Leonhard von Blumenthal

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Leonhard Count von Blumenthal
Blumenthals handshake with Jakob von Hartmann at the imperial proclamation in Versailles. Oil painting by Anton von Werner in the Zeughaus (Berlin) , 1882 (detail)
Bust of Blumenthal, formerly part of Siegesallee

Karl Konstantin Albrecht Leonhard von Blumenthal , from 1883 Count von Blumenthal (born July 30, 1810 in Schwedt / Oder ; †  December 21, 1900 at Gut Quellendorf near Köthen ) was a Prussian field marshal .

Life

origin

Leonhard was the son of Ludwig Albrecht von Blumenthal (1774–1813) and his wife Friderike Charlotte Dorothea, born von Below (1783–1853). His father was a captain in the Brandenburg Dragoon Regiment. He died in Potsdam from the injuries sustained in the Battle of Dennewitz . The later Prussian major general Karl von Blumenthal (1811–1903) was his younger brother.

Military career

Blumenthal was first educated in the cadet houses in Kulm and Berlin and on July 28, 1827 transferred as a second lieutenant to the Guard Reserve Infantry Regiment (the later Guard Fusilier Regiment ). Between 1830 and 1833 he attended the General War School in Berlin. After Blumenthal had been adjutant of the Koblenz Guard Landwehr Battalion from 1837 to 1845 and was promoted to Prime Lieutenant in 1844 , he was appointed to the topographic office in 1846 . In the following years he came to the Guards Artillery Brigade and Guards Pioneer Department for a thorough study of technical weapons for three months .

Blumenthal took part in the street fight in Berlin on March 18, 1848 as a member of the fusilier battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment . Shortly thereafter, he was appointed the General Staff commanded and on 1 January 1849 as captain in the general staff added the army. In the staff of General Eduard von Bonin he took part in the campaign in Schleswig and Jutland and was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Schleswig-Holstein Army in May . After the war he was in the Tietzen mobile division in Kurhessen in 1850 .

In 1858 he came as a lieutenant colonel as personal adjutant to Prince Friedrich Karl and, as a colonel , commanded the 71st Infantry Regiment for three years . After Blumenthal was then Chief of Staff at III. Army Corps , he became Chief of the General Staff of the Combined Mobile Army Corps against Denmark on December 15, 1863 . In this position he played a decisive role in the assault on the Düppeler Schanzen and the transition to Alsen during the German-Danish War . For this he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite . In June 1864 he was promoted to major general and took over command of the 7th Infantry Brigade in November of that year and in April 1865 that of the 30th Infantry Brigade .

When the German war against Austria broke out , Blumenthal became Chief of the General Staff of the 2nd Army under Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia . In this position he distinguished himself, especially in the battle of Königgrätz (July 3) as well as in arranging the pursuit marches and the operations between Olomouc and Vienna . For these achievements, Blumenthal was awarded the oak leaves for the Pour le Mérite. In October 1866 he was given command of the 14th Division in Düsseldorf and the patent as Lieutenant General . In 1871 he became an honorary citizen of Düsseldorf.

During the Franco-Prussian War , Blumenthal was again Chief of the General Staff in the 3rd Army of the Crown Prince of Prussia. He justified the trust so excellently that he was called in to advice on important issues by the upper army command, for example in preparation for the enclosure of Paris and in the battle of Sedan . On January 18, 1871, Blumenthal was present at the proclamation of the German Empire . After the peace, Blumenthal was rewarded with a donation of 150,000 thalers. First he was appointed commanding general of the IV Army Corps , and on March 22, 1873 he was promoted to general of the infantry .

Blumenthal was sent abroad several times with military assignments. In 1883 he accompanied Crown Prince Friedrich to Spain and was then raised to the status of hereditary count . From the now emperor Friedrich III. he was appointed Field Marshal General on March 12, 1888 and soon afterwards became inspector of the IV Army Inspectorate and chief of the Reitende Feldjägerkorps . Between 1892 and 1898 he was inspector of the III. Army inspection .

Blumenthal died on his Quellendorf estate near Köthen and was buried in the family crypt in Krampfer .

family

He was married to Delicia Anna, widowed von Vyner, née Eathorpe (1813-1890), since August 8, 1839. Several children emerged from the marriage:

  • Klara (1840–1913) ⚭ Rudolf von Oetinger (1830–1920), Prussian lieutenant general
  • Albrecht (1842–1918), Prussian Lieutenant General ⚭ Therese Countess Finck von Finckenstein (1863–1936)
  • Agnes (1844–1922) ⚭ Otto von Moellendorff-Krampfer (1829–1894), Retired Prussian Rittmeister. D.
  • Laura (1846–1929) ⚭ Reimar von Moellendorff (1830–1894), Prussian major a. D., Lord of Horst and Blumenthal
  • Friedrich Christian (1851–1909), former Prussian colonel . D. ⚭ Marie Winkler (1859-1897)
  • Heinrich (1855–1862)

Honors

Blumenthal had been an honorary member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences since April 1, 1876 .

Fort XII of the Strasbourg fortress , a barracks in Halle (Saale) and a former colliery in Recklinghausen were named after him on September 2, 1873 . In addition, numerous streets bear his name, such as B. in Heidelberg-Neuenheim and in Nuremberg .

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were eight streets in Berlin that were named after the Prussian officer (in: Friedrichshain , Mahlsdorf , Mariendorf , Pankow , Schöneberg , Steglitz , Tempelhof and Zehlendorf ). - Only four of these street names were preserved after the Second World War : in Pankow, Schöneberg, Tempelhof and Zehlendorf.

In Bremen- Schwachhausen there is the Blumenthalstrasse .

literature

Web links

Commons : Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary. In: New York Times . December 23, 1900.
  2. ↑ Blumenthalstrasse in Pankow. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
    Blumenthalstrasse in Schöneberg near Luise
    Blumenthalstrasse in Tempelhof near Luise
    Blumenthalstrasse in Zehlendorf near Luise
personal data
SURNAME Blumenthal, Leonhard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blumenthal, Leonhard Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Field Marshal General
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1810
PLACE OF BIRTH Schwedt / Oder
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1900
Place of death Well Quellendorf, Koethen