, title = 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg , image = Pjotr-christianowitsch-wittgenstein.jpg , image_size = , caption = Portrait by

George Dawe George Dawe (6 February 1781 – 15 October 1829) was an English portraitist who painted 329 portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia for the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. He relocated to Saint ...

, birth_date = , birth_place =

Pereiaslav Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast ( province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta and Trubizh ri ...

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, spouse = , issue = , mother = Countess Amalie Ludowika Finck von Finckenstein , father = Christian Louis Casimir, 2nd Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg , house = Sayn-Wittgenstein , religion =

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, module = Louis Adolf Peter, 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg (german: Ludwig Adolf Peter Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg; russian: Пётр Христиа́нович Ви́тгенштейн, Pëtr Christiánovič Vítgenštejn; – 11 June 1843), better known as Peter Wittgenstein in English, was a Prince of the German dynasty Sayn-Wittgenstein and

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

during the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

Early life

Born ''Ludwig Adolf Peter Graf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg'', he was descended from a family of ruling German Counts whose seat was in Berleburg (present day

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

). His parents were Count Christian Louis Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg and his first wife Countess Amalie Ludowika Finck von Finckenstein.

Military career

Enrolled as a sergeant in the Semyonovsky Regiment of the

at the age of 12 in 1781, Wittgenstein began actual military service as a

Wachtmeister (Wm; German for 'master-sentinel' or 'watch-master') is a military rank of non-commissioned officers (NCO) in Austria and Switzerland. The was initially responsible for the guard duty of the army. Later, it became the equivalent NCO-grade of ...

in the Life Guard Horse Regiment in 1789. In 1793 he gained promotion to Major in the Ukrainian light cavalry regiment. He fought with the unit in the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the P ...

of 1794. Promoted to the rank of colonel in 1798, and to major general in 1799, in 1800 he took command of the Mariupolski Hussars Regiment. In 1805 he fought at Austerlitz, in 1806 against the Turks, and in 1807 against

Napoleon 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 ...

at Friedland and against the Swedes in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. In the

war of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

he commanded the right wing of the Russian Army in the First and Second battle of Polotsk. This fighting decided the fate of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and earned Wittgenstein the title of "Saviour of Saint-Petersburg". Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

awarded him the Order of St. George. He tried to combine with Pavel Chichagov at the

Battle of Berezina The Battle of (the) Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Wittgenstein and Admiral Chichagov. Napoleon was retreating back toward Pola ...

(November 1812), and later combined with the Prussian army corps under

Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg Johann David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (born von Yorck; 26 September 1759 – 4 October 1830) was a Prussian '' Generalfeldmarschall'' instrumental in the switching of the Kingdom of Prussia from a French alliance to a Russian allia ...

. In the campaign of 1813 in January he took over the command of the Russian army after

Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...

's death in April 1813, and commanded the Russian army at Lützen and

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budi ...

. But after the defeats of the Spring campaign, he laid down this command and led an army corps during the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in ...

(August 1813) and the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

(October 1813). In the campaign of 1814 he led the 6th Corps under Schwarzenberg, and was severely wounded at Bar-sur-Aube (27 February 1814). In 1823 he was promoted

, and in 1828 he was appointed to command the Russian army in the war against Turkey. But ill-health soon obliged him to retire. In 1834 King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...

granted him the title of Fürst (Prince) zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Family

On 27 June 1798 he married Polish noblewoman Antonia Cäcilie Snarska and had in this marriage 11 children. He died on 11 June 1843 in

, where he looked after estates of his son Ludwig.

References

External links

Kamenka, Wittgenstein's paradise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittgenstein, Peter 1769 births 1843 deaths People from Pereiaslav Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Russian people of the Napoleonic Wars Field marshals of Russia Peter Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Russian people of the Kościuszko Uprising Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree French invasion of Russia