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La Belle Alliance

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La Belle Alliance is an inn situated a few miles south of Brussels in Belgium , chiefly remembered for its significance in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815).

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66-532: There are two plaques on the building: one is "In memory of the French Medical Corps who attended the wounded with devotion on 18 June 1815"; and the other commemorates the meeting of the two victorious field marshals at the end of the Battle of Waterloo. The building is currently used on Friday and Saturday evenings as a night club. After the Battle of Waterloo, at around 21:00, Prince Blücher and

132-533: A French formation along the street. He was allowed to keep his sabre and to move freely, bound only by his word of honour . He was soon exchanged for future Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno , and was actively employed in Pomerania, at Berlin , and at Königsberg until the conclusion of the war. After the war, Blücher was looked upon as the natural leader of the Patriot Party, with which he

198-579: A few miles from Stephenson's birthplace in Wylam also bears the name Blucher in honour of him. The Blucher was named after him, after the original ship was captured by the British and the new owners named it for him. Three ships of the German navy have been named in honour of Blücher. The first to be so named was the corvette SMS  Blücher , built at Kiel 's Norddeutsche Schiffbau AG (later renamed

264-610: A major general in 1794. He became a lieutenant general in 1801 and commanded the cavalry corps during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806. War broke out between Prussia and France again in 1813 and Blücher returned to active service at the age of 71. He became a leading hero of the Germans in the struggle to end foreign domination of their lands. He was appointed full general over the Prussian field forces and clashed with Napoleon at

330-562: 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: "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

396-471: A very brave soldier with no talent as a general, but he admired his attitude, which he described as a bull that looks all around him with rolling eyes and, when he sees danger, charges. Napoleon thought of him as stubborn and untiring, knowing no fear. He called him an old rascal who was always able to get up on his feet again and be ready for the next battle as, following a sound defeat, Blücher had, almost instantly, returned to attack him vigorously again. It

462-421: Is impossible not to like Blücher. He was 74 years ( [ sic ]) old, 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. With

528-512: 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." After the war, Frederick William III gave Blücher properties in the area of Neustadt (now Prudnik ). In November of the same year, Blücher leased Kunzendorf , Mühlsdorf , Wackenau and Achthuben to a local farmer, Hübner, in exchange for 2,000 thalers , rolls of linen cloth and yarn. His wife also moved to Kunzendorf. While living in

594-755: Is taking very direct and aggressive action, in war or otherwise, refers to Blücher. The full German saying, now obsolete, relates to the Battle of the Katzbach in 1813: " ran wie Blücher an der Katzbach gehen " ("to advance like Blücher at Katzbach"), describing vigorous, forceful behaviour. Vasily Blyukher 's last name was given to his family by a landlord in honour of Gebhard. August Ludwig von Nostitz August Ludwig Ferdinand Count von Nostitz-Ransen (27 December 1777, Zessel , near Öls – 28 May 1866, on his estates at Zobten , near Löwenberg in Schlesien )

660-805: The Krupp-Germaniawerft ) and launched 20 March 1877. Taken out of service after a boiler explosion in 1907, she ended her days as a coal freighter in Vigo , Spain. On 11 April 1908, the Panzerkreuzer SMS Blücher was launched from the Imperial Shipyard in Kiel. This ship was sunk on 24 January 1915 in the First World War at the Battle of Dogger Bank . The Second World War German heavy cruiser Blücher

726-634: The Battles of Lützen and Bautzen . Later he won a critical victory over the French at the Battle of Katzbach . Blücher commanded the Prussian Army of Silesia at the Battle of the Nations where Napoleon was decisively defeated. For his role, Blücher was made a field marshal and received his title of Prince of Wahlstatt . After Napoleon's return in 1815, Blücher took command of the Prussian Army of

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792-501: The Duke of Wellington met close to the inn signifying the end of the fighting. There is a large mural within the Palace of Westminster painted by Daniel Maclise in 1861 that depicts the meeting taking place at La Belle Alliance. According to page 57 of his 1877 Book "Notes and Reminiscences of a Staff Officer" by Lieutenant Colonel Basil Jackson, writes: Certainly it was a moment when even

858-486: The Katzbach , and by his victory over Marshal Marmont at Möckern led the way to the decisive defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig . Blücher's own army stormed Leipzig on the evening of the last day of the battle. This was the fourth battle between Napoleon and Blücher, and the first that Blücher had won. On the day of Möckern (16 October 1813), Blücher was made a field marshal. He later earned

924-612: The Lower Rhine and coordinated his force with that of the British and Allied forces under the Duke of Wellington . At the Battle of Ligny , he was severely injured and the Prussians retreated. After recovering, Blücher resumed command and joined Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo , with the intervention of Blücher's army playing a decisive role in the final allied victory. Blücher was made an honorary citizen of Berlin , Hamburg and Rostock . Known for his fiery personality, he

990-541: The Opava District and in 1847 the lands at Wahlstatt, Legnickie Pole , all of which remained in the family until the flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1945, which forced the family into exile in their mansion Havilland Hall in Guernsey , acquired by the 4th prince and his English wife, Evelyn, Princess Blücher . Later the family moved to Eurasburg , Bavaria. The present head of

1056-741: The Pomeranian Campaign and thereafter joined the Prussian Army , serving as a hussar officer for Prussia during the remainder of the Seven Years' War . In 1773, Blücher was forced to resign by Frederick the Great for insubordination. He worked as a farmer until the death of Frederick in 1786, when Blücher was reinstated and promoted to colonel. For his success in the French Revolutionary Wars , Blücher became

1122-593: The Prussian Army in 1802, leaving it in 1810 only to return in 1813 as a staff officer of the Silesian uhlans . After the battle of Bautzen he became adjutant to Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher . On 16 June 1815, towards the end of the battle of Ligny , Nostitz stood guard over Blücher after Blücher fell stunned under his horse and after the French Cuirassiers had passed attracted the attention of counter charging Prussian troopers who then remounted

1188-492: The autumn campaign . The most conspicuous military quality displayed by Blücher was his unrelenting energy. 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 Marshal MacDonald at

1254-459: The capitulation of the main body after the Battle of Prenzlau on 28 October, he found his march toward the north-east blocked. He led the remnant of his corps away to the north-west. Reinforcing his numbers with a division previously commanded by 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. Nevertheless, he

1320-458: The Corsican’s art of war, the objective of Blücher’s Prussian way of war was to make contact with the enemy as quickly as possible, concentrate all forces, deliver the decisive blow, and end the war. More generally, Blücher was a courageous and popular general who "had much to be proud of: energy, controlled aggression and a commitment to defeating the enemy army." His campaign journal covering

1386-475: The Duke left the road to meet them. They proved to be Marshal Blücher and his suite. The two great chiefs cordially shook hands, and were together about ten minutes; it was then so dark that I could not distinguish Blucher's features, and had to ask a Prussian officer whom the Duke was conversing with, although I was quite close to him at the time, but of course not near enough to hear what was said. On leaving Blucher,

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1452-472: The Duke rode at a walk towards Waterloo. Darkness shrouded the spectacle of the dead and dying near La Haye Sainte ; but the frequent snorting of our horses as they trod between them showed that the ground, so fiercely contested during the day, was very thickly strewed with bodies of the brave. Blücher, the Prussian commander, suggested that the battle be remembered as la Belle Alliance , to commemorate

1518-605: The European Seventh Coalition of Britain , Russia , Prussia , the Netherlands , Sweden , Austria , Spain , Portugal , Sardinia , and a number of German States which had all joined the coalition to defeat the French Emperor . Wellington, who had chosen the field and commanded an allied army which had fought the French all day, instead recommended Waterloo , the village just north of

1584-575: The French capital for a few months, but his age and infirmities compelled him to retire to his Silesian residence at Krieblowitz. 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 Hill , overlooking London, he is said to have exclaimed, "What a city to sack!" He died at Krieblowitz on 12 September 1819, aged 76. After his death, an imposing mausoleum

1650-540: The French. After Blücher's death, statues were erected to his memory at Berlin , Breslau , Rostock , and Kaub (where his troops crossed the Rhine in pursuit of Napoleon's forces in 1813). Blücher is honoured with a bust in the Walhalla temple near Regensburg . In gratitude for Blücher's service, George Stephenson , the pioneering British locomotive engineer, named a locomotive after him. The small mining village

1716-543: The Great replied to with "Captain Blücher can take himself to the devil" (1773). Blücher settled down to farming. Within 15 years, he had acquired financial independence and had become a 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

1782-467: The House of Blücher von Wahlstatt is Nicolaus, 8th Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt (born 1932), the heir apparent is his son, hereditary count Lukas (born 1956). He received the following orders and decorations: The Rhineland town of Kaub has a museum dedicated to Blücher, commemorating in particular his crossing the Rhine with the Prussian and Russian armies, on New Year's night 1813–1814, in pursuit of

1848-480: The Iron Duke might feel excited. I heard him say to Colborne (who had stopped the 52nd and was forming his troops for the Duke to review), as he shook hands on departing, that he would endeavour to send some flour for his men. He then turned his horse towards Waterloo, followed by five persons only. On nearing the farm of La Belle Alliance, a group of horsemen were seen crossing the fields on our right; on seeing them,

1914-702: The Katzbach battlefield). 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 ). Soon afterward, Blücher paid a visit to England , where he was received with royal honours and cheered enthusiastically everywhere he went. When Oxford University granted him an honorary doctorate (doctor of laws), he

1980-726: 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. In gratitude for his victories in 1814, King Frederick William III of Prussia created Blücher Prince (Fürst) of Wahlstatt (in Silesia on

2046-553: The age of 16, when he joined the Swedish Army as a hussar . At the time, Sweden was at war with Prussia in the Seven Years' War . Blücher took part in the 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. Blücher took part in

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2112-450: The application of so appropriate a name. "The point of meeting", says Sir William, "was at or near to a small farmhouse or cabaret called 'Maison Rouge', on the roadside between 'La Belle Alliance' and Rossomme, a more considerable farmhouse and the furthest point on the road to which the Duke advanced. He was returning from it when the meeting took place". Lastly, the Duke himself said to Mr. Rogers (Rogers' Recollections , p. 212), "When all

2178-546: 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). After the war, Blücher retired to Silesia. However,

2244-573: 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. 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 Waterloo . He then led his army on

2310-410: 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 relentless pursuit of the French by the Prussians. The two Coalition armies entered Paris on 7 July . Blücher remained in

2376-630: The battlefield, where he himself had spent the previous night. Nevertheless, in 1815 the Rondell plaza in Berlin was renamed Belle-Alliance-Platz to commemorate the victory. There is a single La Belle Alliance Square in the UK, in Ramsgate, Kent. According to J.B. Romberg who published an account of the locations around Brussels in 1820, originally La Belle Alliance consisted of three houses, one of which

2442-410: The celebrated 1814 campaign in north-east France , and they were quickly followed by victories of Napoleon over Blücher at Champaubert , Vauchamps , and Montmirail . The courage of the Prussian leader was undiminished, though, and his victory against the vastly outnumbered French, at Laon (9 and 10 March) practically decided the fate of the campaign. However, his health had been severely affected by

2508-618: The dazed Blücher on Sergeant Schneider's horse and escorted him from the battlefield. Nostitz became a major general in 1825 and served on Nicholas I of Russia 's general staff during the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) . In 1833 Nostitz became deputy commander of Berlin , then lieutenant general in 1838 and commander of the 5th Hussar Regiment (the Blüchersche Husaren) in 1840. He left active service in May 1848,

2574-464: The expedition to the Netherlands in 1787, and the next year was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1789, he received Prussia's highest 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

2640-470: 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 Polish uprisings in 1772 . As a result, he was passed over for promotion to major . Blücher submitted a rude letter of resignation in 1773, which Frederick

2706-459: The married state it was to marry the new landlord tavern; from which time it obtained the title it now bears. Our readers are aware that considerable doubt has been thrown upon the time and place at which the meeting of the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher took place after the battle, more especially by the erroneous declaration of the Duke himself that it occurred at Genappe , which, as we have shown in this Journal (Ed. Rev. vol. cxix. p. 168)

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2772-409: The meeting of Blücher and Wellington did take place at La Belle Alliance—that the two generals congratulated each other there on their victory, and concerted measures for the pursuit of the enemy during the night. On the other hand, Sir William Gomm states that the meeting certainly did not take place at La Belle Alliance, but at a place so near it that the Prussians were justified in slightly extending

2838-462: The nickname "Marshal Forwards" due to his tireless energy. 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. The Battle of Brienne and the Battle of La Rothière were the chief incidents of the first stage of

2904-594: The overthrow of the First Empire were the direct consequences. 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 : About blowing up the bridge of Jena there were two parties in

2970-681: 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 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 Ligny (16 June), in the course of which the old field marshal lay trapped under his dead horse for several hours and

3036-468: The spring of 1813, Blücher was again placed in high command, and he was present at Lützen and Bautzen . During the 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 Karl von Müffling as his principal staff officers and 40,000 Prussians and 50,000 Russians under his command during

3102-399: 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. 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

3168-466: The years 1793 to 1794 was published in 1796: A second edition of this diary, together with some of Blücher's letters, was published in 1914: His collected writings and letters (together with those of Yorck and Gneisenau) appeared in 1932: Blücher was married twice: in 1773 to Karoline Amalie von Mehling (1756–1791) and, after her death, in 1795 to Katharine Amalie von Colomb (1772–1850), sister of General Peter von Colomb . While this second marriage

3234-466: Was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal). He earned his greatest recognition after leading his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Blücher was born in Rostock , the son of a retired army captain. His military career began in 1758 as a hussar in the Swedish Army . He was captured by the Prussians in 1760 during

3300-470: Was a Prussian general who acted as adjutant general to Frederick William III of Prussia . August Ludwig was born as the eldest son of Count Georg August von Nostitz-Ransen (1709-1795) and his wife Baroness Johanna Christine Eleonore von Reiszwitz-Kaderzin (1756-1840). His siblings included Count Karl Wilhelm (1783-1850), Count Ludwig Georg (1784-1839), Countess Eleonore von Dyhrn (1787-1853) and Friederike Henriette von Rosen (1781-1871). He joined

3366-455: Was a tavern, that now bears the name, and two adjacent houses. Some time before the Battle of Waterloo, the publican of the tavern died, and his widow married the occupant of Trimotion, the farm-house opposite; but losing him in a short time afterwards, she consoled herself by taking for her third husband a peasant who lived a house close by (now known as Decoster's house ); but here again death interrupted her happiness, when she once more embraced

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3432-531: Was born on 21 December 1742 in Rostock , a Baltic port in northern Germany , then in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . 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 . Gebhard began his military career at

3498-540: 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 (German: Schosnitz), three km from the now Polish Krobielowice. Napoleon characterised him as

3564-485: Was completed in September 1939, and pronounced ready for service on 5 April 1940 after completing a series of sea trials and training exercises. The vessel was sunk four days later near Oslo during the invasion of Norway . Blücher was played by German actor Otto Gebühr in the 1929 film Waterloo . In 1932, he was the subject of the biographical film Marshal Forwards , in which he was played by Paul Wegener . It

3630-466: Was defeated by two French corps at the Battle of Lübeck on 6 November. The next day, trapped against the Danish frontier by 40,000 French troops, he was compelled to surrender with less than 10,000 soldiers at Ratekau . Blücher insisted that clauses be written in the capitulation document that he had had to surrender due to lack of provisions and ammunition, and that his soldiers should be honoured by

3696-486: Was impossible, as Genappe was in the possession of the French till near midnight. We have, however, now before us some additional evidence on this interesting topic, which shows that Mr. Maclise's picture does not depart more widely from the truth of history than the license of art may fairly admit of. A formal declaration, which we have seen, has been drawn up by General Count Nostitz , who was personal aide-de-camp to Blücher in 1815, in which he states must positivity that

3762-473: Was in close touch during the period of Napoleonic domination, but his hopes of an alliance with 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. Following the start of the War of Liberation in

3828-511: Was made a lieutenant general. 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 's corps. With

3894-695: Was nicknamed Marschall Vorwärts ("Marshal Forward") by his soldiers because of his aggressive approach in warfare. Along with Paul von Hindenburg , he was the most highly decorated Prussian-German soldier in history: Blücher and Hindenburg are the only Prussian-German military officers to have been awarded the Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross . A statue once stood in the square that bore his name, Blücherplatz , in Breslau (today Wrocław). Blücher

3960-706: Was over, Blücher and I met at "La Maison Rouge". The evidence is therefore decisive (as we had previously remarked) that La Maison Rouge was the real place of meeting, but the distance from La Maison Rouge to La Belle Alliance is inconsiderable, and the Duke was returning towards La Belle Alliance when he met Blücher on the road. 50°40′6″N 4°24′49″E  /  50.66833°N 4.41361°E  / 50.66833; 4.41361 Gebhard Leberecht von Bl%C3%BCcher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher ( German pronunciation: [ˈɡɛphaʁt ˈleːbəʁɛçt fɔn ˈblʏçɐ] ; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), Graf (count), later elevated to Fürst (prince) von Wahlstatt ,

4026-451: Was part of a group of Prussian films released during the era. He was portrayed by Soviet actor Sergo Zakariadze in the 1970 Soviet-Italian film Waterloo . Blücher also has a boarding house named after him at Berkshire based Wellington College . The Blucher, as it is known, is a boys' house renowned for sporting and academic prowess. A popular German saying, ran wie Blücher gehen ("to charge like Blücher"), meaning that someone

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4092-479: Was promoted to general of the cavalry in 1849 and from 1850 to 1860 served as Prussian ambassador to the Kingdom of Hanover . In 1829 August Georg married Countess Klara Louise Auguste von Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg (1807-1858), daughter of Prince Franz Ludwig von Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg (1756-1827) and Countess Friederike von der Schulenburg-Kennerth (1779-1832). They had one son and two daughters: He received

4158-433: Was repeatedly ridden over by cavalry, his life saved only by the devotion of his aide-de-camp Count 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. In spite of Gneisenau's distrust of Wellington, he obeyed Blücher's last orders to direct

4224-477: Was that for more than a week after the battle of Laon, the Army of Silesia... played no useful role in the war". After this, Blücher infused some of his energy into the operations of the Prince Schwarzenberg 's Army of Bohemia , and at last this army and the Army of Silesia marched in one body directly towards Paris. The victory of Montmartre , the entry of the allies into the French capital, and

4290-444: Was to be said later among the Prussian military that Blücher established "a Prussian way of war" that had abiding influence: The key to this way of war was Blücher’s concept of victory. Like Napoleon, he placed tremendous emphasis on the decisive battle and achieving a decisive victory as quickly as possible at any cost. Also like Napoleon, he measured victory and defeat only in terms of battlefield results. Deviating very little from

4356-450: Was without issue, by his first marriage Blücher had seven children, of whom two sons and a daughter survived infancy: The marshal's grandson, Count Gebhard Bernhard von Blücher (1799–1875), was created Prince Blücher of Wahlstatt ( Serene Highness ) in the Kingdom of Prussia on 18 October 1861, a hereditary title in primogeniture , the other members of his branch bearing the title count or countess . In 1832, he bought Raduň Castle in

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