Carl Heinrich von Wedel (also spelled Wedell; 12 July 1712 – 2 April 1782) was a

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 ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

War of Austrian Succession War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

(1740–1748), 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 (175 ...

(1756–1763), and the

War of 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 bran ...

(1778–1779). He fought most notably in the Battle of Tornow in 1758, and the Battle of Kay in 1759. He was instrumental in

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 S ...

's victory at Leuthen in December 1757. In 1760, Wedel was appointed as Frederick's first Minister of War. He came out of retirement to serve in the War of Bavarian Succession in 1778. Wedel received the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by 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 Order of the Red Eag ...

and his name was

inscribed {{unreferenced, date=August 2012 An inscribed triangle of a circle In geometry, an inscribed planar shape or solid is one that is enclosed by and "fits snugly" inside another geometric shape or solid. To say that "figure F is inscribed in figu ...

on the

Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great The Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great on Unter den Linden avenue in Berlin's Mitte district commemorates King Frederick II. of Prussia. Created from 1839 to 1851 by Christian Daniel Rauch, it is a masterpiece of the Berlin school of scu ...

in 1851.

Biography

The family Wedel belongs to the Pomeranian nobility. Carl Heinrich Von Wedel was born on 12 July 1712 in the

Uckermark The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, straddles the Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau. Geography The region is nam ...

, Brandenburg. His father, Georg Wilhelm, was the Uckermark's Superior Court, and owner of the Goritz manor—his mother was Marie Salome of Eichstedt. At fifteen years of age Wedel joined the Prussian military, enlisting as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the King's Leibregiment (Nr. 6). In 1730 he was promoted to

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, on 1 March 1735 to second lieutenant. On 23 June 1740, Frederick II appointed him captain and company commander of the Grenadier Guards Battalion (Nr. 6).

Wars of Austrian Succession

Wedel took part in the

Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars (german: Schlesische Kriege, links=no) were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg Austria (under Archduchess Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...

, though his regiment did not see battle. Nevertheless, Wedel received on 14 August 1743 a promotion to major in the Infantry Regiment von Kleist (Nr. 26), to which be belonged for the following 14 years. He was wounded in the

Battle of Soor The Battle of Soor (30 September 1745) was a battle between Frederick the Great's Prussian army and an Austro- Saxon army led by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the Second Silesian War (part of the War of the Austrian Succession). Th ...

in 1745. Wedel was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 8 September 1751, and awarded the

on 31 May 1752. He was promoted on 17 June 1755 to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Seven Years' War

The first battle experience Wedel's regiment had in the

occurred at the Battle of Prague on 6 May 1757. Six days later, he was appointed regimental commander. He was present at the

Battle of Rossbach The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, Re ...

. At Leuthen, he led his regiment on the difficult march to flank the Austrian left; by 1 p.m. his regiment was in place, and launched its attack. This regiment fulfilled their role with such success that 14 members were awarded the

. On 5 January 1758 Wedel took over the Infantry Regiment Schultze (Nr. 29), though he moved to the head office of his prior regiment only three weeks later. In the spring he joined the siege corps before

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

. Wedel repulsed Laudon's attacks in

Littau Littau is a former municipality, and now part of the city of Lucerne, in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Littau merged into the municipality of Lucerne. History Littau is fi ...

on 20 June, and in Gundersdorf on 28 June. In September, he was transferred to a corps in the

to free it from Swedish control. Frederick II promoted Wedel to

on 22 February 1759. In July, he was transferred command of the Dohna Corps, Frederick deciding the Christoph von Dohna was too ill to continue. Frederick sent Wedel to thwart the Russian advance into Brandenburg with 28,000 men; these were not enough. Due to Wedel's poor management and aggressiveness—he was ordered to attack a Russian army one-and-a-half times his size—they were crushed at the Battle of Kay. This loss left the road to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

open, and Frederick was forced to hurry north to

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

to repel the Russian and Austrian allied armies. At the subsequent Kunersdorf, Wedel was severely wounded. Health problems forced him to retire from active service in 1760.

Last years

Wedel subsequently served as Frederick's minister of war. Wedel was recalled to service for Frederick's last war with Austria over the Bavarian succession. He died 2 April 1782 in Göritz. Frederick's heirs considered Wedel one of the key generals in the establishment of the Prussian state and included his name on the

in 1851.

Family

In 1747, Wedel married Friederike Auguste von Bröcker. Their marriage produced four daughters and a son. Two daughters survived to adulthood and married the sons of Wilhelm Gustav von Anhalt-Dessau. * Caroline Friederike (19 February 1748 – 5 June 1780) ∞ 10 February 1768 to Heinrich Wilhelm von Anhalt (1735–1801) * Friederike Albertine (17 September 1751 – 8 October 1825) ∞ Karl Philipp von Anhalt (1732–1806)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wedel, Carl Heinrich von 1782 deaths Lieutenant generals of Prussia 1712 births German military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Prussian military personnel of the Seven Years' War People from Uckermark (district) People of the Silesian Wars Wedel family