Prussian campaign of 1812
The Prussian campaign of 1812 in Courland was planned as flank protection for the Napoleonic Grande Armée on the way to Moscow . The Prussians were part of the French 10th Army Corps. But they were anything but willing to embark on this campaign, which culminated in the fact that the Commander-in-Chief, General Yorck, deliberately maneuvered himself into a situation that ultimately allowed him to declare the Prussian troops neutral with the Tauroggen Convention without losing his honor and thus to create facts that ultimately led to the Treaty of Kalisch (February 28, 1813) and the wars of liberation against the French Emperor Napoleon.
prehistory
After the Prussian defeat against France in the Fourth Coalition War , Prussia had to grant an auxiliary corps in the Paris Treaties . When Napoleon decided to invade Russia , five spikes were planned: On the lower Daugava a corps of 30,000 men under Marshal MacDonald is to watch the fortress of Riga. A 40,000-strong corps under Oudinot (later reinforced by St. Cyr and 25,000 men) is to take action against the Wittgenstein corps on the central Daugava .
Further south in the Pinsk Marshes a Corps should Reynier and Schwarzenberg against the Corps Tormassow and the Vltava River Army Tscherbatow fought. General Dombrowski was to watch Bobruisk with about 10,000 men and General Hertel, who with 12,000 men formed a reserve corps with Mozyr .
Protected in the flanks by the 4 corps, Napoleon wanted to march directly to Moscow with his 300,000-strong army in the center.
Preparations
The Prussian corps should include 14,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 2,000 artillery with 60 guns. On March 6, 1812, the mobilization order was issued . The prospect of a campaign with the French met with open resistance from some officers, who demanded and received their farewells and concluded a. join the Kings German Legion . Three battalions and four squadrons were mobilized from each of the six brigades .
The Prussian auxiliary corps was under the command of General von Grawert and formed the 10th Army Corps under Marshal MacDonald with the French 7th Division under General Grandjean . The two Dragoon Regiments and the 3rd Hussar Regiment remained with the Prussian Auxiliary Corps, the 1st Hussar Regiment came to the Grandjean Division while the 2nd Hussar Regiment and the Uhlan Regiment were added to the Grande Army . General Yorck was appointed 2nd commander of the corps , the cavalry was commanded by Lieutenant General von Massenbach . The 10th Corps rallied at Tilsit on June 22nd and formed the army's extreme left wing. Opposite the 10th Corps were 15,000 men under General von Essen near Riga , but the corps consisted almost entirely of recruits and reservists. Part of the corps under General Loewis was at Mitau.
June 1812 - invasion
On June 28, 1812, the 10th Corps crossed the border at Tauroggen . At the beginning of July there was some banter and General Löwis withdrew behind the little river Eckau . On July 19, there was a battle near Eckau. General Grawert marched against Mitau and made the crossing to the east of the city over the Nimeneck near Bauske . A troop of 4 squadrons of dragoons and a half battery under Colonel von Roeder went ahead to disperse reported Cossack units. In a battle, a Russian officer and 20 Cossacks were taken prisoner and a strong corps was recognized north of Eckau. Thereupon General von Kleist was ordered to occupy the village of Eckau . The 2nd Dragoon Regiment captured a flag, but had to retreat after the counterattack. At the onset of darkness, the Russians withdrew against Riga . The Prussian infantry encountered the crew of Eckau Castle as they advanced, but they managed to make their way to Mitau.
The Prussian Auxiliary Corps advanced towards Riga, where it took up position on July 24th. The right wing made the Colonel Horn Dahl churches on the Daugava River , another department was under Colonel Jeanneret then the coast at schlock . General Yorck was still with Memel in his day .
August 1812
When the Russians attacked Schlock on August 5, 1812, the Prussians had to withdraw. The counterattack took place on August 7th, there were skirmishes at Wollgund and Kliewenhof and the Russians withdrew to Riga, Schlock was reoccupied. Yorck reached Mitau on August 8th and was given the command of the seriously ill Grawert.
On August 22nd, a Russian attack took place on the right wing of the Prussians at Dahlenkirchen and Olai, and at the same time on the left wing at Schlock and St.Annen. On the right wing, Colonel Horn was completely surprised, and after some resistance he had to retreat. Ultimately, the Prussians were able to stop the attacks, but Dahlenkirchen was given up because they could not defend them.
September 1812
On September 23, 1812 10,500 men reached the fortress Riga with General Steinheil from Finland, with the order to render the siege equipment of the Prussians harmless. On September 26th, there was an attack on the right wing, where the device was located. But this one was rejected. In view of the overwhelming power, Yorck decided to withdraw. While crossing the Eckau, the corps under Massenbach was shot at and lost 200 dead and wounded. It then moved into a bivouac at Bauske.
On the 28th, Yorck evacuated Bauske and Mitau. Colonel Hünerbein and his brigade were withdrawn from Friedrichstadt an der Düna , but the reinforcements under General Kleist had also arrived with three battalions and half a battery. General Yorck used this for a counterattack. In the late afternoon of September 29th the Prussians crossed the Kurländische Aa at Mesothen and Graefenthal, after a fierce battle the Russians withdrew.
On the 30th, Colonel Jeanneret met the Russian rearguard. After heavy fighting, the Russians had to withdraw with losses. Due to the success, the Russian position at Sallgallen became untenable, which was now occupied by General Kleist. As soon as Yorck surveyed the situation, the vanguard under Jeanneret Aa attacked the Garosse on October 1st, but the main force advanced against Mitau. Under Lieutenant Colonel Wahlen-Jurgass , the vanguard managed to surprise the enemy cavalry and drive them over the Garosse. At a bridge the enemy infantry had occupied the Garossenkrug and some farmsteads and brought the Prussians into distress, only when the main troop arrived under Hünerbein could the infantry be driven over the Garosse. In the meantime the Russians had evacuated Mitau, and Jeanneret only hit the rear guard while the main troop returned to Riga.
October – November 1812
In the meantime MacDonald had come to support with parts of the 7th Division, but did not reach the Prussians until October 6, Mitau. The Marshal disagreed with Yorck's position and ordered a more extended position. The Russians use this for skirmishes and minor attacks. MacDonald had to follow Yorck's tactics and pulled the troops back together. The new Russian governor Paulucci and Yorck had already made contact in October. The French General Bachelu appeared in Eckau on November 11th, and Marshal MacDonald on November 14th with the order to undertake an advance against Riga on the 15th. There were minor skirmishes and Dahlenkirchen was occupied. Since the enemy troops showed themselves in large numbers, they returned to Tomosza on November 18th and reached Eckau on the 21st.
From mid-November, the extreme cold brought the Prussians and especially the Saxons into trouble, because their clothing had been used up and could not be replaced. At the end of November a cargo of 3500 furs reached the troops, so that the worst problems could be solved. On November 26th, Paulucci asked the Tsars for a power of attorney.
December 1812
At the beginning of December the news of the withdrawal of the Grand Army reached the troops. MacDonald received orders to withdraw across the Memel with the 10th Corps . The main part of his cavalry formed the vanguard, then Grandjean, then Massenbach, and finally Yorck. On December 5th General Yorck sent his adjutant von Seydlitz to Berlin to report on the situation.
Kutuzov , meanwhile, had the plan to push MacDonald towards the Baltic Sea. A corps of about 9,000 men followed from Riga, and a detachment moved against Memel. On December 22nd, Kutuzov occupied Vilna and sent General von Diebitsch ahead with 1,200 horses, 120 men and half a mounted battery. He met Yorck, who had already negotiated with Governor Paulucci. Yorck took the opportunity and negotiated the Tauroggen Convention with Diebitsch. The Prussian cavalry was still with MacDonald, who had withdrawn as far as Tilsit . On December 26th, General Bachelu met the Russian General Vlastaw (Laskow) at Piktupönen. In this last battle, 3 squadrons of dragoons and 2 squadron hussars under Lieutenant Colonel von Treskow succeeded in capturing a battalion and conquering a cannon. On December 30, 1812, the Tauroggen Convention was concluded, with which the Prussian corps was neutralized.
literature
- Diary of the Royal Prussian Army Corps under the command of General Yorck 1812 Volume 1 . part 1
- History of the Patriotic War in 1812, Volume 2, p. 182 f
- York and Paulucci: Documents and Contributions to the History of the Convention Digitized
- Friedrich Wilhelm von Schütz, History of the wars in Europe since 1792 , Volume 9, Campaigns of the year 1812, p.145 ff
- Carl von Clausewitz , Left Works of General Carl von Clausewitz on War and Warfare : Campaign from 1812 in Russia, the Campaign from 1813 to the Armistice and the Campaign from 1814 in France, Volume 7, Development of the Great Army
Individual evidence
- ↑ Oesterreichischer observers 1812, S.1207 skirmish at Dahl Churches
- ^ Arthur von Horn, History of the Royal Prussian Leib-Infanterie-Regiment , p.183 - Battle at Garossenkrug on October 1st
- ↑ Arthur von Horn, History of the Royal Prussian Leib-Infanterie-Regiment , p.185f
- ↑ The grave of Major Albrecht Ernst von Manstein (1775–1812), who died in the fighting, is in the cemetery of Piktupönen, he was the father of General Gustav von Manstein