Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Tettenborn (19 February 1778, in
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim (german: Grafschaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality ...
– 9 December 1845, in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
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, postal_code =
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) was a famous cavalry commander in the Austrian and Russian armies 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 ...
.
Life
Tettenborn first studied at the
Waltershausen
Waltershausen is a town in the south-western part of the district of Gotha in the state of Thuringia, Germany.
Geography
Geographic location
Located on the verge of the Thuringian Basin just before the Thuringian Forest, Waltershausen is so ...
Forstwissenschaft and then at the Universities of
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
and
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 ...
. In 1794 he joined the Austrian military and quickly rose to captain during the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
and
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 ...
. In the Austro-French war he was in 1805 in the army under Mack, which dispersed after raising the siege of
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
. At the
battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
(1809), he rose to the rank of major. After the
Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn (french: Traité de Schönbrunn; german: Friede von Schönbrunn), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1 ...
he accompanied prince
Schwarzenberg Schwarzenberg may refer to:
People
* House of Schwarzenberg, Franconian and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172
** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (1771–1820), Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napol ...
to Paris.
At the outbreak of the Russian war of 1812, he entered the Russian army as a lieutenant colonel. At the head of
Kutuzov
Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...
's vanguard, he was again the first to engage at
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, pursuing the French as far as the Beresina at the head of the light cavalry, raising the siege of
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, going beyond the
Neman River
The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...
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 ...
and occupying
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
.
Appointed
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 ...
, he crossed 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 ...
and
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 ...
, joined up with general Tschernischew in Landsberg and then moved on
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 ...
. From there, he was dispatched to
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
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, postal ...
, occupying it on 18 March 1813 after throwing back Morand at
Bergedorf
Bergedorf () is the largest of the seven boroughs of Hamburg, Germany, named after Bergedorf quarter within this borough. In 2020 the population of the borough was 130,994.
History
The city of Bergedorf received town privileges in 1275, then ...
on the left bank of the Elbufer. Yet he had to leave the city to the advancing
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 ...
on 30 May. His actions in Hamburg are judged critically. Fahl writes of von Tettenborn at this era "he observed Hamburg as a favourable location to enrich itself and to lead a straying life. He strove less for an earnest defence of the city than for collecting of an honorary award of 5,000 Friedriches d'or and for his appointment as an
honorary citizen
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
he was also the first honorary citizen of Hamburg."Andreas Fahl, ''Das Hamburger Bürgermilitär 1814-1868''; Berlin 1987, S. 24f m.w.Nw.
He then fought under
Wallmoden
Wallmoden is a village and a former municipality in the district of Goslar in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2021, it is part of the town Langelsheim, of which it is an ''Ortschaft''.Pécheux, after whose defeat he took
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
on 15 October. In January 1814 he was delegated to use a single corps of light cavalry to maintain communications between the many separate Allied armies operating in France.
After the peace, he withdrew to his estates, and in 1818 he left the service of Russia to join that of Baden. Here he resolved the territorial differences between Baden and
Bayern
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
and was active in the foundation of the constitution. In 1819 he went to Vienna as an envoy, where he died on 9 December 1845.
References
Bibliography
*
Karl August Varnhagen von Ense
Karl August Varnhagen von Ense (21 February 1785 in Düsseldorf – 10 October 1858 in Berlin) was a German biographer, diplomat and soldier.
Life and career
He was born in Düsseldorf, the younger brother of Rosa Maria Varnhagen, a noted poet, w ...