Ernst von Rüchel

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Ernst von Rüchel
Ernst von Rüchel
Born21 July 1754 (1754-07-21)
Ziezeneff, Pomerania
Died14 January 1823 (1823-01-15) (aged 68)
Haseleu, Pomerania
AllegianceKingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Prussia
Service/branchInfantry
RankGeneral of the Infantry
Battles/warsFrench Revolutionary Wars
Napoleonic Wars
Other workChief, Infantry Regiment Nr. 2, 1805

Ernst von Rüchel (21 July 1754 – 14 January 1823) was a

Battle of Jena on 14 October 1806. He commanded troops from the Kingdom of Prussia in several battles during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 and 1794. Afterward he held various appointments as a diplomat and a military inspector. In 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars
he held an important army command but has been criticized for his actions at Jena. Wounded, he managed to escape the French pursuit, but never commanded troops in combat again.

Early career

Rüchel was born on 21 July 1754 in Ziezeneff in Prussian

Pomerania (modern Cieszeniewo, Poland
).

With the rank of

jäger companies, three squadrons of the Wolfradt Hussar Regiment Nr. 6, one and one-half horse artillery batteries, and a half 6-pound foot battery.[2]

On 23 May 1794, Rüchel led a column in a Prussian victory at the Battle of Kaiserslautern. On this occasion he led three battalions each of the Infantry Regiments Rüchel Nr. 30 and Wolframsdorf, the Ernst Fusilier Battalion Nr. 19, three foot jäger companies, three squadrons each of the Eben Hussar Regiment Nr. 2 and Voss Dragoon Regiment Nr. 11, two foot artillery batteries, and one horse artillery battery.[3] At the Peace of Basel in 1795, Prussian abandoned the First Coalition to concentrate her energies on the Third Partition of Poland.[4]

1806 and later

In 1806 Rüchel was the commander-in-chief of the Infantry Regiment Nr. 2.

Gotha with Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach's division farther south at Schmalkalden and Johann Friedrich von Winning's detachment at Vacha.[7]

Print showing dark blue-coated Prussian grenadiers skirmishing
Prussian grenadiers 1807

Emperor

Battle of Jena with the bulk of his army. Rüchel had been told to stay at Weimar until Saxe-Weimar's division arrived. He made the soldierly decision to march at once with his 15,000 available troops to assist Hohenlohe. Unfortunately, by the time his corps arrived, the battle was lost.[12]

Historian David G. Chandler argued that Rüchel was unfairly criticized for his belated appearance. He received news of the battle at 9:00 AM and left his camp at Weimar immediately. His troops marched five kilometers in one hour, then they deployed from march columns into platoon columns with flank guards out and the artillery at the ready. At 10:30 AM, he got a misleading note from Hohenlohe saying that the battle was going well. Around noon Hohenlohe sent him another message asking for immediate assistance. Just before his troops reached Kapellendorf around 1:00 PM, a courier brought news that the Prussian army was defeated. It took Rüchel a total of four hours to move 12 kilometers, including the time it took to break camp; this was not a slow pace by Prussian standards.[13] He brought 15,000 troops and 40 field pieces to the battlefield. Altogether, there were 25 squadrons from five cavalry regiments, three foot jäger companies, 14 musketeer battalions from seven infantry regiments, four fusilier battalions, two grenadier battalions, three foot batteries, and two horse batteries.[14]

cuirassiers in the lead. Without cavalry protection, Rüchel's troops were ridden over and sent fleeing to the rear in irretrievable rout.[13]

Wounded, Rüchel narrowly avoided capture during the next few weeks.[15] During the maneuvers that ended in the Battle of Eylau on 7 and 8 February 1807, Rüchel commanded the 4,000-strong Prussian garrison of Königsberg. At that time, Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq led the 9,000-man Prussian field force.[16]

Rüchel died on 14 January 1823 in Haseleu, Pomerania.

Notes

  1. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
    .
  2. ^ Smith (1998), p. 66
  3. ^ Smith (1998), p. 81
  4. ISBN 1-56731-022-2
    .
  5. ISBN 0-8008-5471-3
    .
  6. ^ Chandler, David G. (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, N.Y.: Macmillan. p. 456.
  7. ^ Chandler (1966), p. 459
  8. ^ Chandler (1966), pp. 467-468
  9. ISBN 0-275-98612-8
    .
  10. ^ Chandler (2005), p. 23
  11. ISBN 1-85367-145-2
    .
  12. ^ Petre (1993), p. 147
  13. ^ a b Chandler (2005), p. 64
  14. ^ Chandler (2005), p. 42
  15. ^ Petre (1993), p. 197
  16. ^ Petre, F. Loraine (1976). Napoleon's Campaign in Poland 1806-1807. London: Lionel Leventhal Ltd. p. 131.

References

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