Otto von Schlabrendorf

Baron Otto von Schlabrendorf (born October 18, 1650 in Teltow ; † January 18, 1721 at Gut Groß Machnow ) was a Prussian infantry general , governor of the Küstrin fortress and heir to Groß Machnow and Blankenfeld.

Life

His parents were the captain lieutenant Joachim Ernst von Schlabrendorf from Kurbrandenburg and Anna Katharina, born von Stossloff († 1652) from the Panckelow house in Mecklenburg.

After his mother died early, he came into the care of the privy councilor Bodo von Gladebeck (1620–1681). With him he came to the courts in Braunschweig and Celle and was also taught there. Then he came to his relative, Major General von Pfuhl , who let him teach in Buckow (Pfuhl was married to a sister of his mother). The young Schlabrendorf wanted to join the military and so his father arranged for him to be sent to the garrison in Spandau in 1665. At the time, Colonel Isaak du Plessis-Gouret was the commandant. There he was initially a cadet and was used as a musketeer and pikeman. In 1666 he marched with the garrison to Magdeburg when the city refused to pay homage to the elector. After his return he was transferred to the "Dohna" regiment in Küstrin. His uncle Otto von Schlabrendorf was major there. There he was taught with 150 other young nobles. After that he was first a private, soon afterwards a corporal and a corporal private.

Lieutenant General Count Christian Albrecht von Dohna took him to his table and wanted to send him to France and Holland at his own expense. Due to the death of his cousin and the war between Holland and France , the trip did not take place. The Count von Dohna was now commissioned to set up his own regiment. Therefore Otto von Schlabrendorf came to Halberstadt with a command from Küstrin . There he joined the company of his brother Daniel, who was a major in the Fargel Regiment. Colonel Fargel was also his brother's father-in-law, first making him the oldest ensign and soon after that he was made lieutenant and lieutenant captain. The electoral army was sent to the Rhine during the War of the Palatinate Succession and united with the imperial army under Raimondo Montecuccoli . So he fought in Kaysersberg in Alsace in 1674 .

When the Swedish-Brandenburg War broke out, the army was brought back. Schlabrendorf was back in 1675 and fought against the Swedes in Fehrbellin , then in Pomerania and when taking Wolgast . There he was rewarded for his bravery with his own company. In addition, he was regimental quartermaster. During the war he became seriously ill and, barely recovered, was transferred to Friedland in Mecklenburg. When the Swedes conquered the place, he was captured. It was brought from Stettin to Anklam and Stralsund, where it stayed for six weeks until it was triggered.

In 1676 he was again with the electoral army to siege Anklam and to storm the city. After their conquest, the army moved against the fortresses Demmin and Wollin and other cities in Swedish Pomerania . In 1677 he found himself during the siege of Stettin, and in 1678 during the conquest of Rügen and Stralsund. When the then major general von Schöning was appointed governor here, the Fargell regiment was added to him as a crew. Colonel Fargell died in 1678 and Johann Georg von Anhalt-Dessau became the new commander of the regiment. In 1679 he fought again against the Swedes and pursued them to Livonia. After the peace, the Brandenburg army was reduced in size and the regiment of the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was also dismissed. But with his brother he was transferred to another regiment. When his brother died he became a major, but soon became a lieutenant colonel.

In 1683 the Great Turkish War began . In 1686 he was with the 8,000 Brandenburgers who fought for the Kaiser against the Turks under Lieutenant General von Schöning. During the siege of Ofen on June 23, he was seriously injured in the head and in the side. In the letters of thanks from the emperor to the elector, Schlabrendorf's bravery was mentioned with praise, and so he was appointed colonel on January 29, 1687. In 1688 he moved back under von Schöning against the French to Kleve . He was also present at the siege of Bonn (1689) , as well as at the Battle of Fleurus (1690) . In 1690 he also fought near Brussels, Leuven, Namur and other places.

In 1691 he went against the Turks again, this time under Lieutenant General von Brandt . On August 19, 1691 he fought in the battle of Slankamen (Salenkennet?) Under Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden , known as the Türkenluis. He was able to distinguish himself in such a way that the emperor honored him with a gold chain with a portrait and Ludwig von Baden assured him of his friendship. On January 21, 1691, his elector appointed him brigadier of the infantry.

In 1693 the Elector Friedrich III. 6000 auxiliary troops to Hungary. These were patterned by Schlabrendorf, who was appointed major general in Kossen. The elector also presented him with the order de la Générosité . Shortly after arriving in Hungary, Lieutenant General Brandt in command was called back and Schlabrendorf took over command. During the siege of Belgrade , a bomb hit him next to him, which cost him his hat and gloves, but the life of Colonel von Blankensee who was accompanying him . At the end of the campaign he led the troops back to their winter quarters. He himself now took over the "Boys" battalion . On January 5, 1695 he got the battalion (Alt-Holstein). In the same year he got a command in Hungary again. So he fought in 1696 in the Battle of Temesvar and on September 11, 1697 in the Battle of Zenta . In this battle he commanded the left wing of the imperial army and succeeded in conquering the Turkish chariot and encircling the Turkish troops. After only two hours, the troops were destroyed and a huge booty was brought in, from which the Brandenburg commander-in-chief also benefited. Schlabrendorf's share of the booty was exhibited in the Machnow armory . In addition, on December 15, 1697, he received a letter of thanks from the emperor and a diamond ring. He was also transferred to the baron class with his wife and family. The Kaiser also offered him the post of Lieutenant General Field Marshal , which he refused.

In 1699 his elector sent him to Pomerania to cover his advance from Stargard to Danzig . On December 30, 1701 he was appointed governor of the Peitz Fortress . On April 4, 1703 he was lieutenant general and on August 11, 1703 the captain of the Küstrin fortress. He stayed that way for the next 18 years. In 1708 he was commissioned to assist the imperial ambassador Schönborn in Hamburg , where the Krumholz riots had broken out. By acting wisely, he was able to help calm the unrest.

On May 23, 1715 he was appointed general of the infantry and on September 27, 1715 received the new infantry regiment No. 25 , in which his own and the battalion "Pannewitz" was absorbed.

He died on January 18, 1721 on his Groß -machow estate.

The village church in Groß Machnow

Gross Machnow village church

During his time in Hungary he made the vow that if he survived these things he would be grateful. From 1697 he had sermons of thanks four times a year in Machnow. In 1698 he had the church renovated at his own expense, and the church was also completely refurbished. The church also got a tower.

family

On May 27, 1695 he married in Koskow Angnes Elisabeth von Arnim . She was the daughter of Stephan Berend von Arnim, director of the ukermark circle, and the widow of Joachim Ehrenreich von Katte (1660–1694), the canon of Brandenburg. The couple had no children. Joachim Ehrenreich was the son of Maria Eleonore von Schlabrendorf.

literature

• Julius Mebes : Contributions to the history of the Brandenburg-Prussian state and army. Volume 1. Lüderitz, Berlin 1861, p. 599 f. ( Digitized in the Google book search).
• Association for the history of Potsdam: Messages of the association for the history of Potsdam. Volume 2. Erben, Potsdam 1866, p. 171 ff. ( Digitized in the Google book search).
• Military weekly paper : Independent magazine for the German armed forces. Volume 22 (1837), p. 123. ( digitized in the Google book search).
• Anton Balthasar König : Otto von Schlabrendorf . In: Biographical lexicon of all heroes and military figures who made themselves famous in the Prussian service . tape 3 . Arnold Wever, Berlin 1790, p. 361 ( Otto von Schlabrendorf at Wikisource [PDF]).
• Bernhard von Poten :  Schlabrendorf, Otto von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 31, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, p. 323 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Friedrich Bülau : Secret stories and puzzling people, Volume 7 . Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig 1856, p. 73 ( digitized in the Google book search).