Wilhelm Benedikt von Clausewitz

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Grave site of Wilhelm von Clausewitz in the old garrison cemetery in Berlin-Mitte

Wilhelm Benedikt Clauswitz , later Clausewitz , from 1827 von Clausewitz (born November 10, 1773 in Burg (near Magdeburg) , † February 12, 1849 in Potsdam ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

origin

Clausewitz was born the son of tax collector Friedrich Gabriel Clausewitz. The Clausewitz family probably came from an Upper Silesian noble family. His grandfather was Benedikt Gottlieb Clausewitz, a bourgeois theology teacher at the University of Halle , and his younger brother the famous Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz , and his brother Friedrich Volmar Karl Heinrich became lieutenant general.

Life

Wilhelm Benedikt von Clausewitz began his military career in 1787 in the 34th Infantry Regiment. Promoted to secondary lieutenant in 1792 , he took part in the coalition wars from 1793 to 1815. He was appointed prime lieutenant in 1797 and staff captain in 1802.

Clausewitz served in the 6th West Prussian Reserve Battalion in 1806 and took part in the campaigns 1806-1807. In 1809 he was appointed head of the body company with the rank of captain ( captain ) and took over the supervision of the educational establishment of the portepee ensigns and junkers. He was considered a good teacher and officer with a high level of education, and possessed great military expertise.

In 1812 Clausewitz took part on the French side in the contingent of Prussian troops in the campaign against Russia . A year later he was given command of a reserve battalion, and in December 1813 he switched to the General Staff. During the Wars of Liberation , he was awarded the Iron Cross and the Pour le Mérite order . After the end of the war, Clausewitz resigned from the General Staff and was given command of the 32nd Infantry Regiment. In 1817 he was appointed head of the examination commission for the portepee ensigns in Münster. Promoted to colonel in 1818 , he commanded the 13th Landwehr Brigade in Münster from 1822 and was responsible for training Landwehr officers.

In 1828 Clausewitz was promoted to major general, in 1832 he took over the management of the disabled in the War Ministry and stayed there until his retirement in 1839.

family

Wilhelm Benedikt von Clausewitz was married to Friederike von Clausewitz born. von Hülsen (born July 20, 1774 - † May 23, 1850).

He spent the last years of his life in Potsdam, where he died on February 12, 1849. He is buried in the old garrison cemetery in Berlin-Mitte.

progeny

Clausewitz had five children with his wife:

  • Wilhelm von Clausewitz, Prussian Colonel
  • August von Clausewitz, Prussian Colonel
  • Friedrich Wilhelm von Clausewitz (1809–1881), police chief and honorary citizen in Danzig
  • Georg Elfried Adolf von Clausewitz (1811–1888), Prussian major ; married to Eugenie Countess von Dyhrn zu Schönau (née Countess Brzezinska)
  • Charlotte Auguste Friederike von Clausewitz (1814–1814)

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ by royal prussia. Confirmation of nobility from January 30, 1827.
personal data
SURNAME Clausewitz, Wilhelm Benedikt von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian major general
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Castle (near Magdeburg)
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1849
Place of death Potsdam