Hans Christopher Georg Friederich Hedemann (1792–1859) was a Danish officer who became lieutenant general in the Danish army.

Biography

Hedemann joined the Danish Cadet Corps before 1803. In 1808 he gained senior service as ensign, in 1809 became lieutenant and first lieutenant and in 1819, Chief of Staff. In 1811 he joined the 1st Jutland Infantry Regiment, where he was appointed captain in 1820.1. Auflage. Band 7: I. Hansen–Holmsted. ''Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag'', Copenhagen 1893, Pages 191–193 (dänisch

. In 1832 he reached the seniority of a major and was finally promoted to major in 1836. During the reorganization of the army in 1842 he became lieutenant colonel and commander of the 10th battalion, in 1846 commander of the 1st Jäger Corps and commander of the Copenhagen Castle. On the New Year of 1847 he was given the character of a colonel . When the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (), also known as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising () and the Three Years' War (), was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig–Holstein question: who should control the Du ...

broke out in the spring of 1848, Minister of War

Anton Frederik Tscherning Ant(h)on Frederik Tscherning (12 December 1795 – 29 June 1874) was a Denmark, Danish army officer who became a politician. During the First Schleswig War he served, briefly, as Denmarks's first Minister for War between March and November in 18 ...

appointed the relatively young colonel general and soon afterwards major general. He was given supreme command of the Danish army, with General Læssøe serving as chief of staff. Hedemann and Læssøe had a good relationship, although Hedemann often made decisions based on the situation and without consulting Læssøe or Tscherning. However, this approach proved itself in the battles at Bov and

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

on 9 and 23 April. Hedemann's relationship with War Minister Tscherning was problematic, however, as he found it difficult to give Hedemann a wide margin of decision-making.192 (Dansk biografisk Lexikon / VII. Bind. I. Hansen - Holmsted)
/ref> After the Battle of Schleswig and the defeat in the battle near Oeversee, Tscherning dispatched the Colonel on the General Staff and later Minister of War Christian Frederik von Hansen to the Army High Command, with the authority to intervene to the extent necessary if the army command did not act in Tscherning's direction. Hansen initially saw no reason to intervene and subsequently took over command of the parts of the Danish army that had returned to Alsen. Hedemann was ordered to take command of the one to

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

to take over disembarked army parts. Since these parts of the army were much smaller, Hedemann protested against this regulation and threatened to resign. In May the Army High Command and the War Ministry agreed to take the offensive again with the troops on Als and to attack the Sundewitt Peninsula, which was occupied by the Germans . Before that, Tscherning sent his adjutant Johannes Harbou to the army headquarters, but he did not intervene in the preparations for the attack. As a result, the fights at

Nybøl Nybøl () is a small town, with a population of 1,117 (1 January 2024),Dybbøl Dybbøl is a small town with a population of 2,357 (1 January 2024)Overgeneral og leder af Kastellet , ugeavisen.dk
/ref> Hans Christopher Georg Friederich Hedemann gravsten

Hans Christopher Georg Friederich Hedemann gravsten

Hedemann was finally removed from the Army High Command on 16 July. It is not known whether this was due to an intervention by Harbou or to the beginning of the ceasefire. As a result, Hedemann went to Copenhagen to take over the chairmanship of an advisory committee under the War Ministry. At the same time he was again commander of the citadel. Hedemann did not overcome this degradation, although the king also appointed him Chamberlain and in 1853 Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

. Increasing weakness of the eyes caused Hedemann in 1854 to request his resignation. Hedemann died in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

in 1859, he was buried in the garrison cemetery, where his grave with his portrait medallion has been preserved.

Family

Hedemann was the father of the future Danish general Johan Hedemann (1825–1901), who had already served under his father in the battles in Nybøl and Dybbøl, and of the later general and politician Marius Hedemann (1836–1903).

References

Bibliography

*S. A. Sørensen: Hedemann, ''Hans Christopher Georg Frederik''. In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Hrsg.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. ''Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537–1814'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedemann, Hans 1792 births 1859 deaths Danish generals People of the First Schleswig War People from Flensburg Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog