Count Karl Wilhelm von Toll (russian: Карл Фёдорович Толль ; 9 April 1777, Keskvere, Governorate of Estonia – 5 May 1842) was a Baltic German aristocrat and Russian subject who served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

in the campaigns against the

Napoleonic Army Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Origins

Karl Wilhelm von Toll was the son of Conrad Friedrich von Toll (27 March 1749 – 3 February 1821) and Justine Wilhelmine Ruckteschell (born 18 January 1752). His family was of Dutch origins, but had settled in Sweden in the 15th century. One of his forebears had served as an emissary for Sweden to

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

, and had been rewarded for this service with lands in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Career

Toll began his military career in 1796 after a period in the infantry cadet corps under the command of

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...

. He first saw action in the Swiss expedition of

Alexander Suvarov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

in 1799-1800 and took part in the war of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

in 1805. He fought at

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz an ...

, in the Turkish campaigns from 1806 to 1809, and in the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

, notably at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. In 1812 he was named Quartermaster General of the First Army and commanded the evacuation of

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 ...

. He subsequently led troops at

Brienne The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château. Counts of Brienne * Engelbert I * Engelbert II * Engelbert III * Engelbert IV * Walter I (? – c. 1090) * Erard I (c. 1090 – c. 1120?) * Walter II ...

and

Fère-Champenoise Fère-Champenoise () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It was the site of the Battle of Fère-Champenoise in March 1814. Population See also *Communes of the Marne department *Fershampenuaz Fershampenuaz (russian: ...

, and entered Paris in 1815. Aruküla mõisa kabel

He was named general-adjutant to the emperor in 1823, and infantry general in 1825. In the 1829 campaign against the Turks, General von Toll was chief of the general staff. For his role in the victory at Kulevicha he was granted the title of count by Tsar Nicholas I. During the

Polish campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

of 1831, he served as chief of the general staff of

Hans Karl von Diebitsch Hans Karl Friedrich Anton Graf von Diebitsch und Narten (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ди́бич-Забалка́нский, tr. ; 13 May 1785 – 10 June 1831) was a German-born soldier serving as Russian field marshal. Career ...

, and succeeded von Diebitsch upon his death. He took part in the siege of Warsaw by

Paskevich ), ( uk, Паске́вич) , image = File:Paskewisch-Erewanski.png , image_size = , caption = , pronunciation = , meaning = son of Pasko (Пасько) , region = Eastern Europe , languageorigin = Russian, Ukrainian , variant = Paskevich is ...

in September 1831 and succeeded wounded Paskevich as a commander in chief during the final stages of the assault of the city. In 1833 he served on the

state council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

as minister of transport, in which capacity he paid special attention to the

Institute of Transport Engineers An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

. He subsequently retired to his estate in the Governorate of Estonia. Count von Toll was the landowner of

Aruküla Manor Aruküla manor is a manor house in Aruküla, Raasiku Parish in northern-central Estonia. Aruküla manor was created in the 17th century, the owner was then Karl Gustav von Baranoff. See also * List of palaces and manor houses in Estonia This ...

(german: Arroküll) in present-day

, which he rebuilt in a neoclassical style. He is buried in the family chapel on the grounds of the estate. The chapel was restored in 1996.

References

* Bernhardi: ''Denkwürdigkeiten aus dem Leben des Grafen von Toll'', 2. Auflage, Leipzig 1866, 4 Bände * Jaromir Hirtenfeld: ''Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden und seine Mitglieder'', Wien 1857, S.1284

External links

Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toll, Karl Wilhelm 1777 births 1842 deaths People from Lääne-Nigula Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Baltic-German people Baltic nobility Imperial Russian Army generals Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa

Origins

Career

References

Further reading

External links