Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Prince of Wahlstatt | |
---|---|
Lower Silesia Voivodeship, Poland) | |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() |
Service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1758–1815 |
Rank | ![]() |
Battles / wars |
|
Awards | Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Pour le Mérite Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Order of St. George Military Order of William Military Order of Maria Theresa |
Spouse(s) | Karoline Amalie von Mehling
(m. 1773; died 1791)Katharine Amalie von Colomb
(m. 1795) |
Children | 7 |
Signature | |
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (German pronunciation:
Blücher was born in Rostock, the son of a retired army captain. His military career began in 1758 as a hussar in the Swedish Army. He was captured by the Prussians in 1760 during the Pomeranian Campaign and thereafter joined the Prussian Army, serving as a hussar officer for Prussia during the remainder of the Seven Years' War. In 1773, Blücher was forced to resign by Frederick the Great for insubordination. He worked as a farmer until the death of Frederick in 1786, when Blücher was reinstated and promoted to colonel. For his success in the French Revolutionary Wars, Blücher became a major general in 1794. He became a lieutenant general in 1801 and commanded the cavalry corps during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806.
War broke out between Prussia and France again in 1813 and Blücher returned to active service at the age of 71. He became a leading hero of the Germans in the struggle to end foreign domination of their lands. He was appointed full general over the Prussian field forces and clashed with Napoleon at the
Blücher was made an honorary citizen of
Biography
Early life
Blücher was born on 21 December 1742 in Rostock, a Baltic port in northern Germany, then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.[3] His father Christian Friedrich von Blücher (1696–1761), was a retired army captain, and his family belonged to the nobility and had been landowners in northern Germany since at least the 13th century. His mother was Dorothea Maria von Zülow (1702–1769), who also belonged to an old noble family from Mecklenburg.[4]
Gebhard began his military career at the age of 16,[a] when he joined the Swedish Army as a hussar.[5] At the time, Sweden was at war with Prussia in the Seven Years' War. Blücher took part in the Pomeranian campaign of 1760, where Prussian hussars captured him in a skirmish. The colonel of the Prussian regiment, Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling (a distant relative), was impressed with the young hussar and had him join his own regiment.[3][6]
Blücher took part in the later battles of the Seven Years' War, and as a hussar officer, gained much experience in light cavalry work. In peace, however, his ardent spirit led him into excesses of all kinds, such as the
Blücher settled down to farming. Within 15 years, he had acquired financial independence and had become a
Napoleonic Wars

Blücher was one of the leaders of the war party in Prussia in 1805, and he served as a cavalry general in the disastrous campaign of 1806. At the double
After the war, Blücher was looked upon as the natural leader of the Patriot Party, with which he was in close touch during the period of Napoleonic domination, but his hopes of an alliance with Austria in the war of 1809 were disappointed. In this year, he was made general of cavalry. In 1812, he expressed himself so openly on the alliance of Russia with France that he was recalled from his military governorship of Pomerania and virtually banished from the court.[3]

Following the start of the
The irresolution and divergence of interests usual in
On the day of Möckern (16 October 1813), Blücher was made a field marshal. He later earned the nickname "Marshal Forwards" due to his tireless energy.[11] And after the victory, he pursued the French with his accustomed energy. In the winter of 1813–1814, Blücher, with his chief staff officers, was mainly instrumental in inducing the Coalition sovereigns to carry the war into France itself.[3]

The Battle of Brienne and the Battle of La Rothière were the chief incidents of the first stage of the celebrated 1814 campaign in north-east France, and they were quickly followed by victories of Napoleon over Blücher at Champaubert, Vauchamps, and Montmirail. The courage of the Prussian leader was undiminished, though, and his victory against the vastly outnumbered French, at Laon (9 and 10 March) practically decided the fate of the campaign.[3] However, his health had been severely affected by the strains of the previous two months, and he now suffered a breakdown, during which he lost his sight and suffered a delusion that a Frenchman had impregnated him with an elephant.[12] Dominic Lieven wrote that the breakdown, "revealed the fragility of the coalition armies' command structure and just how much the Army of Silesia had depended on Blücher's drive, courage, and charisma.... The result was that for more than a week after the battle of Laon, the Army of Silesia... played no useful role in the war".[13]
After this, Blücher infused some of his energy into the operations of the
Blücher was in favour of punishing the city of Paris severely for the sufferings of Prussia at the hands of the French armies, but the allied commanders intervened. According to the
About blowing up the bridge of Jena there were two parties in the Prussian Army — Gneisenau and Muffling against, but Blücher violently for it. In spite of all I could do, he did make the attempt, even while I believe my sentinel was standing at one end of the bridge. But the Prussians had no experience of blowing up bridges. We, who had blown up so many in Spain, could have done it in five minutes. The Prussians made a hole in one of the pillars, but their powder blew out instead of up, and I believe hurt some of their own people.[14]
In gratitude for his victories in 1814, King Frederick William III of Prussia created Blücher Prince (Fürst) of Wahlstatt (in Silesia on the Katzbach battlefield).[3][b] The king also awarded him estates near Krieblowitz (now Krobielowice, Poland) in Lower Silesia and a grand mansion at 2, Pariser Platz in Berlin (which in 1930 became the Embassy of the United States, Berlin).[citation needed] Soon afterward, Blücher paid a visit to England, where he was received with royal honours and cheered enthusiastically everywhere he went.[3]
When
Hundred Days and later life

After the war, Frederick William III gave Blücher properties in the area of Neustadt (now Prudnik). In November of the same year, Blücher leased Kunzendorf, Mühlsdorf, Wackenau and Achthuben to a local farmer, Hübner, in exchange for 2,000 thalers, rolls of linen cloth and yarn. His wife also moved to Kunzendorf. While living in the area of Neustadt, he financed the families of the fallen soldiers, gave a few liters of beer to the local parish priest every day, and paid a doctor from Neustadt to treat the poor. Thanks to his efforts, a health resort called "Blücher's Spring" was established in Kunzendorf (it was destroyed together with the castle as a result of the battles of the Neustadt in 1945).[15]
After the war, Blücher retired to Silesia. However, the return of Napoleon from
After bathing his wounds in a liniment of rhubarb and garlic, and fortified by a liberal internal dose of schnapps, Blücher rejoined his army. Gneisenau feared that the British had reneged on their earlier agreements and favoured a withdrawal, but Blücher convinced him to send two corps to join Wellington at Waterloo.[17][18] He then led his army on a tortuous march along muddy paths, arriving on the field of Waterloo in the late afternoon. In spite of his age, the pain of his wounds, and the effort it must have taken for him to remain on horseback, Bernard Cornwell states that several soldiers attested to Blücher's high spirits and his determination to defeat Napoleon:
"Forwards!" he was quoted as saying. "I hear you say it's impossible, but it has to be done! I have given my promise to Wellington, and you surely don't want me to break it? Push yourselves, my children, and we'll have victory!" It is impossible not to like Blücher. He was 74 years ( [sic]) old,[c] still in pain and discomfort from his adventures at Ligny, still stinking of schnapps and of rhubarb liniment, yet he is all enthusiasm and energy. If Napoleon's demeanour that day was one of sullen disdain for an enemy he underestimated, and Wellington's a cold, calculating calmness that hid concern, then Blücher is all passion.[19]
With the battle hanging in the balance, Blücher's army intervened with decisive and crushing effect, his vanguard drawing off Napoleon's badly needed reserves, and his main body being instrumental in crushing French resistance. This victory led the way to a decisive victory through the

Blücher remained in the French capital for a few months, but his age and infirmities compelled him to retire to his Silesian residence at Krieblowitz.[3] At the invitation of the British government, he made another state visit to England, to be formally thanked for his army and his role in the Waterloo Campaign. When his carriage stopped on Blackheath Hill, overlooking London, he is said to have exclaimed, "What a city to sack!"[21] He died at Krieblowitz on 12 September 1819, aged 76.[3] After his death, an imposing mausoleum was built for his remains.
When Krieblowitz was conquered by the Red Army in 1945, Soviet soldiers broke into the Blücher mausoleum and scattered the remains. Soviet troops reportedly used his skull as a football. After 1989, some of his remains were taken by a Polish priest and interred in the catacomb of the church in Sośnica (German: Schosnitz), three km from the now Polish Krobielowice.[22]
Assessment
Napoleon characterised him as a very brave soldier with no talent as a general, but he admired his attitude, which he described as a bull that looks all around him with rolling eyes and, when he sees danger, charges. Napoleon thought of him as stubborn and untiring, knowing no fear. He called him an old rascal who was always able to get up on his feet again and be ready for the next battle as, following a sound defeat, Blücher had, almost instantly, returned to attack him vigorously again. [23]
It was to be said later among the Prussian military that Blücher established "a Prussian way of war" that had abiding influence:
The key to this way of war was Blücher’s concept of victory. Like Napoleon, he placed tremendous emphasis on the decisive battle and achieving a decisive victory as quickly as possible at any cost. Also like Napoleon, he measured victory and defeat only in terms of battlefield results. Deviating very little from the Corsican’s art of war, the objective of Blücher’s Prussian way of war was to make contact with the enemy as quickly as possible, concentrate all forces, deliver the decisive blow, and end the war.[24]
More generally, Blücher was a courageous and popular general who "had much to be proud of: energy, controlled aggression and a commitment to defeating the enemy army."[25]
Campaigns
- 1760: Pomeranian Campaign (as Swedish soldier; captured by Prussia; changed sides)
- Seven Years' War
- 1787: Expedition to the Netherlands with Red Hussars
- 1793–1794: French campaigns with Red Hussars
- 1806: Auerstedt, Pomerania, Berlin, Königsberg
- 1813: Lützen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Möckern, Leipzig
- 1814: Brienne, La Rothière, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Château-Thierry, Montmirail, Laon, Montmartre
- 1815: Lower Rhine (Battle of Ligny), Battle of Waterloo
Publications

His campaign journal covering the years 1793 to 1794 was published in 1796:
- Kampagne-Journal der Jahre 1793 und 1794[26] (Berlin: Decker, 1796)
A second edition of this diary, together with some of Blücher's letters, was published in 1914:
- Vorwärts! Ein Husaren-Tagebuch und Feldzugsbriefe von Gebhardt Leberecht von Blücher,[27] introduced by General Field Marshal von der Goltz, edited by Heinrich Conrad (Munich: G. Müller, [1914])
His collected writings and letters (together with those of Yorck and Gneisenau) appeared in 1932:
- Gesammelte Schriften und Briefe / Blücher, Yorck, Gneisenau,[28] compiled and edited by Edmund Th. Kauer (Berlin-Schöneberg: Oestergaard, [1932])
Ancestry
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Family and descendants
Blücher was married twice: in 1773 to Karoline Amalie von Mehling (1756–1791) and, after her death, in 1795 to Katharine Amalie von Colomb (1772–1850), sister of General Peter von Colomb. While this second marriage was without issue, by his first marriage Blücher had seven children, of whom two sons and a daughter survived infancy:
- Franz Ferdinand Joachim (1778–1829), major general in the Prussian army, wounded in battle in 1813 and thereafter mentally ill; married Bernhardine von Sass and had issue
- Friedrich Gebhardt Lebrecht (1780–1834), married Elisabeth von Conring, no issue
- Bernhardine Friederike (1786–1870), married firstly Adolf Ernst, Count von der Schulenburg, married secondly Maximilian Asche, Count von der Asseburg and had issue[29]
The marshal's grandson, Count Gebhard Bernhard von Blücher (1799–1875), was created Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt (
Honours
He received the following orders and decorations:[33]
Kingdom of Prussia:
- Pour le Mérite, 4 June 1789[34]
- Knight of the Black Eagle, April 1807[35]
- Knight of the Red Eagle[36]
- Iron Cross, 1st Class; Grand Cross, 1813;[36] with Star, 1815
Austrian Empire: Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1813[37]
Denmark: Knight of the Elephant, 4 July 1815[38]
Kingdom of Hanover: Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order, 1816[39]
- Grand Cross of the Golden Lion, 11 December 1815[40]
- Grand Cross of the Military William Order, 8 July 1815[41]
Spain: Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, 3 July 1811[42]
Sweden: Knight of the Seraphim, 28 April 1814[43]
United Kingdom: Honorary Grand Cross of the Bath (military), 18 August 1815[44]
Württemberg: Grand Cross of the Military Merit Order, 1814[45]
Russian Empire:
- Knight of St. George, 1st Class, 8 October 1813[46]
- Knight of St. Andrew, 11 October 1813[46]
- Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, 11 October 1813[46]
- Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class
- Sword of Honour "for Bravery"
Legacy

Museums
The Rhineland town of Kaub has a museum dedicated to Blücher, commemorating in particular his crossing the Rhine with the Prussian and Russian armies, on New Year's night 1813–1814, in pursuit of the French.
Statues
After Blücher's death, statues were erected to his memory at
(where his troops crossed the Rhine in pursuit of Napoleon's forces in 1813).Blücher is honoured with a bust in the
Locomotives and ships
In gratitude for Blücher's service, George Stephenson, the pioneering British locomotive engineer, named a locomotive after him. The small mining village a few miles from Stephenson's birthplace in Wylam also bears the name Blucher in honour of him.
The Blucher was named after him, after the original ship was captured by the British and the new owners named it for him.
Three ships of the German navy have been named in honour of Blücher. The first to be so named was the corvette SMS Blücher, built at Kiel's Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG (later renamed the Krupp-Germaniawerft) and launched 20 March 1877. Taken out of service after a boiler explosion in 1907, she ended her days as a coal freighter in Vigo, Spain.
On 11 April 1908, the
The Second World War German heavy cruiser Blücher was completed in September 1939, and pronounced ready for service on 5 April 1940 after completing a series of sea trials and training exercises. The vessel was sunk four days later near Oslo during the invasion of Norway.
Film portrayals
Blücher was played by German actor
He was portrayed by Soviet actor Sergo Zakariadze in the 1970 Soviet-Italian film Waterloo.
Miscellany
Blücher also has a boarding house named after him at Berkshire based Wellington College. The Blucher, as it is known, is a boys' house renowned for sporting and academic prowess.
A popular German saying, ran wie Blücher gehen ("to charge like Blücher"), meaning that someone is taking very direct and aggressive action, in war or otherwise, refers to Blücher. The full German saying, now obsolete, relates to the Battle of the Katzbach in 1813: "ran wie Blücher an der Katzbach gehen" ("to advance like Blücher at Katzbach"), describing vigorous, forceful behaviour.[47]
Vasily Blyukher's last name was given to his family by a landlord in honour of Gebhard.
Near Twickenham Stadium is the Prince Blucher pub.[48]
-
Krobielowice (German: Krieblowitz) Castle, Lower Silesia
(owned by the Blücher family 1814–1945) -
Raduň Castle, Czech Republic
(owned by the Blücher family 1832–1945) -
Blücher-Palais near Brandenburg Gate (U.S. Embassy, 1930–1941)
See also
- Evelyn Princess Blücher
- Blücher Order
- Blucher shoe
- Blüchern
- Brothers von Blücher
Notes
- ^ Age of fourteen according to Chisholm 1911, p. 80.
- ^ a life peerage meaning Prince of the Battlefield – after Wahlstatt monastery at Legnickie Pole, the site of the decisive Battle of Legnica (or Battle of Liegnitz; Legnickie Pole is the name created in 1948 for Wahlstatt or 'battlefield', a posthumous name more popular only from the 18th century: to avoid mix-up with the 1760 battle of Liegnitz on 9 April 1241 where the Mongols of the Golden Horde had defeated a Polish-German army but then retreated to the Mongol Empire, instead of invading the remainder of Europe all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.[citation needed]
- ^ He was 72, based on his birth date.
References
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. xi.
- ^ Swedish Encyclopedia "Nordisk Familjebok", vol 4, article "Breslau", column 112; Swedish "Andra öppna plater äro Blücherplatz med Blüchers staty,..."(found left of "Brescia" in column 111); means "Other open places are Blücherplatz with Blüchers' statue,..."
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Chisholm 1911, p. 80.
- ^ "Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt". 16 December 1742.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. 6.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. 11.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. 108.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. 110.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, p. 111.
- ^ "Gebhard Leberecht Von Blucher | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Montefiore 2016, p. 313.
- ^ Lieven 2009, pp. 502–503.
- ^ Stanhope 1888, p. 119.
- ISBN 978-83-60431-09-2.
- ^ Cornwell 2015, Chapter 6, p. 93–94?.
- ^ Barbero 2006, p. [page needed].
- ^ Cornwell 2015, Chapter 6, p. 94?.
- ^ Cornwell 2015, Chapter 9, p. 158?.
- ^ "Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst (prince) von Wahlstatt | Prussian Field Marshal, Napoleonic Wars Hero". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ Cornwell 2015, Afterword p. 239?.
- ^ Leggiere 2014, pp. 448–449.
- ^ Kircheisen 2010, p. 184.
- ^ Michael V. Leggiere, Blücher: Scourge of Napoleon, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2013 (= Campaigns and Commanders 41), p. 445.
- ^ M.V. Leggiere, Blücher: Scourge of Napoleon, 2013, p. 433.
- ^ Blücher, G. B. v (1796). Kampagne-Journal der Jahre 1793 u. 1794 (in German).
- ^ Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht von (1914). Vorwärts!: Ein Husaren-Tagebuch und Feldzugsbriefe (in German). G. Müller.
- ^ Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht von; Wartenburg, Hans David Ludwig Yorck von; Gneisenau, August Neidhardt von (1932). Gesammelte Schriften und Briefe (in German). P. J. Oestergaard.
- ^ https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00322790&tree=LEO
- ^ https://genealogy.euweb.cz/titles/princes.html
- ^ Vítejte 2012 [unreliable source]
- ^ https://heirsofeurope.blogspot.com/2010/01/blucher-v-wahlstatt.html
- ^ Preußen (1818). Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat: für das Jahr .... 1818. Decker. p. 55.
- ^ Lehmann, Gustaf (1913). Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1740–1811 [The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite] (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn. p. 200.
- ^ Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter" p. 15
- ^ a b Johann Daniel Friedrich Rumpf (1814). Fürsten Blücher's von Wahlstadt Königlich-Preußischen General-Feldmarschalls ... Heldenthaten nebst einer biographischen Skizze. Neue Societäts-Verlag Buchh.
- ^ "Ritter-Orden: Militärischer Maria-Theresien-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Kaiserthumes Österreich, 1819, p. 9, retrieved 28 October 2020
- ^ J ..... -H ..... -Fr ..... Berlien (1846). Der Elephanten-Orden und seine Ritter. Berling. pp. 148–150.
- ^ Hannoverscher und Churfürstlich-Braunschweigisch-Lüneburgischer Staatskalender: 1819. 1819. p. 12.
- ^ Hessen-Kassel (1818). Kur-Hessischer Staats- und Adress-Kalender: 1818. Verlag d. Waisenhauses. p. 16.
- ^ "Militaire Willems-Orde: Blücher von Wahlstadt, G.L. Fürst von" [Military William Order: Blücher von Wahlstadt, G.L. Prince of]. Ministerie van Defensie (in Dutch). 8 July 1815. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ Guerra, Francisco (1819), "Caballeros Grandes-cruces existentes en la Real y distinguida Orden Española de Carlos Tercero", Calendario manual y guía de forasteros en Madrid (in Spanish): 45, retrieved 28 October 2020
- ISBN 91-630-6744-7.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 183
- ^ Württemberg (1815). Königlich-Württembergisches Hof- und Staats-Handbuch: 1815. Guttenberg. p. 17.
- ^ a b c Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817. l'Académie Imp. des Sciences. 1817. pp. 66, 86, 89.
- ^ en.wikipedia entry on the Battle of the Katzbach, chapter Analysis
- ^ "The Prince Blucher - Fuller's Pub and Restaurant in Twickenham". www.princeblucher.co.uk.
Sources
- Barbero, A. (2006). The Battle: A New History of Waterloo. Translated by Cullen, John. Walker & Company.
- Cornwell, Bernard (2015). ISBN 978-1312925229. – The pages numbers are given as offsets in the electronic view, these will vary from the page numbers in a physical book
- Kircheisen, F.M. (2010). Memoires Of Napoleon I. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- Leggiere, Michael V. (2014). Blucher: Scourge of Napoleon. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-4567-9.
- Lieven, Dominic (2009). Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-194744-0.
- Montefiore, Simon Sebag (2016). The Romanovs 1613–1918. Orion Publishing Group Ltd. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-297-85266-7.
- Polier, Christoph Graf von (2016). "Gebhard Leberecht Blücher von Wahlstatt". Geneanet. Retrieved 5 May 2016.[unreliable source]
- Stanhope, Phillips Henry (1888). Notes of conversaciones with the Duke of Wellington, 1831–1851. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 119.
- "Blücher von Wahlstatt family tree". Vítejte. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2016. [unreliable source]
Attribution
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Blücher, Gebhard Leberecht von". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 90. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Blücher (1932). Memoirs of Prince Blücher. Translated by Chapman-Huston, Desmond. London: Murray. OCLC 2231133.
- Crepon, Tom (1999). Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher: sein Leben, seine Kämpfe. Rostock: Hinsdorff. ISBN 3-356-00833-1.
- Eyck, Erich. "Marshal Blücher" History Today (1951) 1#9 pp 41–47. online
- Gneisenau, August Wilhelm Anton, Graf Neidhardt von (1815). The life and campaigns of Field-Marshal Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt. Translated by Marston, James Edward. London: Sherwood, Neely and Jones. )
- Henderson, Ernest F. (1994). Blücher and the uprising of Prussia against Napoleon, 1806–1815. Aylesford: R.J. Leach. ISBN 1-873050-14-3.
- Parkinson, Roger (1975). The Hussar general: the life of Blücher, man of Waterloo. London: P. Davies. ISBN 0-432-11600-1.
External links
Media related to Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher at Wikimedia Commons
- Blüchers Zug von Auerstedt bis Ratekau und Lübecks Schreckenstage (1806) – German publication about Blücher
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (9th ed.). 1878. This source gives "Black Hussars" for the name of his old regiment (altered in the 11th edition to "Red Hussars"). .