Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (December 16, 1742, Rostock in Mecklenburg - September 12, 1819), Prince of Wahlstatt, was a Prussian general who commanded the Prussian army against Napoleon I at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Prince of Wahlstadt, feld- Prussian marshal.
He gave his name to a German WWI battleship
Standard-bearer of a Swedish regiment during the Seven Years' War, Blücher was taken prisoner by the Prussians and incorporated, with a kind of violence, into the troops of Frederick the Great. Having become captain, he stood out for his courage and resigned on the occasion of a privilege. Frederick the Great signed this resignation in these terms:“Captain Blucher is authorized to leave his post, and he can go to hell if it suits him. »
Blûcher, recalled to service 15 years later by Frédéric-Guillaume, went to fight on the Rhine, where her brilliant military qualities soon earned her the appointment of general-major, then lieutenant-general. He took part in the wars of the French Revolution and the early days of the First Empire, suffered several setbacks, was even taken prisoner in Lübeck (1806), and was nevertheless given the command of the Prussian armies in 1813.
He was head of the vanguard at Auerstaedt; commander of an army corps in 1813, at the Battle of Lützen and that of Bautzen.
He won, as general-in-chief of the army of Silesia over Macdonald and Sebastiani a victory at Katzbach (August 26, 1813), contributed to that of Leipzig.
Appointed then field-marshal, he was one of the first to enter France. He penetrated into France as far as Brienne where Napoleon I defeated him completely. He won two battles at La Rothière and Laon which had a powerful influence on the fate of the campaign, and as a reward was made Prince of Wahlstadt and Marshal.
The following year, in 1815, he marched between the Moselle and the Meuse and was beaten at Ligny and Sombref, but he decided to win the Battle of Waterloo by his arrival, which Grouchy could have averted.
A few days later, under the walls of Paris, the Pont du Pecq was handed over to him, and this betrayal assured him of a quiet march towards Paris; he was difficult on the capitulation of this city and wanted to blow up the bridge of Jena.
Blücher died in 1819.
The tactics of this general were uniform:to attack the enemy with impetuosity, to withdraw when he made too obstinate a resistance, to rally at some distance, to follow after his movements, to seize the slightest fault; swoop down on him, tumble him, take prisoners from him, withdraw quickly. Such was the one he almost always used.
Campaigns
* 1760:Pomeranian Campaign (as Swedish soldier; captured by Prussians; changed sides)
* Seven Years' War
* 1787:Expedition to Holland with the Red Hussars
* 1793-1794:Campaigns in France with the Red Hussars
* 1806:Auerstedt, Pomerania, Berlin, Königsberg
* 1813:Lützen, Bautzen, Katzbach, Mockern, Leipzig
* 1814:Brienne, La Rothière, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Montmirail, Laon, Montmartre
* 1815:Ligny, Waterloo