Immediate Investigation Commission

As part of the Prussian army reform after the defeat of Prussia in the Fourth Coalition War in 1806/07 and the Peace of Tilsit , the behavior of all officers during the campaign was examined by the so-called Immediatkommission to investigate the surrenders and other events of the last war .

General Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq, member of the commission

Objects of investigation

Investigations took place, among other things, during the surrenders

the fortress of Erfurt on the night of October 15-16, 1806
the fortress Spandau on October 25, 1806
of Major von Löschebrandt with the Gensdarmes regiment on October 27, 1806 near Wichmannsdorf
of the General of the Infantry Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen with the rest of the army defeated in the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt (around 12,000 men) on October 28, 1806 near Prenzlau
Colonels von Hagen and von Poser with five battalions and five cuirassier regiments on October 29, 1806 at Pasewalk
the fortress of Szczecin on October 29, 1806
Generals Karl Anton von Bila and Rudolf Ernst von Bila with two battalions, a company and smaller detachments on October 30, 1806 at Anklam
of Major von Höpfner with several guns and train columns on October 30, 1806 near Boldekow
of Major von Schmude with a detachment of 170 horses on November 1, 1806 near Wahren
the fortress Küstrin on November 1, 1806
of the Lieutenant Colonel von Prittwitz with the baggage of the Hohenlohe Army on November 2, 1806 near Wolgast
of Major General Friedrich von Usedom with the rest of his hussar regiment on November 5, 1806 near Wismar
of the majors from Ende and from Szerdahelly with four squadrons and parts of a mounted battery on November 6, 1806 near Krempersdorf
of Lieutenant General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher with the remnants of eight infantry regiments, six grenadier and eight fusilier battalions, six hunter companies, four cavalry regiments and scattered cavalry and artillery (in total approx. 9,000 men) on November 7th 1806 near Ratekau
of the Major von Schwedern with 1 battalion on November 8, 1806 near Travemünde
the fortress Magdeburg on November 8, 1806
of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Pelet with 200 horses and half a battery on November 12, 1806 near Lüneburg
the fortress Hameln on November 20, 1806
Glogau Fortress on December 3, 1806
Schweidnitz Fortress on February 16, 1807
the fortress of Danzig on May 25, 1807 and
the Neisse fortress on June 1, 1807.

Investigative commission

The commission came on the orders of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. from November 27, 1807 to December 6, 1807 and worked until 1812. At lower levels, individual officers were judged by regimental tribunals .

Results

Due to the work of the commission, numerous officers were dismissed, e. T. dishonorable . In several cases, court martial proceedings were also initiated; some of the judgments were imprisonment for a fortress - in the case of the commandant of Küstrin Obersten von Ingersleben and the commandant of Magdeburg, General of the Infantry Franz Kasimir von Kleist , the death penalty . Ingersleben was convicted in absentia and died abroad, Kleist had died before the trial.

Members

Heinrich of Prussia , General of the Infantry
Wilhelm of Prussia , General of the Cavalry
Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq , Lieutenant General
Otto Friedrich von Diericke , Lieutenant General
Ludwig August von Stutterheim , General of the Infantry
Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow
August Neidhard von Gneisenau , General of the Infantry
Konstantin von Twardowski , major general
Otto von Pirch , Lieutenant General
Joachim Friedrich von Oppen , major general
Samuel Pullet , major general
Joachim Wilhelm Neander von Peterheiden , Major General
Karl von Grolman , General of the Infantry
Friedrich Karl von Holzendorff , Lieutenant General
Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold von Gaudi , Major General
Karl Friedrich von Brockhausen , Major General
Georg Albrecht Ernst Karl von Hake , General of the Infantry
Ernst Ludwig von Tippelskirch , Lieutenant General
Florence Ludwig von Bockum called Dolffs , Colonel
Karl von Massenbach , Major General
Johann Friedrich von Koenen , Vice-President of the Court of Appeal
Ludwig Wilhelm von Braunschweig , General Auditor

literature

Großer Generalstab (Ed.): 1806. The Prussian officer corps and the investigation of the events of the war. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1906 digitized