, native_name_lang = , birth_name = , nickname = , birth_date = , birth_place =

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 un ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Banteln Banteln is a village and a former municipality in the district of Hildesheim in Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-larges ...

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hano ...

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, placeofburial = , placeofburial_label = , placeofburial_coordinates = , allegiance = , branch = , serviceyears = , rank = , unit = , commands = , battles = , battles_label = , awards =

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

, memorials = , spouse = , relations = , laterwork = , signature = , signature_size = , signature_alt = Levin August Gottlieb Theophil Graf von Bennigsen (russian: Ле́вин А́вгуст Го́тлиб Теофи́ль фон Бе́ннигсен, Lévin Ávgust Gótlib Teofíl' fon Bénnigsen, also Лео́нтий Лео́нтьевич Бе́ннигсен (''Leóntii Leónt'yevich''); 10 February 1745 – 3 December 1826) was a German

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

in the service of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

., ''Leontiy Leontyevich Bennigsen''

Biography

Bennigsen was born on 10 February 1745 into a Hanoverian noble family in

(English toponym: Brunswick). His family owned several estates at Banteln in Hanover. Bennigsen served successively as a page at the Hanoverian court and as an officer of foot-guards, and four years later, in 1763, as captain, he participated in the final campaign of 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– ...

. In 1764, after the death of his father and his marriage to Baroness Steinberg, he retired from the Hanoverian army, and settled at the estates he owned in Banteln. In 1773, shortly after reentering Hanoverian service for a brief period, he entered the Russian service as a field officer, and was subsequently accepted into the Vyatka musketeer regiment in the same year. He fought against the Turks in 1774 and in 1778, becoming lieutenant-colonel in the latter year. In 1787 his conduct at the storming of

Ochakov Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the admini ...

won him promotion to the rank of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

, and he distinguished himself repeatedly in smashing the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...

and in the Persian War of 1796 where he fought at Derbent. On 9 July 1794, he was promoted to Major General for his accomplishments in the former campaign, and on 26 September 1794 he was awarded the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

of the Third Degree and an estate in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the adm ...

guberniya. In 1798 Bennigsen was fired from military service by the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

allegedly because of his connections with

Platon Zubov Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov (russian: Платон Александрович Зубов; ) was the last of Catherine the Great's favourites and the most powerful man in the Russian Empire during the last years of her reign. Life The princ ...

. It is known that he took an active part in the planning phase of the conspiracy to assassinate Paul I, but his role in the actual killing remains a matter of conjecture.

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of Gra ...

made him governor-general of Lithuania in 1801, and in 1802 a general of cavalry. In 1806 Bennigsen was in command of one of the Russian armies operating against

Napoleon 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 ...

, when he fought the Battle of Pultusk and met the emperor in person in the bloody

battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau, or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoléon's ''Grande Armée'' and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Bennig ...

(8 February 1807). In the Battle of Pultusk he resisted French troops under

Jean Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon' ...

before retreating. This brought him the Order of St. George of the Second Degree while after the battle of Eylau he was awarded

- the highest order in the Russian empire. Here he could claim to have inflicted the first reverse suffered by Napoleon, but six months later Bennigsen met with the crushing defeat of Friedland (14 June 1807) the direct consequence of which was the

treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...

. Bennigsen was heavily criticised for the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...

and for the decline of discipline in the army and now retired for some years, but in the campaign of 1812 he reappeared in the army in various responsible positions. He was present at

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleo ...

, and defeated

Murat Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsewhe ...

in the engagement of Tarutino where he was wounded in the leg, but on account of a quarrel with Marshal

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

, the Russian commander-in-chief, he was compelled to retire from active military employment on 15 November.

After the death of Kutuzov, Bennigsen was recalled and placed at the head of an army. Bennigsen participated in the battles of

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Bu ...

and

Lützen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bundesstraße ...

, leading one of the columns that made the decisive attack on the last day of the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

(16–19 October 1813). On the same evening he was made a count by the emperor Alexander I, and he afterwards commanded the forces which operated against Marshal Davout in North Germany, most notably in the year-long

Siege of Hamburg The city of Hamburg was one of the most powerful fortresses east of the Rhine. After being freed from Napoleonic rule by advancing Cossacks and other following Coalition troops it was once more occupied by Marshal Davout's French XIII Corp ...

(1813–14). After the Treaty of Fontainebleau he was awarded the St. George order of the First Degree - the highest Russian military order - for his actions in the Napoleonic wars in general. After the general peace Bennigsen held a command from 1815 to 1818, when he retired from active service and settled on his Hanoverian estate of Banteln near

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Le ...

. By the end of his life he completely lost his sight. He died on 31 December 1826, in

, eight years after he had retired. His son, Count ''Alexander Levin von Bennigsen'' (1809-1893) was a distinguished Hanoverian statesman. Bennigsen wrote the three-volume ''"Mémoires du général Bennigsen"'', which was published in Paris in 1907-1908. Though they contain "fascinating" details regarding the Russian wars and battles between 1806-1813, the work often beautifies historical facts.

Notes

References

* Also referred to in War and Peace.

Sources

External links

Bennigsen vs Napoleon at Heilsberg 1807: one of the bloodiest battles of the Napoleonic Wars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennigsen, Levin August von, Count Imperial Russian Army generals Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Counts of Germany People from the Electorate of Hanover 1745 births 1826 deaths Military personnel from Braunschweig Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Russian people of the Kościuszko Uprising People of the Russo-Persian Wars Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Governors-General of Lithuania Russian Empire regicides Paul I of Russia