Paul von Werner

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commemorative coin for the relief of Kolberg on September 18, 1760

Paul von Werner (born December 11, 1707 in Raab ; † January 25, 1785 at Gut Bilschin in the Tost-Gleiwitz district ) was chief of the Hussar Regiment No. 6 (brown hussars) and the bearer of the Pour le Mérite .

Life

His parents were the Colonel Sergeant in the Imperial Army Johann Paul von Werner and his wife Marie Katharina von Streit .

He first went into imperial service in 1723 and became Cornet in the Nadasdy Hussar Regiment in 1731 , in 1733 he became a lieutenant and in 1734 a cavalry master. During his time in the Imperial Army, he took part in eight campaigns against Spain and eight campaigns against France, plus six against the Turks and four against Prussia. He was captured at the Battle of Bitonto (May 25, 1734). He also fought in the Battle of Banja Luka (1737), the Battle of Kriczka (1739) and the Battle of Mollwitz (1741) as part of the Hungarian army, as well as the Battle of Chotusitz (1742).

In the Second Silesian War he fought in the Battle of Soor (1745), the Battle of Roucoux in 1746 and the Battle of Lauffeldt (1747). Despite repeatedly proven bravery, he remained Rittmeister. During the fighting on the Rhine he suffered an injury to his foot, the only one in his long life as a soldier. Presumably during a spa stay in Karlsbad , he met the Prussian general Hans Karl von Winterfeldt , who tried to win him over to the Prussians. In 1750 he went into Prussian service, where the experienced soldier was welcomed.

On December 3, 1751, he became a lieutenant colonel in Hussar Regiment No. 6 . In December 1752 he took over the squadron from Lieutenant Colonel Otto Ernst von Gersdorf . In 1756 he was in command of the regiment in the army of Field Marshal von Schwerin , who valued and trusted him very much for his intelligence and vigilance. His first venture in the Seven Years' War was an advance with 300 riders from Glaz into the rear of the Austrian army under Piccolomini. During the invasion of Bohemia, he was able to distinguish himself in the battle of Schmitz (?), And so justify the good reputation the regiment had in the Seven Years' War. In February 1757 he became head of the regiment. In the Battle of Prague he was part of the left wing reserve under Hans Joachim von Zieten . Werner's regiment led the way in the final attack by the reserve. In the Battle of Kolin he was found again on the left wing. After the battle he was sent to the Duke of Bevern's army in Lusatia . Here he was able to defeat two battalions of Croats in the battle of Klettendorf. On November 22nd, 1757 in the Battle of Breslau he was again on the left wing under Zieten, where he fought in the area of ​​Kleinburg.

In the battle of Leuthen he was able to defeat and disperse the enemy outposts under General von Nostitz - two Saxon and two Austrian hussar regiments. In September 1758 he was promoted out of turn to major general and awarded the Pour le Mérite. In October the Austrian general Karl Marquis de Ville besieged the Neisse fortress. Werner was part of the relief troops and was able to prevail in the battle of Landskrone. Then he went to Kosel , which was also besieged. In the spring of 1759 he was able to completely drive General de Ville out of Silesia. In August 1760 he was part of the relief army of Prince Heinrich for Dresden, on the way there he was able to destroy the Dragoon Regiment Prince Joseph . For this he got from Friedrich II. The position of a canon in Minden, endowed with 2000 Talers, which he sold again with permission. To do this, he was given command of his own corps. This was sent to relieve the besieged Kolberg fortress. He marched on September 5th from Glogau to Kolberg, which he reached on the 18th, on the same day he attacked the surprised Russians, who left their camp in panic and retreated to Poland. The commemorative coin was minted for this somewhat surprising victory. General Werner received one gold and twenty silver coins from König. Furthermore, the king appointed him lieutenant general on February 20, 1761. He fought against the Swedes for the rest of 1760. On September 3, 1760, he captured a Swedish position near the village of Taschenberg (today: Uckerland ). He captured 8 cannons and made 600 prisoners. In 1761 he came to the army of the Prince of Württemberg, which was supposed to relieve the Kolberg Fortress, but had hardly any supplies itself. In September 1761 Werner rode to meet the von Platen troops from Poland . On September 12th, he and 2000 men were placed by the Russians at Treptow at Rega . After heavy losses, he was captured by the Russians. He was brought to Königsberg, where he stayed until the end of 1762. When Tsar Peter III. took over power, he released Werner again and tried to win him over to the Russian army, which the latter turned down. Instead, he went to join the king's army in Silesia. There he became the commander of a corps that first advanced from Upper Silesia to Moravia, but then joined the army under von Bevern in Peterswalde in Lower Silesia. In the following battle near Reichenbach , the Austrians under Daun suffered a severe defeat. Then he retired to Upper Silesia. After the war Werner became the official governor of Naugarten.

During the War of the Bavarian Succession , Werner commanded an observation army, which was reinforced by Lieutenant General von Stutterheim . Until the arrival of the Duke of Braunschweig, the two shared command. The biggest battle here was the battle near Teschen. In the village of Glomnitz the troops attacked under von Werner, an outpost under General von Knebel . The general managed to escape, but 6 officers, 380 soldiers, 600 horses and the whole camp fell into the hands of the Prussians.

He died on January 25, 1785 on the Bitschin estate that he had bought in 1783. He was buried in the Franciscan monastery in Gliwice .

His name was immortalized in 1851 on one of the plaques on the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great .

family

He was married to Maria Dorothea Apollonia von Schimonsky on August 29, 1756 . Her father was Ludwig Jaroslav von Schimonsky, heir to Prisowitz and Pojanow. Of the five sons only survived:

  • August Albrecht Joseph Ludwig Karl (born January 23, 1763)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Johann David Erdmann Preuß, Friedrich der Grosse: A life story , p. 262, digitized.
  2. ^ Felix Triest, Topographisches Handbuch von Oberschlesien , p. 529 digitized.
  3. ↑ Schlesische Provinzialblätter , Volume 1, p. 172. Digitized.
personal data
SURNAME Werner, Paul from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general, chief of the hussar regiment (brown hussars) and bearer of the Pour le Merite
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1707
PLACE OF BIRTH Raab
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 1785
Place of death Gut Bilschin, Tost-Gleiwitz district