Editing Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
Blücher was born on 21 December 1742 in [[Rostock]], a Baltic port in [[northern Germany]], then in the [[Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} His father Christian Friedrich von Blücher (1696–1761), was a retired army captain, and his family belonged to the nobility and had been landowners in northern Germany since at least the 13th century. His mother was Dorothea Maria von Zülow (1702–1769), who also belonged to an old noble family from [[Mecklenburg]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Gebhard-Leberecht-von-Bl%C3%BCcher-F%C3%BCrst-von-Wahlstatt/6000000016019181542|title = Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt| date=16 December 1742 }}</ref>

Gebhard began his military career at the age of 16,{{efn|Age of fourteen according to {{harvnb|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}. }} when he joined the [[Swedish Army]] as a [[hussar]].{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|p=6}} At the time, [[Sweden]] was at war with [[Prussia]] in the [[Seven Years' War]]. Blücher took part in the [[Pomeranian War|Pomeranian campaign]] of 1760, where Prussian hussars captured him in a skirmish. The colonel of the Prussian regiment, [[Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling]] (a distant relative), was impressed with the young hussar and had him join his own regiment.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|p=11}}

Blücher took part in the later battles of the Seven Years' War, and as a hussar officer, gained much experience in light cavalry work. In peace, however, his ardent spirit led him into excesses of all kinds, such as the [[mock execution]] of a priest suspected of supporting [[Partitions of Poland#First Partition|Polish uprisings in 1772]]. As a result, he was passed over for promotion to [[Major (rank)|major]]. Blücher submitted a rude letter of resignation in 1773, which [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]] replied to with "Captain Blücher can take himself to the devil" (1773).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

Blücher settled down to farming. Within 15 years, he had acquired financial independence and had become a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]]. During Frederick the Great's lifetime, Blücher could not return to the army. However, the monarch died in 1786, and the following year, Blücher was reinstated as a major in his old regiment, the Red Hussars. He took part in the expedition to the [[Netherlands]] in 1787, and the next year was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1789, he received Prussia's highest [[Military decoration|military order]], the ''[[Pour le Mérite]]'', and in 1794, he became colonel of the Red Hussars. In 1793 and 1794, Blücher distinguished himself in cavalry actions against the French, and for his victory at [[Kirrweiler]] on 28 May 1794, he was promoted to major general. In 1801, he was made a lieutenant general.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

===Napoleonic Wars===
[[File:Marschall Vorwärts (1863).jpg|thumb|''Marschall Vorwärts'' by [[Emil Hünten]] (1863)]]

Blücher was one of the leaders of the war party in Prussia in 1805, and he served as a cavalry general in the disastrous campaign of 1806. At the double [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt]], Blücher fought at [[Auerstedt]], repeatedly leading the charges of the Prussian cavalry, but without success. During the retreat of the broken armies, he commanded the rearguard composed of [[Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen|Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe]]'s corps.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} With the [[Surrender (military)|capitulation]] of the main body after the [[Battle of Prenzlau]] on 28 October,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} he found his march toward the north-east blocked.{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|p=108}} He led the remnant of his corps away to the north-west.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} Reinforcing his numbers with a division previously commanded by [[Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach|Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar]], Blücher and his new [[chief of staff]], [[Gerhard von Scharnhorst]], reorganised his forces into two small corps totaling 21,000 men and 44 cannons<!--20(page 108) + 28 (page 109)-->.{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|pp=108–109}} Nevertheless, he was defeated by two French corps at the [[Battle of Lübeck]]{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} on 6 November. The next day, trapped against the [[Denmark|Danish]] frontier by 40,000 French troops, he was compelled to surrender with less than 10,000 soldiers at [[Ratekau]].{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|p=110}} Blücher insisted that clauses be written in the capitulation document that he had had to surrender due to lack of provisions and ammunition,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} and that his soldiers should be honoured by a French formation along the street. He was allowed to keep his sabre and to move freely, bound only by his [[Parole|word of honour]].{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|p=111}} He was soon exchanged for future Marshal [[Claude Perrin Victor|Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno]], and was actively employed in Pomerania, at [[Berlin]], and at [[Königsberg]] until the conclusion of the war.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

After the war, Blücher was looked upon as the natural leader of the Patriot Party, with which he was in close touch during the period of Napoleonic domination, but his hopes of an alliance with [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in the war of 1809 were disappointed. In this year, he was made general of cavalry. In 1812, he expressed himself so openly on the alliance of Russia with France that he was recalled from his military governorship of Pomerania and virtually banished from the court.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

[[File:Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher in Bautzen 1813.jpg|left|thumb|''Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher in Bautzen'' by [[Bogdan Willewalde]] (1885)]]
Following the start of the [[German Campaign of 1813|War of Liberation]] in the spring of 1813, Blücher was again placed in high command, and he was present at [[Battle of Lützen (1813)|Lützen]] and [[Battle of Bautzen (1813)|Bautzen]]. During the [[German Campaign of 1813#Summer truce|summer truce]], he worked on the organisation of the Prussian forces; when the war was resumed, he became commander-in-chief of the Army of Silesia, with [[August von Gneisenau]] and [[Friedrich Karl Ferdinand, Freiherr von Müffling|Karl von Müffling]] as his principal staff officers and 40,000 Prussians and 50,000 Russians under his command during the [[German Campaign of 1813#Autumn Campaign|autumn campaign]]. The most conspicuous military quality displayed by Blücher was his unrelenting energy.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

The irresolution and divergence of interests usual in [[Sixth Coalition]] armies found in him a restless opponent. Knowing that if he could not induce others to co-operate, he was prepared to attempt the task at hand by himself, which often caused other generals to follow his lead. He defeated [[Etienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald|Marshal MacDonald]] at the [[Battle of Katzbach|Katzbach]], and by his victory over [[Auguste Marmont|Marshal Marmont]] at [[Battle of Möckern#October 1813|Möckern]] led the way to the decisive defeat of [[Napoleon]] at [[Battle of Leipzig|the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig]]. Blücher's own army stormed Leipzig on the evening of the last day of the battle.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} This was the fourth battle between Napoleon and Blücher, and the first that Blücher had won.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}

On the day of Möckern (16 October 1813), Blücher was made a field marshal. He later earned the nickname "Marshal Forwards" due to his tireless energy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gebhard Leberecht Von Blucher {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/german-history-biographies/gebhard-leberecht-von-blucher |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> And after the victory, he pursued the French with his accustomed energy. In the winter of 1813–1814, Blücher, with his chief staff officers, was mainly instrumental in inducing the Coalition sovereigns to carry the war into France itself.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

[[File:Cruikshank - Old Blucher beating the Corsican Big Drum.png|thumb|''Old Blucher Beating the Corsican Big Drum'', [[George Cruikshank]], 8 April 1814]]
The [[Battle of Brienne]] and the [[Battle of La Rothière]] were the chief incidents of the first stage of the celebrated [[Campaign in north-east France (1814)|1814 campaign in north-east France]], and they were quickly followed by victories of Napoleon over Blücher at [[Battle of Champaubert|Champaubert]], [[Battle of Vauchamps|Vauchamps]], and [[Battle of Montmirail|Montmirail]]. The courage of the Prussian leader was undiminished, though, and his victory against the vastly outnumbered French, at [[Battle of Laon|Laon]] (9 and 10 March) practically decided the fate of the campaign.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} However, his health had been severely affected by the strains of the previous two months, and he now suffered a breakdown, during which he lost his sight and suffered a delusion that a Frenchman had impregnated him with an elephant.{{sfn|Montefiore|2016|p=313}} Dominic Lieven wrote that the breakdown, "revealed the fragility of the coalition armies' command structure and just how much the Army of Silesia had depended on Blücher's drive, courage, and charisma.... The result was that for more than a week after the battle of Laon, the Army of Silesia... played no useful role in the war".{{sfn|Lieven|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SIluE2igp5YC&pg=PT589 502]–503}}

After this, Blücher infused some of his energy into the operations of the [[Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg|Prince Schwarzenberg]]'s [[Army of Bohemia]], and at last this army and the Army of Silesia marched in one body directly towards Paris. The [[Battle of Paris (1814)|victory of Montmartre]], the entry of the allies into the French capital, and the overthrow of the [[First French Empire|First Empire]] were the direct consequences.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

Blücher was in favour of punishing the city of Paris severely for the sufferings of Prussia at the hands of the French armies, but the allied commanders intervened. According to the [[Duke of Wellington]], one of Blücher's plans involved blowing up the [[Jena Bridge]] near the [[Champ de Mars]]:{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}
{{blockquote|About blowing up the bridge of Jena there were two parties in the Prussian Army — Gneisenau and Muffling against, but Blücher violently for it. In spite of all I could do, he did make the attempt, even while I believe my sentinel was standing at one end of the bridge. But the Prussians had no experience of blowing up bridges. We, who had blown up so many in Spain, could have done it in five minutes. The Prussians made a hole in one of the pillars, but their powder blew out instead of up, and I believe hurt some of their own people.{{sfn|Stanhope|1888|p=119}}
}}

In gratitude for his victories in 1814, King [[Frederick William III of Prussia]] created Blücher ''Prince (Fürst) of Wahlstatt'' (in Silesia on the Katzbach battlefield).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}{{efn|a life peerage meaning ''Prince of the Battlefield'' – after Wahlstatt monastery at [[Legnickie Pole]], the site of the decisive [[Battle of Legnica]] (or Battle of Liegnitz; Legnickie Pole is the name created in 1948 for Wahlstatt or 'battlefield', a posthumous name more popular only from the 18th century: to avoid mix-up with the 1760 battle of Liegnitz on 9 April 1241 where the [[Mongols]] of the [[Golden Horde]] had defeated a Polish-German army but then retreated to the [[Mongol Empire]], instead of invading the remainder of Europe all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}<!---->}} The king also awarded him estates near Krieblowitz (now [[Krobielowice]], Poland) in Lower Silesia and a grand mansion at 2, [[Pariser Platz]] in Berlin (which in 1930 became the [[Embassy of the United States, Berlin]]).{{citation needed|date=May 2016}} Soon afterward, Blücher [[Allied sovereigns' visit to England|paid a visit to England]], where he was received with royal honours and cheered enthusiastically everywhere he went.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

When [[Oxford University]] granted him an honorary doctorate (doctor of laws), he is supposed to have joked that if he was made a doctor, they should at least make Gneisenau an [[apothecary]]; "...for if I wrote the prescription, he made the pills."

===Hundred Days and later life===
[[File:Prussian Attack Plancenoit by Adolf Northern.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|The Prussian attack on [[Plancenoit]] during the [[Battle of Waterloo]], painted by [[Adolph Northen]]]]

After the war, [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III]] gave Blücher properties in the area of Neustadt (now [[Prudnik]]). In November of the same year, Blücher leased [[Trzebina, Opole Voivodeship|Kunzendorf]], [[Miłowice, Opole Voivodeship|Mühlsdorf]], [[Wierzbiec|Wackenau]] and [[Włóczno|Achthuben]] to a local farmer, Hübner, in exchange for 2,000 [[thaler]]s, rolls of linen cloth and yarn. His wife also moved to Kunzendorf. While living in the area of Neustadt, he financed the families of the fallen soldiers, gave a few liters of beer to the local parish priest every day, and paid a doctor from Neustadt to treat the poor. Thanks to his efforts, a health resort called "Blücher's Spring" was established in Kunzendorf (it was destroyed together with the castle as a result of the battles of the Neustadt in 1945).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Procner|first1=Lidia|title=Sławne postacie pogranicza polsko-czeskiego Euroregionu Pradziad – wspólne dziedzictwo historyczne|last2=Dendewicz|first2=Franciszek|last3=Kowalczyk|first3=Czesław|publisher=Powiat Nyski|year=2007|isbn=978-83-60431-09-2|location=[[Nysa, Poland|Nysa]]|pages=23|chapter=Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher}}</ref>

After the war, Blücher retired to Silesia. However, the return of Napoleon from [[Elba]] and his entry into Paris at the start of the [[Hundred Days]], called him back to service. He was put in command of the [[Order of battle of the Waterloo Campaign#Prussian Army Order of Battle|Army of the Lower Rhine]], with Gneisenau serving again as his chief of staff. At the outset of the [[Waterloo Campaign]] of 1815, the Prussians sustained a serious defeat at [[Battle of Ligny|Ligny]] (16 June), in the course of which the old field marshal lay trapped under his dead horse for several hours and was repeatedly ridden over by cavalry, his life saved only by the devotion of his [[aide-de-camp]] Count [[August Ludwig von Nostitz|Nostitz]], who threw a greatcoat over his commander to obscure Blücher's rank and identity from the passing French. As Blücher was unable to resume command for some hours, Gneisenau took command, drew off the defeated army, and rallied it.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} In spite of Gneisenau's distrust of Wellington, he obeyed Blücher's last orders to direct the army's retreat towards [[Wavre]], rather than [[Liège]], to keep alive the possibility of joining the Prussian and Wellington's Anglo-allied armies together.{{sfn|Cornwell|2015|loc=Chapter 6, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z6N3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT93 93–94?]}}

After bathing his wounds in a liniment of [[rhubarb]] and [[garlic]], and fortified by a liberal internal dose of [[schnapps]], Blücher rejoined his army. Gneisenau feared that the British had reneged on their earlier agreements and favoured a withdrawal, but Blücher convinced him to send two corps to join Wellington at [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]].{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p={{page needed|date=May 2016}} }}{{sfn|Cornwell|2015|loc=Chapter 6, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z6N3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT94 94?]}} He then led his army on a tortuous march along muddy paths, arriving on the field of Waterloo in the late afternoon. In spite of his age, the pain of his wounds, and the effort it must have taken for him to remain on horseback, [[Bernard Cornwell]] states that several soldiers attested to Blücher's high spirits and his determination to defeat Napoleon:

{{blockquote|"Forwards!" he was quoted as saying. "I hear you say it's impossible, but it has to be done! I have given my promise to Wellington, and you surely don't want me to break it? Push yourselves, my children, and we'll have victory!" It is impossible not to like Blücher. He was 74 years ({{sic}}) old,{{Efn|He was 72, based on his birth date.}} still in pain and discomfort from his adventures at Ligny, still stinking of schnapps and of rhubarb liniment, yet he is all enthusiasm and energy. If Napoleon's demeanour that day was one of sullen disdain for an enemy he underestimated, and Wellington's a cold, calculating calmness that hid concern, then Blücher is all passion.{{sfn|Cornwell|2015|loc=Chapter 9, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z6N3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT158 158?]}}
}}

With the battle hanging in the balance, Blücher's army intervened with decisive and crushing effect, his vanguard drawing off Napoleon's badly needed reserves, and his main body being instrumental in crushing French resistance. This victory led the way to a decisive victory through the [[Waterloo Campaign#Invasion of France and the occupation of Paris (18 June – 7 July)|relentless pursuit]] of the French by the Prussians.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst (prince) von Wahlstatt {{!}} Prussian Field Marshal, Napoleonic Wars Hero |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gebhard-Leberecht-von-Blucher-Furst-von-Wahlstatt |access-date=2023-07-15 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The two Coalition armies [[Waterloo Campaign#Third week (2–7 July)|entered Paris on 7 July]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}}

[[File:SM Krobielowice Mauzoleum Bluchera (15) ID 599647.jpg|thumb|Blücher Mausoleum in [[Former eastern territories of Germany|ex-German]] Krieblowitz (now [[Krobielowice]], Poland).]]
[[File:Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) - Field-Marshal Gebhardt von Blücher (1742-1819) - RCIN 405148 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Marshal Blücher]]'' by [[Sir Thomas Lawrence]]. It now hangs in the [[Waterloo Chamber]] at [[Windsor Castle]].]]

Blücher remained in the French capital for a few months, but his age and infirmities compelled him to retire to his Silesian residence at Krieblowitz.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} At the invitation of the British government, he made another state visit to England, to be formally thanked for his army and his role in the Waterloo Campaign. When his carriage stopped on [[Blackheath, London|Blackheath Hill]], overlooking London, he is said to have exclaimed, "What a city to sack!"{{sfn|Cornwell|2015|loc=Afterword p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z6N3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT239 239?]}} He died at Krieblowitz on 12 September 1819, aged 76.{{Sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=80}} After his death, an imposing mausoleum was built for his remains.

When Krieblowitz was conquered by the Red Army in 1945, Soviet soldiers broke into the Blücher mausoleum and scattered the remains. Soviet troops reportedly used his skull as a football. After 1989, some of his remains were taken by a Polish priest and interred in the catacomb of the church in [[Sośnica, Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Sośnica]] (German: Schosnitz), three&nbsp;km from the now Polish Krobielowice.{{sfn|Leggiere|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=twXBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA448 448]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=twXBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA449 449]}}