Karl August Adolf von Krafft

Karl August Adolf von Krafft (born November 9, 1764 in Delitz am Berge , † April 18, 1840 in Königsberg ) was a Prussian infantry general and chief of the 5th infantry regiment .

Life

origin

He was the son of the later Prussian major general August Christian Lebrecht von Krafft (1740-1813) and his wife Johanna Karoline Rosine, born von Hünefeld from the house of Limbach (* October 1740; † February 3, 1811 in Brieg).

Military career

Krafft entered on March 30, 1778 as a private corporal in the infantry regiment "Pelkowsky" of the Prussian army . In 1787 he became second lieutenant and took part in the campaign against Poland in 1794/95 as prime lieutenant . Among other things, he fought during the siege of Warsaw and in the battles of Czekoczin and Sochaczew. At the beginning of 1796 he became captain and in June of that year adjutant general of Field Marshal Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Braunschweig . On August 22, 1804 he became the commander of the previous grenadier battalion "von Ebra" and one year later received the order Pour le Mérite , the highest award in Prussia, on the occasion of the revue near Erfurt . During the Fourth Coalition War , Krafft was seriously wounded on October 14, 1806 in the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt .

After a long recovery period, when the Kolberg Infantry Regiment was formed in August 1808, Krafft was first commander of the Fusilier battalion and on July 4, 1809, was promoted to commander of the 4th East Prussian Infantry Regiment in Graudenz . In addition, since December 11, 1809, he was also entrusted with the management of the business as the fortress commandant. On February 7, 1810, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel . In November 1811 he became chief of the infantry of the Pomeranian Brigade and in May 1812 he was promoted to colonel . In March 1813, Krafft became the commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade in the Bülow Corps . In the campaigns of the Wars of Liberation in 1813 he fought with distinction in the battles near Hoyerswerda (May 28, 1813) and the battles near Großbeeren (August 23, 1813), Dennewitz (September 6, 1813) as well as the Battle of Leipzig (May 16 to 19 , 1813) October 1813). For his services during the fighting at Hoyerswerda he received the Iron Cross II. Class and for Dennewitz the Iron Cross I Class. In September 1813 he was promoted to major general. In the autumn campaign of 1813 and the winter campaign of 1814 , Krafft was involved in the fighting near Arnhem (November 30, 1813), the battles near Breda and Herzogenbusch, the siege of Antwerp (January to May 1814) and the battle of Laon (9th and 10th centuries) March 1814) and was able to distinguish itself again.

In March 1815 he received the Russian Order of St. Anne, First Class and on March 23, 1815, he was given command of the 6th Infantry Brigade in the II Army Corps. In the summer campaign of 1815 he fought in the battles at Ligny (June 16, 1815) and Waterloo (June 18, 1815) as well as in the battle at Namur (June 20, 1815). For his services during the fighting near Namur, he received the order Pour le Mérite with oak leaves and the Red Eagle Order III on October 2, 1815 . Class. In September 1815 he was commander of the Szczecin Brigade and one year later he was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle II. Class with Oak Leaves. On March 30, 1817 he was promoted to lieutenant general and in May of the same year he was appointed commander of Stettin . In September 1818 Krafft became commander of the 3rd division . In 1822 he received the Order of the Red Eagle First Class with Oak Leaves and in June 1825 he was appointed Commanding General of the First Army Corps . On September 2, 1826 he was appointed chief of the 5th Infantry Regiment and on March 20, 1829 for his long service by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle , the highest Prussian honor.

On March 26, 1832, Krafft was put up for disposition as general of the infantry with an annual pension of 5000 thalers . He died on April 18, 1840 and was buried on April 25, 1840 in the Königsberg military cemetery.

family

Krafft had married Helene Friederike von Dangries, widowed von Wieck (* February 14, 1769, † March 24, 1846 in Königsberg) in Minden on February 1, 1805 .

literature

• Hermann Hengst: The Knights of the Black Eagle Order. Alexander Duncker, Berlin 1901, p. 181.
• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 4, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632799 , pp. 172-177, no. 1278.
• Detlef Wenzlik: Waterloo: the campaign of 1815. Part 3. The Generals (=  The Napoleonic Wars . Volume 4 c). 2., revised. and additional edition. VRZ publ. Zörb, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-931492-28-2  ( formally incorrect ) , p. 36 .
• New necrology of the Germans. Volume 18, Part 1, pp. 451 ff ( books.google.de ).

Web links

• Karl August Adolf von Krafft on napoleon-series.org (short biography, English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Volume 3, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632780 , pp. 45 f., No. 962.