Wilhelm Hiller von Gaertringen

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Friedrich Wilhelm Johann Ludwig Freiherr Hiller von Gaertringen (born August 28, 1809 in Pasewalk , † July 3, 1866 in Chlum ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

Wilhelm was the son of the later Prussian general of the infantry August Hiller von Gaertringen and his first wife Adelgunde Wilhelmine Friederike Philippine Antoinette, born von Hellen (born June 7, 1777 in Minden ; † January 24, 1822 in Posen ).

Military career

Gaertringen joined the 1st Guard Regiment on foot in the Prussian Army on October 16, 1826 . From 1834 to 1837 he attended the General War School in Berlin and took a leave of absence in 1842/44 to take part in the Russian fighting in the Caucasus . After his return he was first lieutenant in 1845 as a company commander in the 3rd Guards Landwehr Regiment. On June 18, 1846 he was assigned to serve as a wing adjutant of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. With his promotion to captain on October 15, 1846 he became a real wing adjutant. In 1849 he took part in the suppression of the revolution in Baden as a major in the headquarters of the Prince of Prussia . He was used in the battles near Ubstadt , Durlach , Kuppenheim and Kirchheimbolanden . After his return from Baden , Hiller served again as a wing adjutant, and on March 22, 1853, he became a lieutenant colonel and commander of the Guards NCO company. He was then assigned to the 2nd Guards Regiment on foot on October 17, 1854 and appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment on January 18, 1855 . He gave up command on August 4, 1856 and then took over the 1st Guard Regiment on foot. In this position he was promoted to colonel shortly afterwards on October 15, 1856 . Left in his relationship as a wing adjutant, Hiller was commissioned on March 22, 1859 to lead the 31st Infantry Brigade and the garrison of the Mainz fortress . With the promotion to major general on May 31, 1859, he was commander of this brigade. Shortly afterwards, he was recalled from Mainz and appointed commander of the 1st Guard Infantry Brigade and was entrusted with running the business as commander of Potsdam. After he had been entrusted with the command of the 10th Division on December 19, 1863 , Hiller was appointed commander of the 15th division on January 9, 1863 and promoted to lieutenant general on June 25, 1864. As such, Hiller took part in the great Russian maneuvers near St. Petersburg in 1865. At the beginning of 1866 Wilhelm I appointed him commander of the 1st Guard Division .

In the German war Hiller suggested on 29 June 1866, the victorious Battle of Burkersdorf took Königinhof and carried on July 3, the happy outcome of the battle at Hradec Kralove in by moving toward to Chlum, occupied the place and against violent attacks by the numerous enemy Reserves defended. Here Hiller fell after being hit by shrapnel . He was the highest Prussian officer who fell in the Battle of Königgrätz. He was fatally wounded at the moment when he received a message from the commander of the vanguard of the 1st Corps that this corps had arrived as reinforcements.

His grave of honor is to the west of the church of Chlum in the Prussian cemetery.

Like his father, Hiller was a Freemason ; In 1846 he was accepted into the "To the Three Seraphim" lodge in Berlin.

Awards

literature
personal data
SURNAME Hiller von Gaertringen, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hiller von Gaertringen, Friedrich Wilhelm Johann Ludwig Freiherr (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1809
PLACE OF BIRTH Pasewalk
DATE OF DEATH July 3, 1866
Place of death Chlum