Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz
Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz (born January 1, 1763 in Brieg , Lower Silesia ; † February 3, 1836 at Gut Zölling, Freystadt district , previously Sagan district , Lower Silesia) was a Prussian cavalry general . In the Wars of Liberation from French supremacy under Napoleon Bonaparte , he earned the honorary titles of "Held von Dennewitz" and "Liberator of Wittenberg" . He later became military governor of the Rhine provinces and of Breslau .
Dobschütz was the landlord on Zölling, which his wife had inherited, and on the estates of Ober- and Nieder-Briesnitz and Schönbrunn, all in the Sagan district.
There are various details about the year of his birth: The most credible is the year 1763, as evidenced by the gravestone inscription and the " Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army for the year 1801 " . In other sources one finds the dates 1761 and 1764.
family
He came from the old Silesian noble family von Dobschütz . However, nothing specific is known about the general's parents. His mother is said to have been born von Dobschütz , his father "civil servant" zu Brieg. Since on the one hand (almost) every detail of his military career is known, but on the other hand there is not a single reference to his parents or his origin even in official documents, one can at least speculate about an illegitimate parentage (which would not have been unusual at the time).
On November 27, 1787, the 24-year-old secondary lieutenant at Gut Zölling married Henriette von Braun (* 1770 probably at Gut Zölling; † April 5, 1854 in Glogau , Lower Silesia), the eldest daughter of Hans Carl Christoph von Braun, heir to the Zölling and Girbichsdorf estates, and Maria Sophia von Lehwald . The marriage remained childless. However, a nephew of the wife, Friedrich Heinrich Konrad Viktor von Lützow (1818–1831), was taken into care.
Military background
education
After attending the grammar school in Brieg (mentioned in 1776), Dobschütz began his military career at the age of 14 on May 10, 1777 as a Junker in the 11th Dragoon Regiment (von Mitzlaff, later von Bosse, von Voss), was promoted to ensign on December 26, 1778 and took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession from 1778–1779 with subsequent garrison in Sagan . On August 24, 1785 he was promoted to second lieutenant in his dragoon regiment (by Bosse).
In July 1786 Peter von Biron , Duke of Courland and from 1786 also Duke of Sagan, came to the garrison town. In the July issue of the “ Schlesische Provinzialblätter ” one could read about it: “ Around 6 o'clock the triplets were performed by the officers in the school theater in the castle. Lieutenant von Dobschütz directed the whole thing and played the main role with much applause. Se. Highness honored him with a gold medal weighing 12 ducats . "
First coalition war
On May 30, 1791 he was first lieutenant and on January 13, 1793 promoted to staff captain ( captain ). He then took part in the First Coalition War against the French from 1793–1795 ( Battle of Pirmasens and Kaiserslautern , Battle of Trippstadt ). During this time he was promoted to major on November 20, 1794 - still in Dragoon Regiment No. 11 (by Voss).
Garrison in Grünberg
In 1795 he was garrisoned in Grünberg . There ruled his commander, Major General Ludwig Ernst von Voss , in 1798 about him: "... a good staff officer, said there is no lack of military knowledge, strives more to gain, from the enemy behaved, it is recommended." Well well then Dobschütz was appointed chief of the 4th Squadron on March 14, 1799 . During this time he had a fortifying Rumford soup handed out to soldiers' children and poor people in Grünberg twice a week . The Schlesische Provinzialblätter wrote about this on February 18, 1804: “The Major von Dobschütz, who has always been the most praiseworthy person with the help of mild contributions, has become the first voluntary benefactor of this institution. He also has this soup prepared at his own expense. ” As early as July 24, 1798, he was entitled to a canonical at the St. Nikolai Abbey in Magdeburg by King Friedrich Wilhelm III. been awarded.
Third and Fourth Coalition War
On June 5, 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and on June 15, 1806 to colonel . In the same year he took part in the Silesian campaign , where he was captured by the French. On March 13, 1807 the king already "noted for replacement" (in the 1807 campaign, Prussian and French prisoners of war were frequently exchanged against each other), and after the Peace of Tilsit (July 9, 1807) he led the exchange of prisoners of war as colonel. In a letter dated December 20, 1808, Dobschütz asked the king to be reinstated into active service in the army, but on February 24, 1809, he received his final rejection.
Civil life
Thereupon Dobschütz reluctantly retired to civilian life on his Zölling estate and formed a circle of like-minded patriots around him. In January 1810, Dobschütz again asked the king to reactivate, but in a letter dated February 28, he received his rejection - albeit with a promise to pay half his salary. From November 1, 1812, the office of district administrator of his home district Sagan was transferred to him on an interim basis . During these years of his civil status, he wrote to the king several times, but repeatedly in vain, asking him to return to the army.
Sixth coalition war and wars of liberation
With the start of the Wars of Liberation , he asked for immediate resumption of military service on the day the Prussian declaration of war on France (March 16, 1813). This time his request was granted on April 1st and from May Colonel von Dobschütz was appointed President of the Organizing Committee for the Establishment of the Silesian Land Armed Forces.
On May 6, 1813, Dobschütz became head of the 2nd division of the Silesian Landwehr in the districts of Glogau , Sagan, Sprottau , Schwiebus and Grünberg . After he had received the order on May 23rd to occupy Crossen with this unit - whatever its organizational state - he began the march on May 24th. On May 27, he maintained the Oder crossing at Crossen - an important post for the Silesian Army and the protection of Berlin - against the superiority of the French under Marshal Claude-Victor Perrin called Victor . Dobschütz feigned a military strength that did not exist: of 4 ½ battalions and 5 squadrons , the infantry was poor, the cavalry and artillery without any ammunition.
On August 4, 1813, Dobschütz, promoted to major general as commander, took over the reserve corps belonging to the IV Army Corps ( "von Tauentzien" ). In this role Dobschütz had a role in the victories of the coalition in several battles a. a. in Brandenburg near Großbeeren , Zahna (September 4, 1813), Jüterbog and Dennewitz (September 6, 1813) as well as Grossenhain ( Saxony ) and Dessau ( Saxony-Anhalt ), which is why he was later called "Held von Dennewitz" . So he defeated z. For example, on September 19, 1813, near Mühlberg an der Elbe (Brandenburg), the French overwhelming power: with one squadron of black hussars , two squadrons of Pomeranian Landwehr and two "groups" (= regiments) of Cossacks , the latter under Colonel Ilowaisky , he took three French ones Chasseurs à Cheval regiments captured with their commander, Colonel Count Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord . After only a short assignment to Berlin, he began the siege of Wittenberg on October 22, 1813 , which was held by the French under General Jean François Cornu de Lapoype . But it was not until 2 a.m. on the night of January 12th to 13th, 1814 that this important fortress was captured, which is why Dobschütz had previously asked the king to relieve him out of boredom on November 20th, 1813.
After the conquest of Wittenberg, he was in command of the blockade corps of the citadel of Erfurt and, after its takeover on May 16, 1814, commander of Erfurt.
On October 19, 1814, Dobschütz was appointed military commander in the Kingdom of Saxony during the Prussian occupation , based in Dresden . Here he had tobacco smoking banned in the city by decree .
Years as military governor
After the Peace of Paris he was appointed brigade chief of the reserve cavalry in the 3rd Army Corps ( von Thielmann ) on April 3, 1815 and on April 8, 1815 military governor of the Rhine provinces in Aachen , now part of Prussia , on June 22 Commanding general on the Rhine and on October 3 chief of the 1st Brigade in Koblenz . From October 25, 1816, Dobschütz was Brigade Chief in Glogau . It was not until November 20 that Dobschütz moved to Glogau - with a cash gift of 300 thalers from the king . On March 30, 1817 he was promoted to lieutenant general (patent from April 6, 1817) and commander of the 12th division . That year he acquired the Ober- and Nieder-Briesnitz and Schönbrunn estates in his home district of Sagan. As early as 1819, Dobschütz was in relatively poor health and finally fell seriously ill in 1821. In the summer of 1822 he had an official apartment in Glogau Castle (minutes of the meeting of the Prussian State Ministry on June 12, 1822) . In the summer of 1825 he became the deputy of Friedrich Erhardt von Röder , the commanding general of the 5th Army Corps in Posen . On June 18, 1825 General von Dobschütz finally became governor of the Silesian capital and residence city of Wroclaw . His health deteriorated again and did not improve in 1826. Cavalry General Hans Ernst Karl Graf von Zieten (1770–1848) therefore noted in Breslau on November 27, 1826: "Although he is very sickly, he has nevertheless made very useful arrangements in the government business."
On May 10, 1827, Dobschütz celebrated his 50th anniversary with the company. King Friedrich Wilhelm III congratulated him on this. Already in a letter dated April 30, 1827: “ By giving you notice of my special participation in this happy and rare event, I also perceive this occasion as an acknowledgment of my satisfaction with your services and as a souvenir of that day 3 porcelain vases to worship. I should be pleased if you are still able to serve the state faithfully for a long time and thereby acquire a new claim to my goodwill. " ( Lit .: Priesdorff)
retirement
(excerpt from a lithograph by Theodor Hosemann )
Only three days after this celebration, Dobschütz submitted his departure on May 13, 1827 because of his poor health, finally retired on May 29, 1827 with the rank of general of the cavalry and retired to his estate in Zölling. Despite his participation in numerous battles and skirmishes and courageous attacks in the front line, Dobschütz had not sustained any wound. As a retiree, he stayed several times on cure in Karlsbad and took part in a number of court festivals in Berlin. On January 4, 1830, the old soldier asked again for reinstatement, also in the autumn of that year, but the king refused both times with letters of January 8 and December 11. In the same year Dobschütz sold his two estates, Ober- and Nieder-Briesnitz, and Schönbrunn, back to the state for 60,000 Reichstaler .
General von Dobschütz met his king one last time in 1832 on the occasion of a political meeting in Bad Teplitz . He had told his friends that he would like to see the king again. The contemporary caricaturist and illustrator Theodor Hosemann has immortalized this meeting in a lithograph based on a drawing by W. von Hüllesheim. This shows Dobschütz in conversation u. a. with the adjutant general of the king, Lieutenant General Job von Witzleben (center), and the ambassador of France in Vienna , Marshal Nicholas-Joseph Marquis Maison . By the way, French was the only foreign language that Dobschütz spoke.
Siege and storming of Wittenberg
In the "Diary of the siege artillery since December 28th, 1813 evening until January 13th, 1814 morning" by "von Plauzen, Colonel and commanding engineer officer of the 4th Army Corps, entrusted with the management of the siege of Wittenberg" in “Wittenberg, November 14th 1814” ( lit .: Plotho, part 3, page 124f.) you can read: “ Night from December 28th to 29th. After Se. Your Excellency the commanding Mr. General Graf v. Tauentzien and the commanding the blockade and siege of the fortress Wittenberg in specie Mr. Major General v. Dobschütz , whom Colonel v. Plauzen , as commanding engineer officer, in agreement with Captain v. Bardeleben , as the commanding artillery officer, had given their sanction to the plan of attack submitted, the first parallel was opened on the night of December 28th to 29th, 1813 against the lower or castle front of the fortress . Due to the very tight blockade in which Mr. General v. Dobschiitz kept the fortress tied up, and because he alarmed the garrison almost every night, and thus got used to the proximity of our troops, the besiegers were able to establish this first parallel at a distance of 210 paces from the hospital, 345 paces from the Saillant of the covered path of bastion B (bastion on the right) and 420 paces from the same saillant of bastion A (bastion left). ... ”And it goes on:“ Disposition to storm the Wittenberg fortress. ... This undertaking went under the eyes of Sr. Königl. Highness of Prince August v. Prussia forward, the very same, had indeed found out that the storm was to be going on that night and soon made a detour of 20 hours to witness it. Sr. Excellency of the G.Lt. Size v. Tauentzien accompanied the prince into the tranches, as did General v. Dobschiitz , who led the troops that were to undertake the assault, followed all operations in general, and commanded the entire siege corps in the course of the siege. This general next paid much attention to the fact that everything that the siege was able to successfully manage should be brought in and on the spot. He was also one of the first to be in town and managed to restore order in the midst of the storm. ... "
An unknown source quotes Dobschütz ' words to his soldiers about the storming: “ It will be a hot night, comrades. But I know that the storm will not fail because you are Prussians. .... All hostile (French) property is yours. But don't do it like the French and (don't) take them off in the cold. But whoever robbed the citizen or maltreated women and children is a robber and not a soldier, and I will treat him as such. If there is such an unworthy one among you, push him down, for he will shame you. "
Carl Gottlieb Merker, pastor in Kurzlipsdorf, wrote in “The War Year 1813” ( lit .: Merker) : “ … When Dobschütz actually took Wittenberg, it was not him, but the Commander-in-Chief Tauentzien who was given the honor of being called Tauentzien von Wittenberg which the latter was in Kemberg during the siege of Wittenberg . But Dobschütz subsequently became governor of Dresden. ... "
Deployment of the Prussian troops in front of Wittenberg
(contemporary engraving)
The storming of Wittenberg
(based on a painting)
The Wittenberger Schlossplatz after the storming
(contemporary woodcut)
Song of praise by the citizens of Erfurt on General von Dobschütz on June 4, 1814
Character image
(with the emblems of the Freemasons )
(by Georg Friedrich Raschke , 1837)
According to traditional reports on his combat missions, Dobschütz owed his most important successes not to a military superiority, but, since he was often outnumbered by the enemy, rather to "the use of his intellect" , military agility and tactics.
His field chaplain, Dr. Köhler wrote about Dobschütz in his “diary sheets” ( lit .: Köhler) : “In every letter I repeat that we all love him. His mind without any pride, full of humility and love, his unpretentiousness make him popular with everyone. .... The general is a wonderful person full of kindness and love. He knows no danger. It is as if he thought there was no way a bullet could hit him; just as another exposes himself to danger, he is fearful and worried. ” With“ fearful ”is meant“ careful ”and the care for his soldiers.
And in the New Nekrolog der Deutschen ( lit .: Nekrolog) it says: “... and you can't describe him better than when you call him the old Prussian cavalry officer in the noblest sense of the word. Immaculate like the always brightly shining uniform, from the ensign to the late years of the general, so was the heart; firm and straight, like the man's whole bearing, so were his disposition. The king, honor and the fatherland remained the three powerful levers of his whole way of thinking and acting. There was a strange difference between his oral expression and the way he wrote. He expressed himself in writing with ease and excellently, which was not the case with his oral presentation. Always active and up to a certain restlessness, he could suffer nothing less than indolence from others, and especially from his subordinates. To the common soldier as to the officer he was a paternal superior; what happy happened to him, they had to feel. "
Memberships
- Brother of the Masonic St. Johannisloge Zur Eintracht im Orient von Berlin (mentioned 1817). Georg Friedrich Raschke (1772–1849) painted in 1837, one year after the general's death, a portrait in oil on canvas for the lodge, showing him as a master of the chair , recognizable by his square and hammer; Dobschütz also wears two jewelery . (see picture) .
- Brother of the Masonic St. Johannisloge For the honest association in the Orient of Groß-Glogau (mentioned 1817)
- Brother in the 4th degree of the Masonic Schottenloge For perfection in the Orient by Glogau (mentioned 1817)
- Member of the Military Society in Berlin (1802–1805)
Honors
(Rep. 1 Tit.XXXXV Nr.1 Bd.4, archive of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg )
- Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy (entry in the Dean's Book of the Faculty of Philosophy on April 30, 1814) and Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from the University of Wittenberg
- Honorary doctorate at least of the philosophical, perhaps also of all four faculties of the University of Erfurt (entry on May 22, 1814 in the " Matricula Baccalariorum et Magistrorum ") (sheet 156 b, Erfurt City Archives)
- A bastion of the old Wittenberg fortress was called “ Dobschütz-Bastion ” from 1864 (50th anniversary of the storming) until the fortress was razed .
- In Wittenberg there has been Dobschützstraße (formerly part of Große Rothemarkstraße ) since 1934 (120th anniversary ). During the GDR era, Eppeton ( pseudonym ) was critical of this in a newspaper glossary ( date unknown):
“ Herr von Dobschütz. Times change, street names change! One can imagine that the renaming of the streets often gave those responsible in Wittenberg a serious headache. In Wittenberg there is still a Dobschützstrasse. Who was Dobschütz? Had he done so much for the well-being of the city that a street must be named after him in memory? However, if you look up the history of the city, you come across the opposite. Dobschütz was a Prussian major general who locked up and besieged Wittenberg again after the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig. The heavy bombardment caused numerous deaths from the population. On the night of January 12th to 13th, 1814, the Prussians stormed the fortress after a cannonade. This last bombardment destroyed a total of 285 houses. For the fact that Major General von Dobschütz ordered this bombardment, nothing more than hardship and misery was brought upon the population. As a result, there can be no talk of any merit for Lutherstadt. They say names are smoke and mirrors. But memories are also associated with names. And the memory of Major General von Dobschütz should not do Wittenberg credit. So thought again. In place of Major General v. Dobschütz one will surely find another personality who deserves to be retained as a street name in Wittenberg. Eppeton. " -
The Dobschützstraße in their naming on 13 January 1934, the theology professor Ernst von Dobschütz as a representative of the family spoke a word of greeting, there are today.
.JPG)
- The first, bronze plaque, also unveiled during the street baptism, was melted down during World War II . This had the text:
- In memory of
- to the liberator of our city
- out of French distress
- Major general
- Leopold Wilhelm v. Dobschütz
- and those at the siege and
- Fallen storming the fortress
- Prussian soldiers
- The grateful Lutherstadt Wittenberg
- January 13, 1814 <City coat of arms> January 13, 1934
- An enamel plaque from GDR times attached to the Kasinoberg - with the wrong year of birth 1761 and the wrong date January 14, 1814 - was exchanged for a new one after reunification , but with the same wrong dates (photo) .
Orders and decorations
- Iron Cross 2nd Class (1813 for Blankenfelde)
- Russian Order of St. Vladimir 3rd Class (1813 for Blankenfelde)
- Commander's Cross of the Swedish Order of Swords (1813 for Zahna)
- Iron Cross 1st Class (1813 for Dennewitz)
- Russian Order of Saint Anne 1st Class (1813 for Grossenhain)
- Order of the Red Eagle 3rd Class (1814 for Wittenberg)
- Red Eagle Order 2nd Class with Oak Leaves (1815 for command in the Rhine provinces)
- Order of the Red Eagle 1st class with oak leaves (by cabinet order of January 16, 1824)
- Service Cross (1825)
Copy of the marriage certificate from 1787
Document dated September 24, 1813 for the award of the Russian Order of Anna by Tsar Alexander I (translation)
Announcement of the assumption of the governor's post on July 4, 1815
Order (page 1) on renaming the street in Wittenberg from January 13, 1934
literature
- Sigismund von Dobschütz: General Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz - Wittenberg's liberator from French distress. In: Ostdeutsche Familienkunde (OFK). Issue 3/1992, page 81f., Verlag Degener & Co, Neustadt (Aisch), ISSN 0472-190X .
- General German conversation lexicon for the educated of every class. 1840, p. 520, online
- Cadet pastor Jäkel: diary sheets of a chaplain of Dr. KA Köhler, preacher in the Brigade of Major General von Dobschütz. Edwin Runge publisher, Berlin-Lichterfelde 1912.
- Meyers Konversationslexikon. 1st edition, Volume 7, 1846.
- Schlesische Rundschau. No. 6, 8th year, 1956.
- General German People's Conversations Lexicon. Volume 2, 1846, page 699, online
- New necrology of the Germans. Volume 14, 1838, page 134, online .
- Name list of all local and foreign Freemasons belonging to the league of the great National Mother Lodge to the three globes in Berlin ... For the year 1817. Print Gebrüder Gädicke, Berlin 1817, page 132.
- General German real encyclopedia for the educated classes. Conversations Lexicon. 9th edition, Volume 4 (of 15), FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1844
- Wilhelm Binder: General Realencyclopadie or Conversationslexicon for Catholic Germany. Volume 3 (1847), page 581, online .
- Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 4, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632799 , pp. 66-71, no. 1237.
- General von Dobschütz. In: Characters of the German Wars of Liberation. Volume II: The great Platen. from the series “Young Germany. Treasure of books for German youth ”, Hans Weberstedt (Ed.), Friedrich Engelmann Verlag, Leipzig 1913, pages 84–85.
- Rector Westphal: Sagan warriors in the wars of liberation. In: Lower Silesian General Newspaper (Saganer Wochenblatt). dated September 6, 1932.
- H. Heubner: Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz, the savior Wittenberg from the French distress. In: Wittenberger Tageblatt of January 10, 1934.
- Unnamed author: The savior from the French! Wittenberg commemorates the liberation from the French hardship 120 years ago. In: Wittenberger Tageblatt from January 15, 1934.
- R. v. Hirsch .: Dobschütz, Wilhelm Leopold von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 277.
- New Nekrolog der Deutschen 1836, part 1, p.134
Web links
- Entry on Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz in Kalliope
- Commemorative plaque on the “Zum Weisse Ross” inn, Bad Liebenwerda
Individual evidence
- ↑ The original painting (picture on the right) was hanging in the Dennewitz memorial hall and has been missing since the Second World War. The copy shown here, made later, is now in family ownership.
- ↑ Bayreuther Zeitung of March 3, 1836 digitized
- ^ Letter from King Friedrich Wilhelm III. from June 29, 1825 to the "Governor of the Breslau Residence" in family ownership
- ^ Letter from King Friedrich Wilhelm III. from December 11, 1830 in family ownership
- ↑ This painting is still in the private possession of the Great National Mother Lodge “To the Three Worlds” in the Orient in Berlin-Charlottenburg. It made it available to the Akademie der Künste in Berlin from August 30 to November 1, 1981 as a loan for their exhibition Berlin between 1789 and 1848. Facets of an Era . abstract
- ↑ German translation of the original award document in family ownership
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dobschütz, Leopold Wilhelm von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dobschütz, Wilhelm Leopold von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prussian general of the cavalry |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 1, 1763 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brieg , Lower Silesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 3, 1836 |
| Place of death | Gut Zölling, Freystadt district , Lower Silesia |