Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick | |
---|---|
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick
|
|
Birth name | Ferdinand von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel |
Born | 12 January 1721 Wolfenbüttel, Brunswick-Lüneburg |
Died | 3 July 1792 Brunswick, Brunswick-Lüneburg |
(aged 71)
Allegiance |
Prussia (1740-1757) Hanover (1757-1763) |
Rank | Field Marshal |
Battles/wars |
War of the Austrian Succession * Battle of Mollwitz * Battle of Chotusitz * Battle of Soor Seven Years' War * Battle of Lobositz * Battle of Prague (1757) * Battle of Rossbach * Battle of Rheinberg * Battle of Kreffeld * Battle of Minden * Battle of Warburg * Battle of Kloster Kampen * Battle of Villinghausen * Battle of Wilhelmsthal * 2nd Battle of Lutterberg * Siege of Cassel (1762) |
Ferdinand, Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (12 January 1721, Wolfenbüttel – 3 July 1792, Vechelde), was a German-Prussian field marshal (1758–1766) known for his participation in the Seven Years' War. From 1757 to 1762 he led an Anglo-German army in Western Germany which successfully repelled French attempts to occupy Hanover.
The fourth son of Ferdinand Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Ferdinand joined the Prussian army as a colonel in 1740. He was present in the battles of Mollwitz and Chotusitz. After Margrave Wilhelm of Brandenburg was killed at Prague in 1744, Ferdinand received command of Frederick the Great's Leibgarde battalion, and at the Battle of Soor (1745) he distinguished himself greatly, especially in the assault of a steep hill, that incidentally was defended by his older brother duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He took part in the Second Silesian War before leading part of the invasion of Saxony and Bohemia in 1756 during the Seven Years' War. He participated in the Battle of Rossbach, and then became commander of the allied Hanoverian army.