Baron Eberhardt Otto George von Bock (died 21 January 1814) was a Hanoverian born major-general in the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during 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

Bock was descended from an old military family, and entered the

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

ian cavalry about the year 1781. His name appears as a premier-lieutenant in the 6th Hanoverian dragoons in 1789, and as rittmeister (captain) in 1800. He served in the Hanoverian Garde du Corps under

Freytag People with the surname Freytag (''Friday'' in German) include: * Adam Freytag (1608–50), Polish mathematician and military engineer * Arny Freytag, American photographer * Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Freytag Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Freytag (19 S ...

in the

Flanders Campaign The Flanders Campaign (or Campaign in the Low Countries) was conducted from 20 April 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the War of the First Coalition. A coalition of states representing the Ancien Régime in Western Europe – Aus ...

and was slightly wounded by two sabre cuts on the arm and head at the

Battle of Famars The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North le ...

23 May 1793. On the dissolution of the Hanoverian army after the convention of Artlenburg, Bock was one of the officers who travelled to England, where he raised four troops of heavy cavalry, designated as the 1st dragoons,

King's German Legion The King's German Legion (KGL; german: Des Königs Deutsche Legion, semantically erroneous obsolete German variations are , , ) was a British Army unit of mostly expatriated German personnel during the period 1803–16. The legion achieved th ...

, and was gazetted colonel 21 April 1804. The regiment was formed at Weymouth, and was a particular favourite of George III. Bock served at its head in

Lord Cathcart Earl Cathcart is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime be ...

's expedition to Hanover in 1805; also in Ireland, whither it was sent after its return home. From Ireland Bock, who had attained the rank of major-general in 1810, proceeded to the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

in 1811 in command of a brigade composed of the two heavy cavalry regiments of the Legion, with which he made the subsequent campaigns in Spain and the south of France in 1812–13. The steadiness and gallantry of Bock's heavy Germans often won approval, particularly on 23 July 1812, the day after the victory at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

, when in a charge at Garcia Hernandez, they attacked, broke and made prisoner three battalions of French infantry formed in square, usually thought of as a formation impregnable to cavalry. Bock was made temporary commander of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

's Cavalry during

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

's convalescence July–October 1812, and again December 1812-June 1813. He served in the rearguard during the retreat from

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

1812, mishandling an ambush at Venta del Pozo (Villadrigo) 23 October. In 1813 he served at

Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...

21 June. Bock suffered from being very short sighted - before the charge at Garcia Hernandez he had to ask to be pointed in the direction of the enemy. On 21 January 1814, Bock was drowned together with his son Lewis and other officers when the transport ship ''Bellona'' was wrecked on the Tulbest rocks, en route to England. His body was washed on shore at the little Breton village of Pleubian and interred.

Notes

References

* Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bock, Eberhardt Otto George Year of birth missing 18th-century births 1814 deaths British Army major generals British Army commanders of the Napoleonic Wars King's German Legion British military personnel killed in action in the Napoleonic Wars Barons of Germany People who died at sea German military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars