Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling (15 February 1719 – 28 November 1779) was a Prussian

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

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 ...

under

Frederick the Great 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 ...

Biography

Belling was born in Paulsdorf,

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

(modern Pawłowo, Poland) to Lieutenant Colonel Johann Abraham von Belling and Katharina née von Kospoth. He was the grandson of general Johann Georg von Belling.Biography
at

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

Belling was educated as a cadet and joined the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

in 1737. Because of his small body size he was deployed at Kolberg for garrison service only. In 1739 he joined the Prussian Hussars and was removed to the

Zieten Hussars The Zieten Hussars,Also known as the Ziethen Hussars (both spellings are used in sources on military history) (german: Husaren-Regiment "von Zieten"), last designation: "Hussars Regiment 'von Zieten' (Brandenburg) No. 3" (''Husaren-Regiment von Zie ...

in 1741. Throughout 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 ...

he fought at the battles of Mollwitz, Hohenfriedberg,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Kesselsdorf Kesselsdorf is a village in Saxony, Germany, part of the town of Wilsdruff. It is located close to the Saxon capital city of Dresden. The village is known for the decisive Battle of Kesseldorf between Austrians and Prussians on December 15, 1745 ...

. Belling was awarded the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

in 1757 for his actions 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� ...

. In 1758 he became commander of a newly founded regiment of hussars under Prince Henry of Prussia, the Belling-Hussars. The Belling-Hussars chose "Vincere aut mori" ( Victory or death) as their motto and decorated their hats with a depiction of a complete skeleton, a scythe and an hourglass; thus the Belling-Hussars were known as "the whole death" (der ganze Tod). In the

Pomeranian War The Pomeranian War was a theatre of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin. ...

, on 29 August 1760, the Belling-Hussars captured

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned ...

and Belling, distantly related to Blücher, managed to persuade him to join the Prussian Hussars. In 1761 Belling, commanding a troop of about 5,000 men, successfully delayed the advance of a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Corps of 15,000 men from

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 their cooperation with the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n forces in

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (german: Hinterpommern, Ostpommern), is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the Od ...

. However, in the

Battle of Neuensund The Battle of Neuensund was a smaller battle at Neuensund of the Seven Years' War between Swedish and Prussian forces fought on September 18, 1761. The Swedish force under the command of Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten managed to rout the Prussian fo ...

in the same year, he was defeated by a numerically inferior Swedish force. In 1776 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and was awarded the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

for his role in the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian bra ...

in 1778. Belling died in service at his regiment's garrison in Stolp (modern Słupsk, Poland). Belling was married to Katharine Elisabeth von Grabow; they had one daughter. He is described as a religious and devout Christian, whose evening prayers in times of peace ended:

Thou seest, dear Heavenly Father, the sad plight of thy servant Belling. Grant him soon a nice little war that he may better his condition and continue to praise thy name. Amen

Berlin Friedrich II Denkmal 09-2017 img2

References

External links

a Belling Hussar (1758)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belling, Wilhelm Sebastian Von 1719 births 1779 deaths People from Kwidzyn County People from East Prussia Cavalry commanders German untitled nobility Lieutenant generals of Prussia Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) German military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Prussian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Prussian military personnel of the War of Bavarian Succession