Otto Balthasar von Thun

Otto Balthasar von Thun (born September 5, 1721 in Schossin ; † June 28, 1793 in Wriezen ) was a Prussian lieutenant general , chief of the Dragoon Regiment No. 3 , inspector general of the Pomeranian cavalry and canon in Havelberg and governor of Johannisburg .

Life

origin

His parents were Philipp Christoph von Thun and Dorothea Magdalena von Halberstadt .

Military career

According to his parents' wishes, he was supposed to study, but in 1738 he preferred to serve in imperial service and joined the Schwarzburg regiment. The regiment was supposed to mediate in the disputes between Duke Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg and the knighthood in Mecklenburg . There he became an ensign in 1740 .

In 1741 he changed to Prussian service and came as a second lieutenant in the newly established Dragoon Regiment No. 9 (Nassau). He came to Colonel von Kyau's squadron in Strehlen. Thun took part in the First Silesian War , where he distinguished himself in the siege and conquest of Neisse . The regiment was not complete until January 1742 and was able to prove itself at Nappagedel in Moravia.

At the beginning of the Second Silesian War , Thun became Premier Lieutenant . In 1745 he fought at Hohenfriedberg . The regiment was only in the reserve and sold in pursuit of the enemy, the infantry - battalion Schoenberg. It was then moved to Upper Silesia . There the Austrians were expelled and Kosel was taken.

After the war, in 1753, he became captain of the staff . At the beginning of the Seven Years' War the regiment was assigned to Field Marshal Schwerin's army . In the following battle near Prague Thun was injured by one gunshot and eleven wounds. After the death of Colonel Winterfeld, the commander of the 5th Squadron, he became his successor. The regiment suffered heavy losses in the battle near Troppau . Therefore, it had to go back to its canton to replenish teams and material, a task that was assigned to Thun.

In September 1758 he was promoted to major and in 1759 to commander of the regiment. He led the regiment in the battle of Kunersdorf . The regiment then came to the Fink Corps, which had been set up for the relief of Dresden , but before it reached the city, the city had surrendered. Then it came to the army of Prince Heinrich in Strehlen .

He came to General Wunsch , who sent an Austrian corps to meet him, which was on its way to Wittenberg . The corps of the General Feldzeugmeister Gemmingen consisted of two grenadier battalions. In the successful attack by the Prussians at Meuro , the general field master , two staff officers, 20 subaltern and 1,400 grenadiers were captured. The Prussian King Friedrich II was highly satisfied with his people; so not only Thun received the Pour le Mérite , but also all staff officers and captains. He was captured in the Battle of Maxen and remained there until the end of the war.

After the war a court martial was held over all of Maxen's generals and many officers. Thun must have got off well, because in 1765 he became commander of Dragoon Regiment No. 1 (Zastrow). In 1769 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and in 1777 to major general and chief of Dragoon Regiment No. 3 (Alvensleben).

When the War of the Bavarian Succession broke out in 1778 , he had a brigade with the Dragoon Regiment No. 2 (Krockow). When the General Wurmser at Burkersdorf attack, he could have a good time, just as on 25 October 1778 during a night attack of hussars and Croats in bleating . At the suggestion of Thun, all staff officers received the Pour le Mérite. Thun itself received the prebend of Havelberg from the king . When General Lölhöffel died in 1780 , Thun also received the general inspection of the Pomeranian cavalry and the administration of Johannisburg. In 1787 he was appointed lieutenant general by King Friedrich Wilhelm II and in 1788 he received his requested farewell with a pension of 1,500 thalers.

He retired to Wriezen, where he died in 1793. A memorial was erected for him in the cemetery.

family

He was married to Charlotte Scholtz von Liebeneck since 1745. She was the widow of Heinrich von Haßlingen from the Kottwitz family. He had a son and two daughters with her:

Magdalena Friedrike (* 1750; † December 15, 1795) ∞ Christian Friedrich Georg Ludwig von Pastau (1737–1805), Prussian major general
Philipp Otto Balthasar (* 1751 - August 27, 1816) ∞ Agnes Louise von Dalwig (* December 22, 1756 - September 8, 1796) daughter of General Georg Ludwig von Dalwig
Caroline Catharina Henriette (born January 22, 1753; † February 23, 1820) ∞ Carl Friedrich Wilhelm von Lange (born September 3, 1735; † August 18, 1803), Lord of Teschenau

literature

Anton Balthasar König : Otto Balthasar von Thun . In: Biographical lexicon of all heroes and military figures who made themselves famous in the Prussian service . tape 4 . Arnold Wever, Berlin 1791, p. 95 ( Otto Balthasar von Thun at Wikisource [PDF]).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Thun, Otto Balthasar von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Prussian Lieutenant General, Chief of Dragoon Regiment No. 3, Inspector General of the Pomeranian Cavalry
DATE OF BIRTH	September 5, 1721
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lap
DATE OF DEATH	June 28, 1793
Place of death	Spices