Gustav Bogislav von Münchow (10 September 1686 – 20 June 1766) was a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n general. In the early years of the reign of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

, Münchow was not only a soldier and a diplomatic confidant, but he also earned a reputation for the improvement of Prussian military medical care. He was honored with the

Black Eagle Order The Order of the Black Eagle () 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 in Prussia, the following day). In his ...

and his name is listed 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 ...

Family

Gustav von Münchow was born on 10 September 1686 in Kosemühl,

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. He was the son of Bernhard Christian von Münchow and Clara Erdmuthe Wobeser. The father was a master of Kosemühl, a royal Brandenburg cornet at a young age, and when Crown Prince

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

was imprisoned between 1732–1733, he was chamber president in Küstrin. A long-term friendship existed between Bernhard and both

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

and his son and successor,

Frederick William The name Frederick William usually refers to several monarchs and princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty: * Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620–1688) * Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713) * Frederick William I of ...

.Julius Mebes, ''Beiträge zur Geschichte des Brandenburgisch-Preussischen Staates'', Lüderitz, 1861
pp 397–398

Military career

In 1701, Gustav von Münchow entered as a junior cadet in the Hessian-Kassel regiment of prince

, who was the son-in-law of his father's friend and benefactor, Frederick William I. The following year, the prince appointed Münchow as his ''

Valet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on ...

''. In 1703, Münchow changed to the Prussian infantry regiment of the Prince of Hesse. With his promotion to the second lieutenant in 1707, he entered the regiment Markgraf Albrecht. During the

Spanish War of Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, he fought in the Prussian contingent on the imperial side in the battles of Malplaquet and Ramillies. Appointed staff captain in 1710, he participated in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

at the Siege Stralsund. In September 1715 he became a captain with field command, and became a major in October 1717. In 1724, he commanded the Regiment Kalckstein. In May 1735 King Frederick William I promoted Münchow to colonel.

Service to Frederick the Great

Frederick's father and grandfather had had a close friendship with Bernhard von Münchow, and Frederick II had been included with Bernhard's family. Shortly after his accession to the throne, on 1 June 1740 Frederick gave Münchow the position of the

proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as ''title'', which may be separated and held by diffe ...

of the newly established regiment, subsequently called ''Regiment Münchow''. On 7 June 1740 Frederick sent Colonel Münchow on a diplomatic mission to Vienna informing the Austrians of his ascension.Anton Balthasar König, '' Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militairpersonen.'' Band III, Berlin, 1796, pp. 77–79. In the course of the

First Silesian War The First Silesian War () was a war between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and Habsburg monarchy, Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. The ...

, in May 1741, Münchow took over the supervision of the Prussian hospitals set up in the neutral

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

after the

Battle of Mollwitz The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War (in the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession). It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both si ...

. Until then, Prussian military medicine had been in a neglected and chaotic state. Münchow's most important improvement was the separate treatment and care of the sick from wounded, which greatly reduced the danger of cross infection. For his success, in July 1742, Frederick awarded Münchow the Order

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

and appointed him in September 1742 to major general. During the Second Silesian War, Münchow participated in the

Siege of Prague The siege of Prague was an unsuccessful attempt by a Prussian army led by Frederick the Great to capture the Bohemian city of Prague during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War). It took place in May 1757 immediately after the Battle of Pr ...

in September 1744 and the Siege of Cosel and in the

Battle of Hohenfriedberg The Battle of Hohenfriedberg or Hohenfriedeberg (now Dobromierz, Poland), also known as the Battle of Striegau (now Strzegom, Poland) was one of Frederick the Great's most admired victories. Frederick's Prussian army decisively defeated an A ...

. There, on the left wing of the first meeting with the regiments Borcke, Blankensee and Bevern, he held the position until the attack of the Bayreuth Dragoons decided the battle in favor of Prussia. On 15 July 1745 Frederick promoted him as lieutenant-general. For his actions in the

Battle of Kesselsdorf The Battle of Kesselsdorf was fought on 15 December 1745, between the Kingdom of Prussia and the combined forces of the Archduchy of Austria and the Electorate of Saxony during the part of the War of the Austrian Succession known as the Second Si ...

, the King awarded him the

in December 1745. In August 1747 he became governor of

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

. At the beginning of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, Frederick II appointed him as interim commander of the fortress of Glogau in August 1756. Münchow carried out the function until January 1758.

Powers and honors

On 20 April 1720, he became knight of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

, and commander on 7 April 1728. Frederick II, in the first year of his reign in October 1740, endowed Münchow with a place as a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

at the cathedral at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, and he later became Chancellor of the Order.Eduard Ludwig Wedekind, ''Geschichte des Ritterlichen St. Johanniter-Ordens.'' nl, 1853
p. 125
/ref> In 1752, Münchow received an appointment to the cathedral in the Abbey of Saint Sebastian in Magdeburg. In addition to the names of other contemporaries who had been associated with the king, Münchow is also listed on the

. Gustav von Münchow was married twice. With his first wife, Antoinette Philippine von Borstell (20 February 1701–5 September 1730 in Berlin), he had a son and two daughters. The daughter, Antoinette Katharina (born 24 August 1730), married Ludwig Clamor de la Chevallerie, the son of General Ernst August de la Chevallerie von la Motte. His married second wife, Sophie Elenore von Schwerin, on 14 June 1732 (13 April 1706 in Rehberg–16 July 1769 in Berlin), in the Berlin garrison church. She was the sister of General Philipp Bogislav von Schwerin. This marriage remained without children. Münchow died in Berlin in 1766 and was buried in the Garrison Church.

References and citations

Literature

*König, Anton Balthasar, ''Biographisches Lexikon aller Helden und Militairpersonen.'' Band III, Berlin, 1796, pp. 77–79. *Mebes, Julius. ''Beiträge zur Geschichte des Brandenburgisch-Preussischen Staates'', Band 1, S. 39
Digital version
Accessed 11 January 2017 * Priesdorff, Kurt von, ''Soldatisches Führertum. Teil 2. Die preußischen Generale vom Regierungsantritt Friedrichs des Großen bis 1763'' and 1 Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg o.J. (1937), S. 258f. (Nr. 301) {{DEFAULTSORT:Munchow, Gustav Bogislav von 1686 births 1766 deaths People from Bytów County Military personnel from the Province of Pomerania 18th-century German nobility Prussian generals Prussian military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Prussian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)