Carl Philip Friedemann Maximilian Müller, more commonly known as Max Müller (22 October 1808–28 October 1884)was a Danish officer who served in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Schleswig Wars.

Early military career

Max was born as the son of Christian Vilhelm Carl Müller who was a captain in the Funen Infantry Regiment. He died in 1820 while his son was 12.Max Müller at gravsted.dk
/ref> His mother, Helene F. Strickenbach was from Egernførde and later moved with her 5 children, of which Max was the eldest, to

Rendsborg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

. In 1822, Müller joined the

Royal Danish Military Academy The Royal Danish Military Academy ( da, Hærens Officersskole) educates and commissions all officers for the Royal Danish Army. The Military Academy function was initiated in 1713 by request of King Frederick IV on inspiration from the Naval Aca ...

and in 1825, after passing the officer's degree, became second lieutenant in the Holstein Infantry Regiment, whereby he did not serve until New Year's Day 1827, as he was previously first corporal in the Cadet Corps and royal page. The regiment, which in 1842 was renamed the 15th Battalion, was stationed in

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

, and he remained there both as a first lieutenant in 1834 and as a characterized captain in 1841. Müller was not vacant during his long service as lieutenant, but partly he read a lot, and partly he hardened his body by long walks and all kinds of weapons exercises. It was reported that if someone stepped too close to him or spoke ill of his country of birth, he would not understand the joke, but gave the recipient the choice between a pistol, sword, and sabre duel, or to make an apology towards people with Danish descent. He was anything but gentle, and just as he demanded much of himself, so he also made great demands on his subordinates, who with great respect looked up to the nearly 3 acre tall, muscular and tendon-strong man with the dark brown hair and beard, the strongly marked features and the unyielding will.

First Schleswig War

In 1846, Müller became captain of the 2nd class and was transferred to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

as company commander of the 4th Battalion, with which he also moved in the field in 1848. It did not take long before he earned a name as one of the army's most capable officers, leading his company with distinction at Bov,

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

, Nybøl and

Dybbøl Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,339 (1 January 2022) He was stationed at

Sundeved Sundeved is a peninsula on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. It lies between Åbenrå Fjord and Als Fjord to the north, Alssund to the east and Flensborg Fjord to the south. The westernmost part of the city of Sønderborg is ...

during April 1849 and later at Isted. During his service in 1849, he especially showed leadership qualities as he was employed by Krabbes brigade. During the Battle at Vedelspang, he was the head of two companies that recaptured the Katbæk Forest, which the insurgenterne got stuck in. He repeated this again and again as he led a charge while saying: "Go on!" and the bayonet charge caused his opponent to flee in droves and ever since that day always retained a great love for the bayonet and let the troops under him exercise in bayonet attacks as long as he was in the service. During the war, he became a Knight of Dannebrog in 1848. After the war, Müller joined the 1st Reinforcement Battalion and several divisions and in 1852 the 13th Battalion, whereby he became a major in 1853, but received the command of the 1st Battalion in

in the following year, as he also became a lieutenant colonel without seniority with seniority received in 1857.Müller, Max, 1808-1884, Danish officer , Grænseforeningen.dk
/ref> He now spent 9 years here again and hardened his Copenhageners, who weren't always easy to lead, by strenuous exercises both on the exercise field and in the terrain, so that his battalion quickly became the Army's best trained department, in which an iron discipline prevailed. His name was therefore already in the 1850s known in wide circles, even when he in his study of tactics was one of those who first had an eye for the advantages of the company column, to whose introduction he contributed significantly. In 1858, he became a

Knight of Dannebrog A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

Second Schleswig War

Oberst_Max_Müller_ved_Sankelmark_Sø_den_6

When the army was mobilized in the autumn of 1863, it had first been the provision that Müller should have had command of the 1st Regiment. People thought that there couldn't be anyone better for the position as it was also reported that he could have led this department against the enemy, for the crew nurtured an unconditional trust and faith in him and followed him blindly, while the first dissatisfaction with his severity had long since given way to admiration and love. Instead, he was appointed colonel and commander of the 7th Brigade, consisting of the 1st and 11th Regiments. The brigade came up to

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; mi, Taniwaka, lit= or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New ...

, and two of its battalions took part in the battle at Selk and Königshügel on February 3. When the army withdrew from

on the 5th, he became commander of the 3rd Division under general

Peter Frederik Steinmann Peter Frederik Steinmann (8 July 1812 – 16 February 1894) was a Danish officer and Minister of War (Denmark), Minister of War who served in the First Schleswig War, First and Second Schleswig War, Second Schleswig Wars. Early Years and Educ ...

, consisting of the 7th and 8th Brigades, to cover the retreat, and these then took turns to be closest to the Prussians and Austrians. At the

Sankelmark Sankelmark is a former municipality in Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. It is about 5 miles south of Flensburg. There was a battle there in the Second War of Schleswig (1864). On March 1, 2008 Sankelmark was incorporated into Oeversee. External lin ...

, Müller was ordered to take up position with his brigade to let the 8th Brigade go through and to stop the pursuing Austrians. Thus arose the

Battle of Sankelmark The Battle of Sankelmark (or Battle of Oeversee) was a minor battle during the Second Schleswig War. It took place on 6 February 1864 between Sankelmark and Oeversee, on the road between Schleswig and Flensburg, during the Danish retreat from Da ...

, in which Müller displayed his best military qualities. "It is not enough that I await the enemy, I must attack him myself," he had stated upon receiving the order to take up a post, and he led both the 1st Regiment, which was at the forefront, and then the 11th Regiment. the enemy, so it came to real hand-to-hand fighting. Denmark lost a total of 17 officers, 28 non-commissioned officers and 783 men, of which 568 were captured. The Austrians' losses amounted to 30 officers and 403 men. Later, the brigade, which accompanied General Cai Hegermann-Lindencrone's division north and then fought at Vejle, but then he did not engage in battle again. During the armistice after the defeat at Dybbøl, Müller became head of a newly formed brigade, the landing brigade, which was stationed on

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

Postwar life

After the war, during which he was honoured with the Commander's Cross of 1st Dannebrog in 1864. Müller continued to be brigade commander with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, while becoming a member of the Defense Commission of 1866. However he gained no influence, as he understood far better to command than to negotiate. In implementing the Army Act of 1867, he was appointed general and commander of the 1st Zealand Brigade, and in this position, he ruled with an iron fist and without ever sparing himself to develop the fighting skills of his troops. In 1870 he was head of the Camp Division at Hald and in 1875, became honoured with the Grand Cross of Dannebrog, while in 1879 due to age he was dismissed from the military service. Müller was considered incomparable to lead a battalion or brigade and would probably also have done excellently under greater circumstances, as in crucial moments he knew how to act with great calm and act quickly and sensibly. However, he knew his limitations, should follow from what he wrote in the ''Journal of War Administration of 1865'': After a long illness, he died on 28 October 1884, in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

and was buried at the

Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård is a cemetery in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. It was established in 1734 behind Frederiksberg Church. Burials * C.F. Gerner Andersen * Kai Normann Andersen * Peter Andersen * Christian Augustinus * Ludvig Augusti ...

. His wife, Emilie f. Thorsen, daughter of merchant Gottborg Thorsen in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

whom he had married 11 September 1852.

Legacy

Max Müller is depicted on a painting from Sankelmark by Otto Bache 1887 at the , reproduced in woodcut by

Hans Peter Hansen Hans Peter Hansen (20 December 1829 – 18 November 1899) was a Danish xylographer who specialized in portraits. Hansen was born in Copenhagen. He first learned the profession of watchmaking before studying woodcutting under Hans Christian Hen ...

and by

Niels Simonsen Niels Simonsen (10 December 1807 – 11 December 1885) was a Danish painter, lithographer and sculptor. Biography Simonsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the son of Simnon Rasmusson and Bolette Nielsdatter. His parents were shop ...

in 1864. There was also a lithograph and woodcut 1868 and 1879 and was portrayed on the stone engraving titled ''Fædrelandsslykke'' in 1886. In the TV series ''

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...

'', Müller is portrayed by

Rasmus Bjerg Rasmus Bjerg (born 28 July 1976) is a Danish actor, comedian and singer. He has enjoyed much success alongside Jonas Schmidt, in series like '' P.I.S. - Politiets Indsats Styrke'', '' Wulffmorgenthaler'', ''Dolph & Wulff'' and '' Jul i Verden ...

.1864
at the Danish Film Institute

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Müller, Max 1808 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Danish military personnel People of the First Schleswig War People of the Second Schleswig War Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog