William Fermor (russian: Ви́л Ви́ллимович Фермор, translit=Víllim Víllimovich Fermor) was an

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 ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

best known for leading his country’s army at the

Battle of Zorndorf The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with b ...

during 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 (1754–1 ...

. His name is sometimes styled Wilhelm Graf von Fermor.

Early life

Fermor was born in 1702 in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

(german:

Pleskau Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: ...

), Russia, of Scottish and

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

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

descent. He joined the Russian army in 1720 and distinguished himself at the Siege of Danzig during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...

. He later saw action against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

and the

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

. He preferred to associate mostly with other Germans in the service of Russia, something which caused resentment among Russian-speaking officers. He was a protégé of

Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (, tr. ; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite milita ...

Seven Years’ War

In 1757 Fermor led a Russian force that captured Memel in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

and was present at the

Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf (30 August 1757) was a victory for the Russian force under Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin over a smaller Prussian force commanded by Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt, during the Seven Years' War. This wa ...

. In 1758 he was appointed to command the Russian forces which had invaded

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 e ...

during 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 (1754 ...

. He replaced

Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin (russian: Степан Фёдорович Апраксин; - ), a relative of Fyodor M. Apraksin, commanded the Russian armies during the Seven Years' War. He should not be confused with his son Stepan Stepanovich ...

who had displeased Empress Elizabeth. Fermor reversed the previous commander’s policies towards the civilian population of occupied

, denouncing the previous hard-line stance, and even having proclamations read apologising for it.Millar p.8 On 25 August 1758 he led his army against

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 Sil ...

at the

. The battle cost both sides heavy casualties. Afterwards, Fermor withdrew his forces eastwards. He was later relieved of his command and served as a subordinate to

Pyotr Saltykov Count Pyotr Semyonovich Saltykov (russian: Пётр Семёнович Салтыков) (11 December 1697/1698/1700 – 26 December 1772) was a Russian statesman and a military officer, promoted to the rank of Field marshal on 18 August 1759. ...

during 1759. In 1760 he was in overall command of Russian forces during the

Raid on Berlin The Raid on Berlin took place in October 1760 during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War) when Austrian and Russian forces occupied the Prussian capital of Berlin for several days. After raising money from the city, and with t ...

, which saw them and their Austrian allies briefly occupy the Prussian capital before withdrawing.

Later life

Following the coup that brought

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

to the throne he was made Governor of

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

. He died in 1771.

References

Bibliography

* Millar, Simon & Hook, Adam. ''Zorndorf 1758: Frederick Faces Holy Mother Russia''. Osprey, 2003. * Szabo, Franz A.J. ''The Seven Years War in Europe, 1756-1763''. Pearson, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fermor, William 1702 births 1771 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession Russian people of Scottish descent People of the Silesian Wars Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)