Johann Georg von Lestwitz

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Johann Georg von Lestwitz (* 1688 in Silesia ; † July 27, 1767 in Berlin ) was a Prussian lieutenant general of the infantry . When the fortress Breslau was handed over to the Austrians in the Seven Years' War , he fell out of favor with Friedrich II and was arrested for life.

Life

Lestwitz joined an infantry regiment in 1704 and took part in the War of the Spanish Succession in Italy and Brabant . In the Pomeranian campaign of 1715 he was seriously wounded during the siege of Stralsund . He later distinguished himself in his participation in the First and Second Silesian War , especially in the Battle of Kesselsdorf .

At the beginning of the Seven Years' War he was lieutenant general and commanded the troops that included the Saxons in the battle of Lobositz on the right bank of the Elbe . Under August Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern , he acquired further awards from Reichenberg and Prague in 1757 and then moved to Silesia in his regiment.

In an order from Bautzen on November 21, Friedrich II, who was on his way to Silesia after the Battle of Roßbach , gave him command in Breslau . He was injured in the Battle of the Lohe , but two days later, on November 24th, he took command of the Breslau Fortress. This was besieged by the Austrians, who threatened with a bombing. Lestwitz's predecessor there, Lieutenant General Hans Friedrich von Katte , had already initiated negotiations about a free withdrawal and was ready to capitulate. This was now taken over by Lestwitz, who after a few hours handed over the city with all the cash registers and magazines and was granted free travel. The concession was of no great use, however, because large units deserted soon afterwards.

With this surrender and the "brédouille" that followed when he withdrew, Lestwitz incurred the wrath of the king. He was arrested and " cashed " on March 11, 1758 by a court martial under the direction of Field Marshal Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau and sentenced to two years in prison. His predecessor Katte was sentenced to one year fortress arrest.

Lestwitz spent the rest of his life in Berlin “under city arrest between Kochstrasse and Zimmerstrasse” . Only when his son, Hans Sigismund von Lestwitz , was awarded the Friedland estate by the king in 1764 for his services in the Seven Years' War , was he allowed to travel there to see it move in. He died on July 27, 1767.

family

He was married to Anna Helena von Kottwitz († 1740). The couple had several daughters and a son, later Major General Hans Sigismund von Lestwitz .

literature


personal data
SURNAME Lestwitz, Johann Georg von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH 1688
PLACE OF BIRTH Silesia
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1767
Place of death Berlin