Wilhelm von Freytag

Heinrich Wilhelm von Freytag (born March 17, 1720 in Estorf ; † January 2, 1798 in Hanover ) was an officer in the service of the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Kurhannover). Most recently he was field marshal and commander of the troops deployed in Flanders during the first coalition war.

Life

He came from the original Westphalian family, the Freytag von Loringhoven, who later lived in Oldenburg and Friesland, among others . He received his training as a page at the court in Hanover. In 1737 he joined the von Campe infantry regiment stationed in Nienburg on the Weser as an ensign . Von Freytag participated in the Austrian War of Succession . He fought in different battles. After the Battle of Fontenoy he was promoted from lieutenant to lieutenant captain.

Magnificent work of Gmunden : A hunter of the Freytag Corps (1760)

During the Seven Years' War he came to Great Britain with an auxiliary corps because of a feared French invasion . During the war, a Jägercorps was formed in Hanover as a light force to lead the so-called Little War . Freytag was assigned to this new troop. In this he rose to major and staff officer . Because the actual head of the corps, Graf von der Schulenburg, was permanently absent, von Freytag represented him and was officially appointed commander in 1760. With his troops he was deployed under the command of Duke Ferdinand von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel in the theaters of war in Westphalia , Hesse and Hanover. So he took part in the Battle of Minden . The unit's successes led to its reinforcement. At first the Jäger Corps consisted of only four small companies . Of these, two were infantry and two cavalry units. The troop was finally expanded to eight companies of each branch with a total of 2497 men to form a model troop . After the end of the war, the number of troops was significantly reduced. The Freytags unit was transformed into two light dragoon regiments with other light units . The command finally received from Freytag.

In particular, however, as " Adjutant General " from 1765 onwards , he acted as a mediator between the Elector, who resided in London as the British King, and the commander of the troops in Hanover. Through various trips to England, he spent a total of twelve years there between 1764 and 1783.

In 1792 he was appointed commander of the troops of the Electorate of Hanover with the rank of field marshal . In the first coalition war , the British troops were supported by Hanoverian units. Under Freytag's orders, an army of 15,000 men marched into Flanders and placed themselves under the command of the Duke of York . The personal relationship between the two commanders was tense.

While the Duke was besieging Dunkirk , von Freytag was in command of an " Obervationskorps " consisting of troops from Hanover , Great Britain , Austria and Hesse. This was supposed to cover the siege army. At first he was quite successful, but saw his troops in danger from the French. Indeed, Jean-Nicolas Houchard marched against him. The Freytags troops were defeated in several skirmishes and battles between September 5 and 8, 1792 in Arneke, Rexpoede and Hondschoote . The withdrawal of the troops also forced the siege of Dunkirk to be abandoned. During the night retreat through the village of Rexpoede (September 6/7, 1792), von Freytag was wounded and was briefly imprisoned, from which he was soon freed again by his troops under Lieutenant General von dem Bussche . Because of his injury, he gave the command to General Count Wallmoden . Instead, he commanded the troops in the electorate himself.

After his death he was buried in the family's hereditary funeral in Landsbergen on the Weser.

literature

• Bernhard von Poten :  Freytag, Wilhelm von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, pp. 374-376.