August Friedrich von Spörcken

Klaus Mlynek Klaus Mlynek (born 16 January 1936) is a German historian and scientific archivist. The long-term director of the Stadtarchiv Hannover is one of the editors and authors of the ', an encyclopedia of Hanover. Life Born in Poznań, Poland, Mlynek ...

: ''SPÖRCKEN, August Friedrich von'' (in german), in ''Hannoversches Biographisches Lexikon'', p. 342
online
by

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(1698–1776) was a Hanoverian soldier best known for his service in 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 served as part of the

Army of Observation An army of observation is a military body whose purpose is to monitor a given area or enemy body in preparation for possible hostilities. Some of the more notable armies of observation include: * Third Reserve Army of Observation, a Russian army ta ...

between 1757–1762 leading the Hanoverian contingent at a number of major battles including

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

and

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

Early life

Spörcken was born on 28 August 1698. In 1715, he joined the Hanoverian army, he served as part of a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

force during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...

. He later went on to serve as part of the

Pragmatic Army The Pragmatic Army was an army which served during the War of the Austrian Succession. It was formed in 1743 by George II, who was both King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and consisted of a mixture of British, Irish and German forces. I ...

during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

Seven Years' War

When the Seven Years' War broke out, Spörcken was part of the

established to defend Hanover and its neighbours from the French. Following the

Battle of Hastenbeck The Battle of Hastenbeck (26 July 1757) was fought as part of the Invasion of Hanover during the Seven Years' War between the allied forces of Hanover, Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and Brunswick, and the French. The allies were defeated by ...

, the Army retreated and was eventually forced to conclude the

Convention of Klosterzeven The Convention of Klosterzeven (or the Convention of Kloster-Zeven, german: Konvention von Kloster Zeven) was a convention signed on 10 September 1757 at Klosterzeven between France and the Electorate of Hanover during the Seven Years' War that ...

, taking Hanover out of the war. This soon came under fierce attack in Britain and Prussia, with

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

suggesting that the army should be reformed under the control of Spörcken. Instead, when the Convention was revoked in late 1757,

Ferdinand of Brunswick Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

was given command of the force which launched a successful counter-attack driving the French back across the

River Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

. For the next five years, Spörcken was part of the army that successfully checked several French attempts against Hanover.

Battle of Minden

In 1759, following the defeat at the Battle of Bergen, Brunswick's forces retreated northwards as the French under Contades pushed home a plan to invade Hanover. Deciding to halt them near the town of

, Brunswick During the battle on 1 August 1759, Spörcken's division of mixed British and German infantry advanced without support, leaving them isolated. They were faced with repeated French infantry and cavalry attacks but managed to repulse them until further reinforcements came to their rescue. The Allied army was ultimately able to defeat the French and force them to retreat.

Later career

Spörcken was promoted to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in 1764 and placed in command of the regular Hanoverian forces, which were now substantially reduced, as well as the newly formed

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. He died in 1776.

Bibliography

* Szabo, Franz A.J. ''The Seven Years War in Europe, 1757-1763''. Pearson, 2008.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sporcken, Friedrich Von 1698 births 1776 deaths Military personnel from Hanover Field marshals of Germany German military personnel of the Seven Years' War