Konstantin von Benckendorff
Konstantin von Benckendorff ( russian Константин Христофорович Бенкендорф transcribed Konstantin Christoforowitsch Benkendorf * 31 January 1783 or 4. January 1784 in Saint Petersburg ; † 6. August 1828 in Provadiya ) was - as his older brother Alexander - a general of the Russian army and Diplomat from the Baltic German Benckendorff family .
Life
Initially designated as a diplomat, Benckendorff entered military service in 1812 and took part as a major in the battles of Smolensk and Borodino . Under General von Wintzingerode he fought on the outskirts of Moscow and excelled in the reconquest of Vilna . On February 7, 1813, he was appointed lieutenant colonel , after the surrender of Belzig , his troops were able to capture an entire Westphalian battalion on August 9. In 1813 he advanced as far as Kassel at the head of his own corps . He also excelled in the fighting near Fulda , in the battle of Hanau and when crossing the Rhine in the face of the enemy and was appointed colonel on October 17th . On French soil he fought with the Wintzingerode corps in the spring of 1814 as major general at the head of a flying corps, which resulted in the attack on Soissons , in the battle of Brienne and Craonne , where he made victory possible on March 7th. After taking Reims , he entered Paris with the troops . On October 28, 1814 he was promoted to major general and on June 1, 1815 appointed commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Dragoons Division.
In 1820 he took his leave and entered the diplomatic career and served until 1826 as ambassador extraordinary to the courts of Stuttgart and Karlsruhe . Appointed lieutenant general and adjutant general at the outbreak of the Persian War in 1826 , he corresponded to the imperial confidence through the victories at Etchmiadzin , Yerevan and on Araxes , where he almost wiped out the enemy, who was twice as superior to him. Benckendorff also took a notable part in the 8th Turkish War . On July 19, 1828, he occupied the Bulgarian city of Prowadija and controlled the movements of the enemies in Silistra and Varna from here . He died of a rampant fever on August 6, 1828.
Awards
Russia
- January 25, 1812 Order of St. Vladimir , 4th grade
- 1812 Russian Order of Saint Anne , 2nd class
- February 8, 1813 Russian Order of St. George , 4th grade
- September 18, 1813 Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class
- 1814 sword for bravery
- September 10, 1815 Russian Order of St. George, 3rd class
- April 17, 1823 Russian Order of Saint Anne, 1st class
- February 16, 1824 Russian Order of Saint Anne, 1st class with diamonds
- July 22nd, 1827 Order of St. Vladimir 2nd class
- January 1, 1828 Sword for bravery with diamonds
Other medals
- Order of the Red Eagle , 2nd class
- Austrian-Imperial Leopold Order
- Military Max Joseph Order , 3rd class
- Swedish Order of the Sword , 4th class
family
Constantine came from the Estonian-Swedish noble family von Benckendorff , which had its origin in Salzwedel . His parents were Christoph Iwanowitsch von Benckendorff (1749–1823) and Anna Juliane geb. Schilling von Cannstatt (1746–1797). His sister was Princess Dorothea von Lieven, well-known in the diplomatic world . Konstantin married Natalie von Alopaeus (1796–1823) in Berlin in 1814, the daughter of the Russian ambassador Maximilian von Alopaeus in Berlin. They had a son and a daughter.
- Konstantin Alexander Karl Wilhelm Maximilian Graf von Benckendorff (1817–1858 in Paris), major general; ∞ since 1848 with Johanne Auguste von Croÿ – Dülmen (1825–1889)
- Marie von Benckendorff (1818–1844 in Meran), ∞ Paul Golenishchev-Kutusow-Tolstoy (major general and State Councilor).
Benckendorff was buried in 1828 at the side of his wife Natalie at the Heslach cemetery in a mausoleum that he had built for her in 1824.
Web links
- Baltic Historical Commission (Ed.): Entry on Konstantin von Benckendorff. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
- Genealogical handbook of the Baltic knighthoods part 2,3: Estonia Görlitz 1930
Individual evidence
- ^ Heslach cemetery , City of Stuttgart
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Yuri Aleksandrovich von Golovkin |
Russian envoy in Stuttgart 1818-1824 |
Alexander Obreskow (from 1828) |
| Friedrich Apollonius von Maltitz |
Russian envoy in Karlsruhe 1820–1828 |
Paul Friedrich von Moltke |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Benckendorff, Konstantin von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Бенкендорф, Константин Христофорович (Russian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian general and diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1783 or January 4, 1784 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Petersburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 6, 1828 |
| Place of death | Provadia , Bulgaria |