Hans von Luck (General)

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Hans Philipp August von Luck (born March 26, 1775 in Müncheberg , † January 8, 1859 in Potsdam ) was a Prussian general of the infantry and knight of the Black Eagle Order .

Life

origin

Hans Philipp August von Luck came from a family of the Silesian nobility , who first appeared in documents with Thymo de Luccene in 1253 and later spread across the Neumark and Greater Poland . He was the son of the privy councilor and chamber president of the Prussian government in Kleve Ludolf Wilhelm von Luck and Witten (1742-1820) and his wife Friederike Christiane Sophie, née von Goertzke (1738-1801) from the Friedersdorf family.

Military career

Luck was initially a cadet in Berlin from July 1785 and came to the École militaire two years later. There he learns u. a. the French language . On February 28, 1793 he was employed as an ensign in the "Jung-Schwerin" infantry regiment of the Prussian army . Since this unit was an immobile regiment, Luck asked for his transfer. He then came on January 19, 1794 to the Infantry Regiment "von Knobelsdorff" , which at that time was in winter quarters near Nierstein . During the 1794/95 campaign against revolutionary France , he took part as a second lieutenant and orderly officer in the battle of Kaiserslautern and the battle at Johanniskreuz . At the beginning of January 1797, Luck became adjutant in the Grenadier Battalion "von Rabiel" in Potsdam. In addition to his military service, he devoted himself to military science studies in the years to come. For two years, Luck was governor of the École militaire in Berlin in 1803/05 and was then transferred as a staff captain to the fusilier battalion "von Pelet" in Bunzlau . With this battalion he took part in the battle near Saalfeld and the battle of Jena in 1806 during the Fourth Coalition War. After the defeat of the Prussian troops, he made his way to Danzig and helped defend the city.

After the Peace of Tilsit he was transferred to the 1st Silesian Infantry Regiment on February 17, 1809 . Here Luck became captain and chief of the personal company on November 22, 1809 . Three months later he was released from this post and King Friedrich Wilhelm III. appointed him his wing adjutant . With simultaneous promotion to major , Luck was commanded on July 21, 1810 as a military companion to the Crown Prince . Initially still on proxy, Luck was finally appointed governor of the Crown Prince in 1813. In this position he was initially at the headquarters of Blücher during the Wars of Liberation and took part in the battles near Großgörschen and Bautzen . During the autumn campaign of 1813, Luck moved with the Crown Prince to Kleist's headquarters and took part in the battles near Leipzig , Brienne and Bar-sur-Aube in the following months . In the meantime he rose to the rank of colonel , and after the battle of Paris the king personally awarded him the Iron Cross 1st class. Retaining his previous position, Luck was appointed chief of the 9th Brigade in the II Army Corps on April 20, 1814 . Due to illness, he received permission to go to Bad Pyrmont to restore his health almost two months later . In September Luck was able to work again and the king then appointed him brigade chief in the mobile army on the Rhine . He led this brigade until the beginning of the summer campaign in 1815, after which the 11th Brigade in III. Take over Army Corps . In the battle of Waterloo he and his troops were particularly able to prove themselves.

Before the Second Peace of Paris , Luck was ordered to Münster and promoted to major general on October 2, 1815 . The 13th Division was formed from his brigade in September 1818 , and Luck was its first commander until 1834. In the meantime he was promoted to lieutenant general on June 18, 1825 and was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle First Class with Oak Leaves. On October 2, 1834, Luck was appointed General Inspector of Education for the late General Georg Wilhelm von Valentini . He also worked as a member of the commission for the examination of military-scientific and technical objects. In addition, in 1837 he was also appointed chairman of the Upper Military Examination Commission. Luck reformed the military education system in the areas of the cadet schools and the general war school in important points. For example, high school graduates who registered as ensigns were exempted from the ensign examination and the training course of the cadet corps was adapted to that of the grammar schools.

After the death of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. appointed him the former Crown Prince and now King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. while remaining in the position of Inspector General Adjutant General. With a patent from April 7, 1842, Luck was promoted to General of the Infantry on March 31, 1842. On the occasion of his 50th anniversary in service, Friedrich Wilhelm IV made him Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle on February 28, 1843 . As a special token of favor, the king presented his own star with the stipulation that Luck should always wear it. For four years Luck was still President of the General Order Commission until he was released from his last position on September 7, 1848.

He spent the last years of his life in seclusion in the Villa Quandt , which the king had made available to him as a retirement home.

family

Luck had married on November 8, 1815 in the Madeleine in Paris with Cécile de Saint-Luce Oudaille (1798-1857). From this marriage there were seven children:

  • Ludolf (1817–1895), Prussian public prosecutor and politician
⚭ 1847 Julie Ebers (1822–1848)
⚭ 1860 Ida von Barner (1826–1898)
  • Ferdinand (1818-1878), Prussian Colonel a. D.
  • Gustav (1820–1867), Prussian major a. D. ⚭ 1844 Luise von der Lanken-Wakenitz
  • Cäcilie (* 1822) ⚭ 1848 August Freiherr von Ketteler († July 27, 1853), Major a. D.
  • Fritz (1825–1883), Prussian major a. D., Secretary of the Secret War Chancellery
  • Eduard (1828–1858), Catholic pastor, Franciscan
  • Luise (1833–1873) ⚭ Hermann von Schenck (1824–1911), Prussian lieutenant general

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility . Volume A XVI, CA Starke Verlag , Limburg 1981, p. 245.
  2. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility. Volume A XVI, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg 1981, p. 265.
personal data
SURNAME Luck, Hans von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Luck, Hans Philipp August von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian General of the Infantry, Knight of the Black Eagle Order
DATE OF BIRTH March 26, 1775
PLACE OF BIRTH Müncheberg
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 1859
Place of death Potsdam