Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq (16 August 1738 – 5 January 1815) was a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

best known for his command of the Prussian troops at the

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau, or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoléon's ''Grande Armée'' and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Bennigs ...

Biography

L'Estocq was born in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, the son of a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Prussian officer. In 1757 he became a cadet officer of the Gensd'armes regiment of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, he participated in the battles of Zorndorf, Kunersdorf, and

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

. After a battle near

Langensalza Bad Langensalza (; until 1956: Langensalza) is a spa town of 17,500 inhabitants in the Unstrut-Hainich district, Thuringia, central Germany. Geography Location Bad Langensalza is located in the Thuringian Basin, the fertile lowlands along t ...

, he received the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

. In 1768 L'Estocq became first lieutenant and served in the

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

regiment of General

Hans Joachim von Zieten Hans Joachim von Zieten, sometimes spelled Johann Joachim von Ziethen, (14 May 1699 – 26 January 1786), also known as ''Zieten aus dem Busch'', was a cavalry general in the Prussian Army. He served in four wars and was instrumental in sev ...

. Initially Zieten's adjutant, he was promoted successively to cavalry captain, major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel. In 1779, L'Estocq was stationed near Fehrbellin, where he assisted General Zieten with the regimental business in that area. In 1790 King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

named L'Estocq battalion commander of the Regiment von Eben (2nd Hussar Regiment). During the

First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

against

revolutionary France The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, L'Estocq participated in the battles of

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

, Morsbrunn, and

Trippstadt Trippstadt is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...

. In 1794 he took command of the 2nd Hussar Regiment, which was stationed in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

to guard the border with France after the 1795

Peace of Basel The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France during the French Revolution (represented by François de Barthélemy). *The first was with Prussia (represented by Karl August von Hardenberg) on 5 April; *The seco ...

Major-general

Promoted to major-general, L'Estocq was stationed in

New East Prussia New East Prussia (german: Neuostpreußen; pl, Prusy Nowowschodnie; lt, Naujieji Rytprūsiai) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

in 1803, commanding all troops in the province as head of the 9th Hussar Regiment. In 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant-general. During the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, s ...

, L'Estocq and his chief of staff,

Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (12 November 1755 – 28 June 1813) was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Pru ...

, commanded some 15,000 troops based at

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

in December 1806 and at

Freystadt :''"Freystadt" is also the German names for Kisielice and Kożuchów, Poland.'' Freystadt (; Northern Bavarian: ''Freystod'') is a town in the district of Neumarkt in Bavaria. It is situated near the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 14 km southwe ...

in January 1807. Harassed by Marshal

Ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

, L'Estocq marched his troops from February 2 – February 8 through snowy and forested

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

; it has been described as "a model of the way in which a flank march in the face of a near and powerful adversary should be conducted". The

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

troops of Bennigsen were hard-pressed by Marshal

Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and th ...

in the

(February 7-February 8, 1807). Leading the last operational unit in the Prussian army, L'Estocq was only able to bring eight battalions, twenty-eight squadrons, and two horse artillery batteries (estimated at 7,000-9,000 men) to the battle; the rest of his soldiers were defending against Ney. Upon the small Prussian contingent's arrival at

Preußisch Eylau Bagrationovsk (russian: Багратио́новск; german: Preußisch Eylau; pl, Pruska Iława or '; lt, Ylava or ') is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the borde ...

, Bennigsen wanted it split up to reinforce his weakened Russian troops. Scharnhorst, however, advised L'Estocq to strike with his cavalry around the Russian lines at Davout's exhausted troops; the sudden attack threw the French into disarray. Following the battle, L'Estocq's corps retreated to Preußisch Friedland to maintain coalition communications with Russia.

Honours

For their leadership in the battle, L'Estocq received the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

and Scharnhorst the

. While the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

had been crushed at Jena-Auerstedt, L'Estocq's troops restored honor to the demoralized military.

Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz Wilhelm Leopold Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz (12 August 1843 – 19 April 1916), also known as ''Goltz Pasha'', was a Prussian Field Marshal and military writer. Military career Goltz was born in , East Prussia (later renamed Goltzhausen; n ...

wrote, "it was at Eylau in 1807, and not the

War of Liberation Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separat ...

in 1813, that the old army vindicated itself before the tribunal of history". Von der Goltz attributed the success to Scharnhorst's planning and L'Estocq's initiative and willingness to attack. After the coalition defeat in the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

and the humiliating

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when t ...

, L'Estocq was part of an investigatory commission into the causes of Prussia's defeat in the Fourth Coalition. Because of his successful cooperation with L'Estocq, Scharnhorst successfully lobbied for attaching a chief of staff to each field commander in 1813.Citino, p. 131 L'Estocq became Governor of

on 12 November 1808, and of Breslau in 1814. After his death in Berlin on 5 January 1815, L'Estocq was buried in the cemetery of the city's garrison church three days later.

Biography

Major-general

Honours

Footnotes

References

See also