Dirk Langendijk Capture of the Russian General Fersen by the French 1799

Johann Hermann von Fersen (; 1740 – 9 June 1801) was an

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

officer. Born in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, he joined the Russian army in 1770.

Life

He was involved in the battles at Larga and Kagul during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 and in the military operations against Yemelyan Pugachev. He won the battle in Upper Kuban against Seraskier Batal-Bey and his 18,000 Turks and 15,000 Highlanders, capturing Batal-Bey and his whole camp. In 1792 he was appointed quartermaster-general under Mikhaïl Kretchetnikov in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and in 1794 he commanded a special corps in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Under

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

he served first as quartermaster-general then commanded the Russian contingent in the failed 1799 Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. He was defeated at the Battle of Bergen and taken prisoner. Before news of his defeat reached

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, he had been promoted to infantry general, but he was later excluded from service by Tsar Paul.
The captured Hermann was sent to the fortress of Lille. The French were ready to exchange him for all the French generals taken prisoner in Italy, but Paul I did not agree to this, and Herman remained in captivity until the conclusion of peace. Upon his return from captivity, Herman presented an explanation of his actions and on November 6, 1800, he was again allowed into the Russian army, but received no further appointments. These unfortunate events affected his health, and on 9 June 1801, he died in Saint Petersburg.

Sources

*http://www.biografija.ru/show_bio.aspx?id=24220 *'' Russian Biographical Dictionary'' 1801 deaths 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire 18th-century German people Imperial Russian Army generals Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Russian people of German descent German emigrants to the Russian Empire Saxon nobility Year of birth uncertain Sheikh Mansur Movement {{Russia-mil-bio-stub

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Graciou ...

Ethnic German people from the Russian Empire