Cavalry General Seydlitz: The Peak of His Career and the Last Years of His Life
Seydlitz Monument in Berlin
В previous article We discussed the origins and early life of the famous Prussian cavalry general Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, the beginning of his military career, and his participation in the Seven Years' War. We concluded this article with a story about the Battle of Zorndorf. Today, we will continue and conclude the story.
1759 Campaign
This campaign was so successful for the British that in Great Britain, 1759 is often referred to as "the great year." The British defeated the French in the naval battles of Lagos and Quiberon Bay. In alliance with Prussia and Hanover, they routed Marshal Contad's French army at Minden. But the most significant victories were achieved by the Russian forces of Field Marshal Pyotr Saltykov. In July, at the Battle of Palzig (Kay), they routed General Wedel's corps, and then, in August, Saltykov and the Austrian General Laudon defeated Frederick himself in the monumental Battle of Kunersdorf.
The Battle of Kunersdorf as painted by A. Kotzebue
After artillery After shelling Russian positions, the Prussians managed to capture the village (along with its batteries) and the Mühlberg hill, significantly pushing back the allied left flank, and even capturing 5 soldiers—Frederick could already consider himself victorious. He even sent news of his victory to Berlin. However, the Prussian king decided to continue the battle—a terrible mistake. The exhausted Prussian infantry was unable to take the Grosser Spiez (Spitzberg) hill, defended by Pyotr Rumyantsev's soldiers, and the Prussian cavalry was unable to operate effectively due to the terrain. The cuirassiers of Prince Eugen of Württemberg (who was wounded in battle) and the "White Hussars" of General Puttkammer (who was mortally wounded) were driven back.
Seydlitz was forced to retreat under artillery fire. The king ordered the wounded hero of this article to advance again on the Russian positions. This attack was stopped by regiments of the Kyiv and Novotroitsk cuirassiers, the Arkhangelsk and Ryazan horse grenadiers, and the Tobolsk dragoons. Two squadrons of Austrian hussars also took part in the battle. The Russian infantry recaptured Mühlberg.
A bullet struck the king, and Friedrich was saved from death by the snuffbox in his breast pocket. Two horses fell beneath him, and he didn't even have time to mount another—it was killed as soon as it was brought to him. Friedrich took a desperate step, throwing his Life Cuirassiers into battle. They were routed by a detachment of Chuguev Cossacks, and their commander was captured. The allied forces counterattacked and routed the Prussians, who fled to the river; many died in the crush at the bridges or drowned. Friedrich sought death, and Captain Karl Prittwitz literally forced him to leave the battlefield.
In the morning, the Prussian king had 48 soldiers and officers; after the battle, only about 3 remained in the ranks; the rest were killed or simply fled in all directions. It's worth noting that Seydlitz's cavalrymen were among the Prussians who retreated in order.
Friedrich II with his grenadiers after the Battle of Kunerdorf. Lithograph by an unknown artist, circa 1830.
Saltykov sent the Prussian king's hat, found on the battlefield, to St. Petersburg; it can now be seen in the Suvorov Memorial Museum.
However, the Allies subsequently behaved so passively that German historians refer to the "Miracle of the House of Brandenburg." Frederick managed to rally his scattered soldiers and, at the head of a 30-strong army, take up positions near Berlin. The opportunity to defeat Prussia that year was missed.
1760 Campaign
That year, the Austrians first routed a Prussian corps at Landeshut, but then suffered defeat at Liegnitz (August 15). Russian and Austrian troops, led by Zakhar Grigoryevich Chernyshev and Franz Maurice Lassie (the son of a distinguished Russian commander), conducted another raid on Berlin. The Russian vanguard units were led by the German adventurer Gottlob Kurt Heinrich von Totleben, whose subordinates included Yemelyan Pugachev. According to legend, it was Totleben who pointed out to the future leader of the civil war his resemblance to the heir to the throne, Peter Fyodorovich.
The Berlin commandant was prepared to surrender the city without a fight, but he was thwarted by two generals—Knobloch and Seydlitz—who were there for treatment. An attempt to storm the city failed; during the battle at the Gallen Gate, the hat of future Field Marshal A. Prozorovsky was shot through.
Totleben remained inactive for four days. On September 26, the main allied forces approached Berlin, and Russian cavalry drove back the 14-strong Prussian detachment under Prince Eugen of Württemberg. Chernyshev assumed overall command of the allied forces, but Berlin Commandant von Rochow secretly signed a capitulation with Totleben, who offered the enemy more than lenient terms and ignored orders to destroy the arsenal, the main provisions depot, and the cloth factory where uniforms for the Prussian army were made.
Eight months later, Totleben was charged with treason—a charge confirmed half a century later by Prussian archival documents. In 1763, Totleben was sentenced to death, but Catherine II, who had ascended the throne the year before, pardoned him and even ordered that he be paid his full general's salary for the entire period of his imprisonment, and that the seizure of his real estate and bank accounts in Gdansk and Hamburg be lifted. If this surprises you, remember that it was Frederick II who recommended the impoverished Princess Sophie Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst as a bride for the heir to the Russian throne. And a letter preserved in the archives, which she sent to Frederick from Moscow on the eve of her wedding to Elizabeth Petrovna's nephew, also appears:
Rest assured that I will consider my reign glorious for myself only when I have the opportunity to convince you of my gratitude and devotion.
As the wife of the heir to the throne, she maintained a secret correspondence with Frederick for many years. And then it was Catherine II (not Peter III) who unconditionally withdrew the victorious Russian army, led by Pyotr Rumyantsev, from Prussia and Königsberg. Less than a month after the coup (August 5, 1762), the last Russian governor of East Prussia received orders from her to begin the transfer of the province to Frederick II. Upon learning of this, Rumyantsev immediately resigned.
The temporary capture of Berlin in 1760 is traditionally overestimated. It wasn't an attempt at conquest, but a raid aimed at extracting a contribution, and it had no impact on the course of the war.
That year, Russian and Swedish forces unsuccessfully besieged Kolberg, and Field Marshal Daun's Austrian army, attempting to drive the Prussians out of Saxony, suffered defeat at Torgau—the last major battle of the Seven Years' War. In this battle, Frederick II was shell-shocked and Daun was wounded, leaving both commanders unable to command their troops. The "father of the Prussian hussars," Hans Joachim von Zieten, distinguished himself by unexpectedly capturing the Austrian main battery, turning it toward the enemy—earning him the nickname "Zieten-aus-dem-Busch" ("Zieten from the bushes").
Peter Jansen. Meeting of Frederick II with von Ziethen after the Battle of Torgau. Mural in the Hall of the Generals in the German historical museum in Berlin
In Westphalia on July 31, 1760, at Warburg, the troops of Prussia, Britain and Hanover defeated the French army of Count de Muy.
1761 Campaign
In Pomerania that year, Pyotr Rumyantsev's Russian army finally managed to occupy Kolberg. The French managed to win at Grunberg, but then the combined forces of Marshals Soubise and de Broglie suffered defeat at Vellinghausen (July 15-16, 1761).
On December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762), Peter III ascended the Russian throne. He concluded a treaty with Frederick, according to which Russia would return East Prussia, but only after Peter's hereditary possessions of Schleswig and Dithmarschen were returned to Russia. To reconquer them, Frederick pledged to provide an army of 20 men—15 infantry and 5 cavalry—to assist Russia.
Negotiations with Denmark were scheduled for July 1762. If they failed, Russia and Prussia were to begin military action against the Danes, and no one doubted their success. But even after this, Peter retained the right, at his own discretion, to halt the withdrawal of Russian troops from Prussia in the event of "continued unrest in Europe." This meant that the "Western Group of Forces" could remain in Prussia for many years, perhaps even decades. Furthermore, Frederick II pledged to support candidates favorable to Russia for the thrones of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the still-independent Courland.
It's worth noting that no one in Europe intended to recognize Russia's rights to the Kingdom of Prussia. Louis XV, King of France, Russia's ally, declared:
An alliance with Russia is necessary to more easily act against Russia... From within Russia itself, and to the detriment of Russia.
And for centuries, France invariably sided with Russia's enemies, provoking wars with Turkey and Sweden and supporting anti-Russian rebellions in Poland. Support from Britain, Sweden, and Austria was unthinkable. Recall how difficult it was for Russia to retain any territory from the defeated Islamic Turkey—the Europeans simply twisted its arm, forcing it to revise existing peace treaties. Yet Russia wanted to at least seize the "Wild Field"—the empty lands of the future Novorossiya, which had to be settled by serfs from the central Russian provinces, as well as Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian, and Armenian settlers (and so on).
Prussia, meanwhile, was a well-established European territory inhabited by Lutheran Germans. These lands were separated from Russia by the traditionally hostile Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Duchy of Courland, whose status had not yet been fully determined. The land route to East Prussia could be cut off at any moment. Maritime supplies depended on the traditionally hostile England and the openly hostile Sweden, whose elite constantly dreamed of revenge for past defeats and sought not just a pretext, but the slightest opportunity to start a new war. Only recently, in 1743, had the hattarnas ryska krig—the "Russian War of Hats"—unleashed by the Swedes ended. (The "Hats" were the war party opposing the "Nightcaps" party.)
In 1788, the Swedes attacked Russia during our country's latest war with Turkey. Another Russo-Swedish War would begin in 1808. During World Wars I and II, "neutral" Sweden actively supplied Germany with raw materials—from steel to chocolate—while the modern Swedes finally "threw off their masks" and joined the anti-Russian North Atlantic Alliance.
Holstein, Stormarn, and Schleswig and Dithmarschen, temporarily occupied by Denmark, were the legal and universally recognized possessions of the Russian Emperor Peter III. Unlike the relatively poor and backward (by European standards) East Prussia, these were very wealthy and economically developed regions with a unique geographical position allowing them to control both the North and Baltic Seas.
A powerful Russian naval base on the territory of this duchy radically changed the balance of power in Northern Europe.
During the Seven Years' War, the men of virtually every Prussian family fought against our country in the army of Frederick the Great, and it was difficult to count on the loyalty of their relatives. The population of Holstein-Gottorp was loyal to its duke—the Russian Grand Duke, and later to Emperor Peter Feodorovich; thousands of his young subjects volunteered to serve in his Gatchina troops. Figuratively speaking, by concluding a treaty with Frederick, Peter III was trading a rusk for a rich honey bun.
Not only were Russian troops not withdrawn from Prussia by Peter III, but they were constantly reinforced. A squadron from Reval arrived in Königsberg, and the Kronstadt squadron was ordered to prepare for a campaign. However, the emperor made a mistake by deciding to send the completely disorganized St. Petersburg guard regiments to war with Denmark. This was exploited by conspirators who orchestrated a coup using the well-known formula described by the Saxon envoy Petzold after Elizabeth Petrovna's accession to power:
All Russians admit that anything can be done if you have at your disposal a certain number of grenadiers, a cellar of vodka and a few sacks of gold.
Catherine had a "bag of gold"—the English envoy had given her 100 rubles through the English merchant Felten. She also had a "cellar of vodka"—more than 35 buckets had been purchased in advance. And on June 26, 1762, the Orlov brothers began getting the soldiers of the capital's garrison drunk, and on the 28th, when the soldiers had reached the "right condition," they began spreading rumors of the death of Peter III, who allegedly died in Oranienbaum after falling from a horse. They even staged a funeral for the emperor. Claude Carloman Rulier, secretary of the French embassy in Russia, wrote about it:
Suddenly, word spread that the Emperor had arrived. The crowd, urged on silently, parted, crowded together, and in profound silence made way for the procession, which slowly made its way through its midst. It was a magnificent funeral, carried along the main streets, and no one knew whose burial it was. Soldiers, dressed as Cossacks, carried torches in mourning; and while the people's attention remained focused on the spot, the ceremony disappeared from view... Barely twenty people, even in the palace, understood the event as it had happened. The people and soldiers, not knowing whether the Emperor was alive or not, and constantly shouting "Hurrah!"... thought they were proclaiming the young Grand Duke Emperor and giving his mother the regency.
The drunken riot of the capital's garrison was accompanied by widespread looting—of private apartments, houses, and taverns. Foreigners living in St. Petersburg suffered particularly. Later, the damage from the looting of taverns alone was estimated at over 100 rubles. Since these were state-owned establishments, it had to be compensated from the Russian treasury. There was no talk of any compensation to private individuals.
Frederick II told Count Segur about Peter's abdication:
He allowed himself to be dethroned like a child being sent to bed.
But he was not at all upset, because Catherine II cancelled the unfavorable treaty he had concluded with the murdered Peter III, and withdrew her troops from East Prussia without any conditions—such was the price for Frederick II’s many years of patronage and his recognition of Catherine’s non-existent rights to be called Empress of Russia.
Meanwhile, the Prussians drove the Austrians out of Silesia, defeating them at the battles of Burkersdorf and Freiburg. In the latter battle, Seydlitz served as a corps commander. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick inflicted two defeats on the French in Westphalia and Hesse. Both sides were exhausted, and the Seven Years' War ended in 1763. As usual, the biggest winner was Great Britain, which retained most of the captured French colonies (Canada, some Caribbean islands, eastern Louisiana, and lands in India), took Florida from the Spanish, ceding Manila and Cuba to them, and established its dominance at sea—it was after the Seven Years' War that the British colonial empire was effectively established.
Incidentally, France also lost western Louisiana, which went to Spain but was regained in 1800, and then Napoleon sold it to the Americans. Prussia retained Silesia, and Frederick II became revered as the greatest military leader of the era. Austria and France lost. Russia "played a draw," and historians still don't understand why Elizabeth dragged our country into a foreign war against a state with which Russia didn't even share a border. Look at the map:
Frederick II also sought an alliance with our country and wrote:
Of all Prussia's neighbors, the Russian Empire deserves special attention... The future rulers of Prussia must also seek the friendship of these barbarians.
Having read the memoirs of Minich's former adjutant, Christopher Manstein, he personally deleted from them all the passages that could even cause damage to Russian honor.
And what about Seydlitz? He continued his service, becoming a cavalry general and chief inspector of cavalry units in Silesia, where the kingdom's finest cavalry regiments were then stationed.
An unsuccessful marriage and the end of the life of a famous general
In 1761, Seydlitz married Susanna Johanna Albertina von Hacke, the youngest daughter of the commandant of the Prussian capital. The marriage produced one daughter. His wife, known for her flighty nature, was unfaithful to her frequently absent husband, and eventually infected him with syphilis, which doctors had not yet learned to treat at the time. He gradually declined; the stroke the general suffered at the age of 52 was apparently a complication of chronic syphilis. Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz-Kurzbach died in the city of Ohlau (Oława) on November 8, 1773. After this territory was annexed by Poland, Seydlitz's mausoleum on his family estate was destroyed.
In Berlin, you can see a monument to the hero of this article, a photograph of which is posted at the beginning of this article. Furthermore, in the German Empire, a German battlecruiser was named after him (in Germany itself, cruisers of this class were called "large cruisers").
The battlecruiser Seydlitz in a photograph taken between 1913 and 1916.
As we recall, the famous general had no male descendants; his title and family lands were inherited by distant relatives. One of these descendants, Walter von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, was an active participant in both world wars, receiving his first general's rank on December 1, 1939. During the Great Patriotic War, he distinguished himself during the operation to relieve the 2nd Army Corps, which occupied the so-called "Demyansk Salient." During the Battle of Stalingrad, he commanded the 51st Corps, which was part of F. Paulus's 6th Army.
Walter Seydlitz (standing) and Friedrich Paulus, photographed in 1942.
After being captured, he became chairman of the Union of German Officers, which was part of the National Committee for a Free Germany. During the Soviet Korsun-Shevchenko Offensive, he personally appealed to German soldiers to end their resistance. In the Third Reich, he was sentenced to death in absentia—a sentence that was only overturned in 1956. After the war, he consulted on the film crew for the movie "The Battle of Stalingrad," but was later convicted of war crimes. In October 1955, he was allowed to leave for West Germany. Before leaving, he wrote a letter of gratitude to K. Voroshilov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which included the following:
Tomorrow, as I leave the territory of the Soviet Union, I feel a deep need to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for all the good things I have experienced and learned here during my more than 12-year stay.
He died in 1975 at the age of 87.
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