Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel Graf Tauentzien von Wittenberg (15 September 1760 – 20 February 1824) 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 ...

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 ...

of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Biography

Tauentzien was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

in the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

as the son of

Friedrich Bogislav von Tauentzien Friedrich Bogislav von Tauentzien (18 April 1710 – 21 March 1791) was a Prussian general who served during the wars of King Frederick the Great. Tauentzien hailed from the von Tauentzien family and was born in the village of Tauentzien ne ...

. He married Elisabeth von Amstedt, with whom he had one son and one daughter. The branch of the

von Tauentzien The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

family with the title of count ended with the 1854 death of Tauentzien's son, Heinrich Bogislav. Tauentzien entered 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 ...

in 1775 and was granted the title of

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

(count) on 5 August 1791. He became a royal aide-de-camp in 1793; he was entrusted with many diplomatic missions until 1813. Tauentzien participated in the campaign of 1793 and was successively promoted to

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

in 1795 and

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

in 1801. He commanded an observation corps of

Friedrich Ludwig zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (german: Friedrich Ludwig Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen) (31 January 1746 – 15 February 1818) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian general. Early life Frederick Louis was the eldest son of ...

until the

Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a cohort fort, part of the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, loca ...

in 1806. Shortly before the

Battle of Saalfeld The Battle of Saalfeld took place on 10 October 1806, at which a French force of 12,800 men commanded by Marshal Jean Lannes defeated a Prussian- Saxon force of 8,300 men under Prince Louis Ferdinand. The battle took place in Thuringia in wha ...

, a French corps under Marshal Bernadotte defeated Tauentzien's detachment of 9,000 men at

Schleiz Schleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany. The former municipality Crispendorf was merged into Schleiz in January 2019, and Burgk in December 2019. Location Schleiz is in the Thuringian Vogtland area, an ar ...

. Tauentzien capably organized the retreat to Mittel-Pöllnitz so his troops could rejoin the main Prussian army. At

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, Tauentzien led the vanguard of the Hohenlohe Corps. Scores of Prussian generals were dismissed after the defeat of Prussia in 1806–07, although Tauentzien was not. As

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

, he commanded the Brandenburg Brigade after the

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 ...

and participated in the reorganization of the defeated Prussian army. Tauentzien-tomb

In 1813, Tauentzien was named Military Governor between the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

and the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

Rivers, and he succeeded in the siege of

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

. As General der Infanterie, he commanded the IV. Armeekorps, which consisted mostly of

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...

, and participated in the battles of

Großbeeren Großbeeren is a municipality in the district of Teltow-Fläming in the German state of Brandenburg. Geography Located about 3 km south of Berlin's city limits. It includes the localities of ''Diedersdorf'', ''Heinersdorf'' and ''Kleinbeeren ...

on 23 August and

Dennewitz Dennewitz is a village of Germany, in the federal state and old Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W. from Berlin. It is part of the municipality of Niedergörsdorf, Teltow-Fläming district. History It is memorable a ...

on 6 September. In October his troops left the relative safety of

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

and crossed the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

. After the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

, Tauentzien accepted the capitulation of

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 ...

on 26 December 1813. Generalleutnant

Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz (1 January 1763 in Brzeg, Brieg, Niederschlesien – 3 February 1836 at Gut Zölling, Landkreis Freystadt i. Niederschles., Kreis Freystadt, prev. Landkreis Sagan, Kreis Sagan, Niederschlesien) was a Prussian "general ...

led the capture of

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

on the night of 13–14 January 1814, but acclaim for the victory went to his superior, Tauentzien, who was granted the honorary title "von Wittenberg", a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, and, on 26 January, the

Grand Cross of the Iron Cross The Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) was a decoration intended for victorious generals of the Prussian Army and its allies. It was the second highest class of the Iron Cross, following the Star of the Grand ...

. A street in Wittenberg was named Tauentzienstraße, but is now known as Dobschützstraße. On 24 May, Tauentzien recovered

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

. Tauentzien commanded the VI. Armeekorps during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. The

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

had already occurred by the time his troops reached France. After the end of the war, he commanded the III. Armeekorps. Tauentzien died as Commander of Berlin.

Tauentzienstraße Tauentzienstraße (colloquially: ''der Tauentzien''; en, Tauentzien Street) is a major shopping street in the City West area of Berlin, Germany. With a length of about , it runs between two important squares, Wittenbergplatz in the east and Brei ...

in Berlin is named in his honor.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tauentzien, Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von 1760 births 1824 deaths Counts of Germany Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Prussian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Potsdam