Christian Graf von Forbach, then Christian Marquis de Deux-Ponts and later Christian Freiherr von Zweibrücken (20 November 1752 – 25 October 1817) was an officer of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

and later a general of the Royal

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

and then of the

Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate of Bavaria, Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereig ...

, at last in the rank of

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

.''Zweibrücken''
(German), Pierer's Universal-Lexikon. He should not be confused with his nephew Christian Freiherr von Zweibrücken (aka Christian Graf von Forbach, 1782–1859), who was a Bavarian General of Cavalry (''

General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry () was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers of equivalent rank were called ...

'').Eberhard Weis
''Montgelas: Der Architekt des modernen Bayerischen Staates 1799- 1838''
(German), 2005, pp. 470-473.

Early life and ancestry

Christian von Zweibrücken was the first of six children of Christian IV Herzog von Pfalz-Zweibrücken and Maria Johanna Camasse,

Gräfin (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

von Forbach (1734-1807). He was born in

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

. The children were unable to succeed to their father's Duchy due to the

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

nature of their parents' marriage at first, but were allowed to wear the name ''Freiherr von Zweibrücken'' in 1792.

Biography

Due to a former business agreement from March 1751 between

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

and his father, who promised to the French king to raise a battalion of infantry for France when and if needed, the Infantry Regiment "Royal Deux-Ponts" (raised on 19, 1757) of two battalions to the French crown after the outbreak of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, when it was at first deployed in the

Battle of Rossbach The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, ...

. The commander of the regiment at this time was Christian von Forbach, and his brother Philippe Guillaume (later renamed to Wilhelm) was deputy commander. As part of De Rochambeau's expedition corps he led the "Royal Deux-Ponts" during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, where the regiment proved in the

Battle of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Mar ...

, also called the "German Battle", on October 4, 1781. In 1783 he married Adélaïde-Françoise de Béthune-Pologne (1761–1823). The couple had three daughters. The first of them Maria Amalia Charlotte Auguste died in her year of birth 1784. The others were Maria Amalia Charlotte Franziska Auguste Eleonore (1786–1839) and Kasimira Maria Louise Antoinette (1787–1846). Because of the French Revolution, he left the French forces in the rank of a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, meanwhile titled ''Freiherr von Zweibrücken'', and was taken over by the Prussian Army in the rank of a Major General, where he took part in the campaigns against France during 1794 and 1797. In the end of the century he was taken over on his request by the Bavarian Army, where he became

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and provincial commander of the Palatinate region. In spring of 1800 he became commander of a division, merged from the brigades of Von Deroy and von Wrede, and fought under the Austrian ''Feldzeugmeister'' Kray and under

Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...

against France for the British crown. In 1808 he became ''

Geheimer Rat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

'' (), and in January 1811 he was promoted to the rank of ''General der Infanterie''. Obviously Von Zweibrücken had also plans to replace von Montgelas by his son-in-law Graf Karl Ernst von Gravenreuth (1771–1826), who was married to his daughter Kasimira. He died in Munich, where he and his brother Wilhelm are buried in the Old Southern Cemetery. In the European Rose Garden in Zweibrücken a memorial remembers him and his brother.''Preliminary Survey of Sites Associated with the Lives and Deeds of Foreign-born Heroes of the American Revolution''
, p. 42.

Awards

* Cincinnati Order *

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

(6 June 1796) *

Kurpfalz The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Emperor, ...

-Bavarian Military Honour Award ('' Militär-Ehrenzeichen'') (24 March 1801, predecessor of the

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph () was the highest military order (decoration), order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in three classes: ...

) *

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the

(1 March 1806)

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian of the Palatinate-Zweibrucken 1752 births 1817 deaths People from Zweibrücken Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken Major generals of Prussia Bavarian generals French Army officers House of Wittelsbach French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph German commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Sons of counts Military personnel from Rhineland-Palatinate