Gustav Ludwig von der Marwitz

Gustav Ludwig von der Marwitz (born April 30, 1730 in Friedersdorf , † February 23, 1797 in Kyritz ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

Gustav Ludwig came from the old Brandenburg nobility of the Marwitz family . His parents were the heir of Friedersdorf and captain a. D. August Gebhard von der Marwitz (1695–1753) and his wife Helene Sophia, née von Loeben from the house of Kunersdorf. The later Prussian major general Johann Friedrich Adolf von der Marwitz and the court marshal Behrendt Friedrich August von der Marwitz were his brothers.

Military career

Marwitz was educated at the Knight Academy in Liegnitz . At the end of April 1745 he matriculated as a student at the University of Frankfurt (Oder) . On April 20, 1746 Marwitz was employed as an Estandartenjunker in the Gensdarmes Regiment of the Prussian Army . Here he rose to lieutenant until August 1753 and took part in the battles near Lobositz , Prague , Leuthen , Zorndorf , Hochkirch , Kunersdorf , Liegnitz and Torgau during the Seven Years' War in 1756/63 . For his achievements during the Battle of Rossbach , Marwitz was awarded the order Pour le Mérite . During the war he had already been promoted to staff assistant master in January 1758 and since January 15, 1759 commanded a company as a major .

In the peace years Marwitz advanced and was appointed as a colonel on February 6, 1777 as regimental commander. On August 20, 1777 he was promoted to major general and King Friedrich II appointed him chief of the cuirassier regiment "von Manstein" . In this position Marwitz took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1778/79 and in August 1779 was commanded with his adjutant Karl von Ingersleben to the autumn maneuvers near Potsdam . Due to the deteriorating relationship with Friedrich II, he diminished on June 13, 1784.

After Friedrich Wilhelm II's accession to the throne , Marwitz asked several times for re-employment in the army and an increase in his pension . This increase was finally granted to him in late June 1788. On August 4, 1789, Marwitz was employed again as a lieutenant general with a patent from January 23, 1787 and at the same time appointed chief of the cuirassier regiment "von Backhof" . In this position he received the Great Red Eagle Order on July 14, 1792 and died in 1797.

His nephew Friedrich August Ludwig von der Marwitz wrote about him: "He had neither the spiritual gifts nor the character of his older brother , but was a man of honor, extremely jovial and a very good cavalry officer".

family

Marwitz was married to Caroline Ernestine Freiin von der Goltz (1738–1775). She was the daughter of General Karl Christoph von der Goltz . The following children were born from the marriage:

• Karoline Friederike Jeannette August (1762–1769)
• Henriette Wilhelmine (born August 16, 1764 in Berlin), lady-in-waiting to Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia
• Gustav Karl (* 1778), second lieutenant in his father's regiment

literature

• Anton Balthasar König : Gustav Ludwig von der Marwitz . In: Biographical lexicon of all heroes and military figures who made themselves famous in the Prussian service . tape 3 . Arnold Wever, Berlin 1790, p. 24 ( Gustav Ludwig von der Marwitz at Wikisource [PDF]).
• Friedrich August Ludwig von der Marwitz: News from my life 1777–1808. (Märkischer poet garden). Edited and with an afterward by Günter de Bruyn . 1st edition. Book publisher Der Morgen, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-371-00243-8 .
• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 2, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632772 , pp. 113-114, no. 633.
• Pauli: Historical political, geographical, statistical and military contributions, concerning the royal Prussian and neighboring states. Volume 2, 1783, p. 575, digitized