contributions partly in German and Latin, in the history / research and science series. Volume 34, Berlin; Münster: Lit, 2009, ISBN 978-3-643-10255-3 , pp. 97 and others, online
8. ↑ Iris Becker: Function and status of military libraries in the 18th and 19th centuries. In: Jutta Nowosadtko, Matthias Rogg (Hrsg.): Mars and the Muses. The interplay between the military, war and art in the early modern period. in the series Domination and Social Systems in the Early Modern Age. Volume 5, Berlin; Münster: Lit, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8258-9809-0 , p. 92; after: Joachim Kiefer: Military libraries in Hanover. In: Hannoversche Geschichtsblätter , New Series 17 (1963), p. 292, online via Google books
9. ↑ Hans Heinrich Fritz Cäcil von Förster, History of the Royal Prussian Uhlan Regiment Graf zu Dohna Ostpreussisches No. 8 from 1815 to 1890. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the regiment , Appendix p.83 (here as Auguste Ernst Wilhelm von Scharnhorst)
10. ↑ digitized version