Jakob Heinrich von Flemming (3 March 1667 – 30 April 1728) was a

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, military officer and politician. He was born in Hoff,

Prussia 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 em ...

n Province of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

to a noble family. He completed his law studies in 1688, after which he entered service with

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. He attained the rank of

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 ...

in 1705 and

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

in 1711. He was appointed ambassador to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

Frederick Augustus of Saxony, who aspired to the throne of Poland–Lithuania which had been vacant since the death of

Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

in 1696. By causing competition between the other aspirants, Flemming was able to secure the election of the elector as Augustus II of Poland–Lithuania. Flemming participated in the Livonian campaign of the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

. His troops captured the fort Düna fort at

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

from the Swedes in 1700, renaming it "Augustenburg" ("August's fort"), but the Swedes defeated the allied Russian-Saxon army at the

crossing of the Daugava Crossing may refer to: * ''Crossing'' (2008 film), a South Korean film * ''Crossing'' (album), a 1985 album by world music/jazz group Oregon * Crossing (architecture), the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church * Crossing (knot theory ...

in 1701. During the

Battle of Kliszów The Battle of Kliszów (also spelled Klissow or Klezow) took place on July 19, 1702, near Kliszów in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Great Northern War. A numerically superior Polish–Saxon army led by king Augustus II the Stro ...

in 1702 he was severely wounded. In 1705 August made him general of the cavalry and Minister of War. At the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1706,

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

demanded of the deposed August the

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

of Flemming, arguing that he had estates in

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

and was therefore a Swedish citizen subject to Swedish law. Flemming relieved his Elector from this predicament by leaving for

. When the Swedes left Poland in 1708 for their disastrous campaign in Russia (ending with the defeat at

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

), the re-crowned August installed Flemming in the governor's residence in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. In 1711 Flemming became

and led the Saxon troops in Northern Germany against the Swedes led by

Magnus Stenbock Count Magnus Stenbock (22 May 1665 – 23 February 1717) was a Swedish field marshal ('' Fältmarskalk'') and Royal Councillor. A renowned commander of the Carolean Army during the Great Northern War, he was a prominent member of the Sten ...

. He participated in the sieges of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

and

Tönning Tönning (German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. History Tönning was destroyed in the Bu ...

, and led the Saxon troops in the

Battle of Gadebusch The Battle of Gadebusch or Wakenstädt (20 December 1712) was Sweden's final great victory in the Great Northern War. It was fought by the Swedes to prevent the Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715), loss of the city of Stralsund to Denmark, Danish an ...

in 1712. After the victorious end of fighting in northern Germany in 1715, Flemming led the Saxon troops to Poland, supporting Augustus against the

Tarnogród Confederation The Tarnogród Confederation was a confederation of szlachta in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the years 1715–1716. It was formed on 26 November 1715 in Tarnogród by nobility angered by illegal taxation, levied for Saxon forces operating i ...

References

1667 births 1728 deaths Prussian Army personnel Field marshals of Saxony People from the Province of Pomerania Jacob Heinrich People of the Great Northern War {{Germany-army-bio-stub