Ferdinand Karl Friedrich Freiherr von Wintzingerode (15 February 1770, in Allendorf – 16 June 1818, in Wiesbaden) was a German nobleman and officer in several different armies of the Napoleonic Wars, finally ending up as a general 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 ...

and fighting in the War of the Sixth Coalition against the French invasion of Russia and the subsequent campaigns in Germany and France. He appears in Tolstoy's '' War and Peace''.

Early life

Ferdinand von Wintzingerode was born into a noble family of Thuringia. His father, baron Wilhelm Levin Ernst von Wintzingerode (1738–1781), owned the ''Unterhof'' seigneurial domain near Kirchohmfeld.

Military career

Ferdinand's first military service was in the Hessian Army, then as a volunteer in the Austrian army in the war against the Netherlands. He took part in the 1792–93 campaigns against the French and, after the Treaty of Campo Formio on 17 October 1797, he was offered a post as major in the

. In 1800 the Austrian army gave him permission to fight in the war in Italy.

Napoleonic Wars

He became a major general and general Aide-de-camp to Alexander I of Russia in 1802 and was entrusted with diplomatic missions over the following years. Also, in 1805 in Berlin, he negotiated with Austria and Great Britain on behalf of the Prussians to form the three nations into an alliance against France. On 11 November 1805, at Dürenstein, he received the Order of St. George. He returned to the Austrian army in 1809, where he was made field marshal. He led the advance guard of the first brigade of general Bellegarde's army on 20 May at Aspern, where he was wounded in the right leg. He returned to the Russian army in 1812 to face the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. In it he was made lieutenant general and grand cross of the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

. On 21 October 1812 he led a unit of Cossacks trying to reach the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

by challenging several French posts at the head of a Cossack unit, but he and his aide de camp Narichzin were captured by lieutenant Leleu de Maupertuis of the 5th Imperial Guard Chasseurs Regiment. He was freed by general Alexander Chernyshyov and led the Russian Advance Guard Corps under Kutuzov fighting at the in February 1813. Article in the Polish Wikipedia He fought at the battle of Lützen before being promoted to General of the cavalry at 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 ...

in 1813. He followed the army of the North into Holland then rejoined the Prussian army under Blücher and fought in the Six Days' Campaign in 1814.

Family

On 19 September 1801 he married the Polish countess Hélène Rostworowska (1783–1829), with whom he had one son.

Bibliography

* Hans Demme / Karl-Heinz Kabisch, ''Ferdinand Freiherr von Wintzingerode, russischer General und deutscher Patriot (Sonderausgabe der Eichsfelder Heimathefte)'', Worbis 1986. * Walter Prochaska, Ferdinand, Freiherr von Wintzingerode. Ein General der Befreiungskriege, . * Wilhelm Clothar Freiherr von Wintzingerode, ''General der Kavallerie Ferdinand Freiherr v. Wintzingerode, Ein Lebensbild aus den napoleonischen Kriegen'', Arolsen 1902. * Eberhard v. Wintzingerode, ''Stammbaum der Familie von Wintzingerode mit biographischen Erläuterungen'', Göttingen 1848. * Heinrich Jobst Graf v. Wintzingerode, ''Recht tun behält sein Preis allzeit. Die Geschichte der Familie Wintzingerode und der Burg Bodenstein (Bodunger Beiträge 8)'', Großbodungen 2004, .

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wintzingerode 1770 births 1818 deaths People from Werra-Meißner-Kreis Imperial Russian Army generals German commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Generals of the Holy Roman Empire