Herrman von Boyen
Leopold Hermann Ludwig von
Boyen (20 June 1771 – 15 February 1848) was a Prussian
army officer who helped to reform the Prussian Army in the early 19th
century. He also served as minister of war of Prussia in the
period 1 March 1841 – 6 October 1847.
Life
Born in
Kreuzburg
(today's Slavskoye, Russia
) in East Prussia, Boyen joined the army in 1784 in
Königsberg
. In 1788, as a newly-minted second
lieutenant, he took up a post in the military academy in
Königsberg, where he also attended some of the lectures of
Immanuel Kant.
From 1794-96, Boyen took part in the
Polish campaign as Adjutant to General
von Günther. In 1799, he became a Captain. He served in the war of
1806 on the General Staff of the
Duke of Brunswick,
and was wounded at the
Battle
of Auerstädt (14 October 1806). After the
Treaty of Tilsit (July 1807) he became a
Major and a member of
Gerhard
von Scharnhorst's commission for military
re-organisation.
By 1810 Boyen had become Director of the
Military Cabinet. In the
re-constitution of the Prussian army he functioned as Scharnhorst's
most diligent helper, but after the conclusion of the alliance
between Prussia and France in 1812 he resigned his commission as a
Colonel and visited Vienna and St Petersburg.
The events of 1813 saw
him recalled to the Prussian service: as a colonel he accompanied
the Russian army from its base in Kalisz
to Saxony
.
After the
Battle of
Lützen
(2 May 1813) he had charge of the border guards and
ultimately the defence of Berlin. But during the truce
King Frederick William
III named him Chief of General Staff of the 3rd Army Corps. As
such, Boyen participated in the battles and skirmishes of 1813 and
1814 and gained promotion to Major-General.
After the first
Peace of
Paris (30 May 1814) Boyen took up his appointment as
War Minister. He completed the
setting up of the
Landwehr reserve (begun during the war)
and in 1818 became a Lieutenant General. He struggled in vain
against growing reactionary forces which endangered the broad
popular base of the
Landwehr, and resigned in 1819.
The tomb of Boyen at the
Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin.
For 21 years Boyen lived in retirement, occupying himself with
historical studies, until
King Frederick William IV,
immediately after ascending the throne, recalled him to active
service, and promoted him to General of the Infantry. In March 1841
he once again took over the War Ministry, though without achieving
a great influence in the general political situation. He resigned
in November 1847, received the rank of
Field Marshal, and died on 15 February
1848.
The
King named the fortress of Lötzen
in East
Prussia after him.
Boyen's son, also named Hermann von Boyen, was General Adjutant to
the King. He retired a Governor of Berlin in 1879.
Hermann von Boyen was
buried at the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery
in Berlin
. The
former football club
Yorck Boyen
Insterburg was named in honor of Boyen.
Works
Hermann von Boyen wrote (among other works):
- Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Generals v.
Scharnhorst (1833)
- Erinnerungen aus dem Leben des Generalleutnants v.
Günther (1834).
- Vorwärts!: ein Husaren-Tagebuch und Feldzugsbriefe von
Gebhardt Leberecht von Blücher etc. (1914, diary during his
period under the Hussars)
- Gesammelte Schriften und Briefe / Blücher, Yorck,
Gneisenau; zusammengestellt und hrsg. von Edmund Th. Kauer (1932,
letters, including those to Yorck and Gneisenau)
- Kampagne-Journal der Jahre 1793 und 1794 (1796,
campaign journal)
He also wrote the song "Der Preußen Losung" (1838).
References
- K. A. Varnhagen von Ense: Leben
des Fürsten Blücher von Wahlstadt. Berlin: G. Reimer, 1826
(Biographische Denkmale; Th. 3) (Preussische biographische
Denkmale; 2)
- The life and campaigns of Field-Marshal Prince Blücher of
Wahlstatt translated in part from the German of Count Gneisenau ... London, 1815 (and
this is available in a reprint edition: London: Constable, 1996
ISBN 0-09-476640-1)
- Ernest F. Henderson: Blücher and the uprising of Prussia
against Napoleon, 1806-1815. New York: Putnam, 1911 (now
available in reprint: Aylesford: R. J. Leach, c1994 ISBN
1-873050-14-3)
- This article incorporates material from the 4th edition of
Meyers
Konversations-Lexikon.
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