Wobersnow, Moritz Franz Kasimir von
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Wobersnow, Moritz Franz Kasimir von
Prussian Adjutant (1752-57), Major-General (1757-57)
born March 5, 1708, Kamissow, Pomerania, Prussia
died July 23, 1759, Paltzig, Prussia
Description
Moritz Franz Kasimir von Wobersnow was born in in 1708 in Pomerania. He was the son of Moritz Georg von Wobersnow and Anne Elisabeth Manteuffel
In 1723, Wobersnow joined the Infanterie Regiment Grumbkow.
On November 11, 1728, Wobersnow was promoted to ensign in Infanterie Regiment Grumbkow.
On April 7, 1733, Wobersnow was promoted to lieutenant in Infanterie Regiment Grumbkow.
On June 15, 1740, Wobersnow was promoted to captain in Infanterie Regiment Grumbkow. He served with this regiment during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48).
On July 4, 1747, Wobersnow was promoted to major in Infanterie Regiment du Moulin.
On February 23, 1752, Wobersnow was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in Infanterie Regiment du Moulin and appointed adjutant of King Frederick II, a charge which included the supervision of the Jäger zu Pferde.
On June 17, 1755, Wobersnow was promoted to colonel in Infanterie Regiment du Moulin.
In 1756, at the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War, Wobersnow accompanied Frederick as his adjutant-general.
On May 6, 1757, during the invasion of Bohemia, Wobersnow took part in the Battle of Prague, where he was wounded. However, he soon recovered. On November 5, he was present at the Battle of Rossbach. On December 5, he was at the Battle of Leuthen. On December 7, he was promoted to major-general for his conduct.
On August 25, 1758, Wobersnow was present at the Battle of Zorndorf. After this battle, when Frederick returned to Saxony with part of his troops, he left Wobersnow with Lieutenant-General Count Dohna as adviser. In September, he drove back the Russians up to Landsberg (present-day Gorzów Wielkopolski) on the Warthe.
In February 1759, Frederick charged Wobersnow to lead an incursion against Russian magazines in Poland, a task that he accomplished with skill and prudence. A few months later, he was charged to observe the movements of the Russians in Poland but he was immediately recalled to Lusatia with his detachment. At the beginning of June, Frederick sent him once more to act as adviser to Dohna. On Jun5, Wobersnow arrived at Dohna’s headquarters in Stargard in Farther Pomerania. He was generally regarded as a very active general and was highly regarded in the army. His posting as a counselor to Dohna, whose operations against the Russians were of great importance to Frederick, also shows that the king had a special trust in Wobersnow's military capabilities. Dohna's campaign in Poland was not fortunate and Frederick became very unsatisfied of his and Wobersnow’s performance, even though the latter had scrupulously done his full duty. Despite the failure caused by peculiar circumstances, one can see from various signs that Wobersnow rose well above the average of the generals of that time. In any case, he did not deserve the king's hurtful rebuke. Undeterred, Wobersnow faithfully devoted himself to the king, continuing his duty to the best of his knowledge. On July 23, he was killed in action in the Battle of Paltzig while leading a last attack in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle.
References
Grosser Generalstab Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung II: Die Kriege Friedrichs des Grossen, Part 3 Der siebenjährige Krieg 1756-1763, Vol. 10 Kunersdorf, Berlin, 1912, Anhang 10
Other sources
German Wikipedia - Moritz Franz Kasimir von Wobersnow
