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Napoleon & Empire

Levin August von Bennigsen

Count, Order of St. George of the First Degree, Order of St. Andrew, Order of St. Alexander Nevski

Arms of Levin August von Bennigsen (1745-1826)

Levin August Gottlieb Theophil von Bennigsen was born on February 10, 1745 in Brunswick, Electorate of Hanover, into a family with a military tradition (his father was a colonel in the Guards, and his great-grandfather was Field Marshal Hans Adam von Schöning).

An officer from an early age, he was captain at the battle of Freiberg in 1763, during the final campaign of the Seven Years' War.

In 1773, destitute after apparently squandering his inheritance, he joined the Russian army as commander of a light cavalry regiment, and took part in the Russo-Turkish War. He rose through the ranks to become a cavalry general.

Victorious over the Poles from 1792 to 1794, then over the Persians in 1796, he was showered with honors (Order of St. George, Order of St. Alexander Nevsky) by Tsarina Catherine II.

Dismissed under Emperor Paul I in 1798, he played a leading role in the plot that led to the latter's assassination in 1801. On the accession of his successor Alexander I, he returned to service, serving in the Lithuanian government in Wilna [Vilnius].

During the campaign against the French in 1805, he was given command, but was unable to arrive in time for the battle of Austerlitz.

The following year, he fought in Poland, failed to cover Warsaw and was forced to abandon it to the French.

Appointed general-in-chief of the Russian army in January 1807, he led operations at the battles of Pułtusk and Preußisch-Eylau, where he was defeated despite his strategic acumen and constant offensive spirit. However, presenting this battle to the Tsar as a Russian victory, he was rewarded with a promotion to the Order of St. George.

Still at the head of the Russian troops at the battle of Friedland, he was presented to Napoleon I by the Tsar at the Tilsitt interview, but was dismissed on July 9, 1807.

It wasn't until May 1812 that he was recalled, but Mikhaïl Kutuzov was preferred to him as General-in-Chief. At the Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812, he commanded the center of the Russian army. On October 18, 1812, he defeated Murat at Tarutino, but was wounded in the leg. Chronically at odds with Kutuzov, he was dismissed again at the end of 1812.

In 1813, he was again given command of the Russian army. He fought at Lützen, Bautzen and Leipzig (battle of the Nations, where he was made a count by the Tsar on the battlefield), then laid siege to Torgau, Magdeburg and finally Hamburg, where Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout had taken refuge with considerable forces. However, he was unable to obtain the Prince d'Eckmühl's surrender, and had to wait until the latter, on learning of Louis XVIII's entry into Paris, voluntarily evacuated the city before being able to invest it. He was rewarded with another promotion to the Order of St. George.

He then served as General-in-Chief on the Russian-Turkish border, and in Poland and Berlin during the Hundred Days.

He ended his career in the government of southern Russia, then near Hamburg, where he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor by Louis XVIII in May 1816.

He died on his estate in Banteln, Hanover, on October 3, 1826, after 81 years of a full life.

"Count Levin August von Bennigsen", by George Dawe (St James's, Westminster 1781 - Kentish Town 1829).

"Count Levin August von Bennigsen", by George Dawe (St James

His son Alexander von Bennigsen (1809-1893) was later Prime Minister of the Electorate of Hanover.

All dates on this page are in the Gregorian calendar (then eleven and then twelve days ahead of the Julian calendar in use in Russia at the time).

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Levin August von Bennigsen (1745-1826)
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"Count Levin August von Bennigsen". Engraving by Salvator Cardelli (?-?).