Eduard Wilhelm Ludwig von Bonin (7 March 1793 – 13 March 1865) was a

Prussian 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 e ...

general officer who served as

Prussian Minister of War The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaties of Tilsit. The War Ministry was to help bring the ...

from 1852 to 1854 and 1858 to 1859.

Life

Bonin, of the Bonin noble family of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

and East Prussia, was born in Stolp 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 ...

. In 1806, he entered the regiment of

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 9 October 1771 – 16 June 1815), was a German prince and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Oels. Nicknamed "The Black Duke", he was a military officer who led th ...

. During the Fourth Coalition against

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, he participated in

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 earne ...

's retreat to

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, where he was taken prisoner. Released after giving his word of honor, Bonin studied at the gymnasium in the garrison town of

Prenzlau Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Be ...

. In August 1809, Bonin entered the 1st ''Garderegiment'' as a ''

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. However, ...

''. Promoted to ''

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...

'' in 1810, he was made an '' Adjutant'' of the Gardebrigade during the battles of 1813 and 1814. At

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, he received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

, 1st Class. Bonin was successively promoted to ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' in 1817, '' Major'' of the Alexanderregiment in 1829, ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' in 1842, and Commanding Officer of the 16th Infantry Brigade in 1848. Bonin took command of the Prussian Brigade of the Line on 26 March 1848, during the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

. He distinguished himself in battles at

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 ...

and Düppel. After the armistice of

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

, Bonin was named commanding officer of the army of the united duchies of

and

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, which he reorganized and strengthened during the winter of 1848–49. He fought successfully at

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

on 20 April and 23 April 1849, but was unable to capture

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

and his forces were thrown back on 6 July. After the second armistice between Prussia and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Bonin resigned his command of the Schleswig-Holstein army and returned to the Prussian Army in April 1850. At first the commander of

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 ...

, Bonin became the commanding officer of the 16th Division in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. Bonin was promoted to ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' and named Minister of War in March 1852. He advocated greater tactical mobility for infantry, which he provided with improved weapons. Bonin presided over the merger of the ''

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...

'' with front-line troops through the creation of mixed line and ''Landwehr'' brigades. He also tried to improve the organization of the ''Landwehr'' cavalry. Opposed to the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

influence on Prussian politics during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, Bonin was dismissed in 1854 after high-ranking officers alleged that he had tried "to create a schism in the Prussian army" through anti-Russian comments. He received command of 12 Division in

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

on 20 March 1856. After the ministry of

Otto von Manteuffel Otto Theodor von Manteuffel (3 February 1805 – 26 November 1882) was a conservative Prussian statesman, serving nearly a decade as prime minister. Biography Born into an aristocratic family in Lübben (Spreewald), Manteuffel attended the Lande ...

was dismissed on 6 November 1858, Bonin returned to the War Ministry upon the request of Prince-Regent

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. Bonin thus joined a more liberal ministry opposed to the reactionary politics of the previous eight years. He was more favorable to constitutional politics than many high-ranking officers. As War Minister, Bonin insisted that "he be consulted on all military matters, that he be allowed to counter-sign all important military orders and that all royal communications to the commanding generals pass through his hands."

Albrecht von Roon Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon (; 30 April 180323 February 1879) was a Prussian soldier and statesman. As Minister of War from 1859 to 1873, Roon, along with Otto von Bismarck and Helmuth von Moltke, was a dominating figure in Prussia's ...

wanted to merge the ''

'' militia into the professional line army; Bonin, a disciple of the Napoleonic reformer

Hermann von Boyen Leopold Hermann Ludwig von Boyen (20 June 1771 – 15 February 1848) was a Prussian army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th century. He also served as minister of war of Prussia in the period 1810-1813 and later agai ...

, favored the ''Landwehr'' and thought that Roon's plan would "separate the army from the country". Rather than directly confronting Roon, Bonin tried to delay Roon's plan through procrastination and appeals to William. However, concerned about war in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, William wanted to expand and reform the body. Influenced by Bonin's rival,

Edwin von Manteuffel Edwin Karl Rochus Freiherr von Manteuffel (24 February 180917 June 1885) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' noted for his victories in the Franco-Prussian War, and the first Imperial Lieutenant (german: Reichsstatthalter) of Alsace–Lorrai ...

, William hand-picked a special military commission led by Roon to draft a reform bill in September 1859. Furious that the Ministry of War was bypassed by William's actions, Bonin criticized the proposed reforms and pointed out the infeasibility of its budget. Realizing that William had lost patience with him, Bonin resigned in November. He was replaced as Minister of War a month later by Roon.Craig, p. 143 Bonin was subsequently made commanding general of the VIII Armeekorps in Koblenz, where he later died.

Works by Bonin

*''Grundzüge für das zerstreute Gefecht''. Verlag Mittler,

1839.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonin, Eduard Von 1793 births 1865 deaths People from Słupsk German untitled nobility Prussian Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People of the First Schleswig War People from the Province of Pomerania Generals of Infantry (Prussia) Prussian politicians Recipients of the Iron Cross (1813) Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class

Life

Works by Bonin

Notes

References

Further reading

External links