Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz
| Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Lion of Nachod |
| Born |
27 December 1796 Eisenach, Thuringia |
| Died | 2 August 1877 (aged 80) Bad Landeck, Silesia (now Lądek-Zdrój, Poland) |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of Prussia German Empire
|
| Service/branch | Prussian Army |
| Years of service | 1813–1871 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Commands held |
II Corps V Corps First Army |
| Battles/wars |
Napoleonic Wars First Schleswig War Austro-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War |
| Awards |
Pour le Mérite Order of the Black Eagle Order of the Red Eagle Iron Cross |
Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz (27 December 1796 – 2 August 1877) was a German Generalfeldmarschall. He was born at Eisenach and joined the army of Prussia during the War of Liberation. Over the Seven Weeks' War he led the V Corps against Austria and became known as the Lion of Nachod for his victories as the Battles of Nachod, Skalitz, and Schweinschädel. Steinmetz commanded one of three armies assembled on the Rhine for the Franco-Prussian War, during which he quarreled with Prince Friedrich Karl. After the war he retired.
Steinmetz was born at Eisenach on 27 December 1796 and was educated at the cadet school of Stolp in Pomerania from 1807 to 1811, in the midst of the misery and poverty caused by the French occupation. At the outbreak of the War of Liberation he and his elder brother made their way through the French positions to Breslau, where they were at once appointed to the army, the elder as ensign on probation, the younger to the substantive rank of second lieutenant. After a vain attempt to transfer to the Blücher Hussars, a regiment he had an intense boyish admiration for when it was quartered at Stolp, he was ordered to report to General Yorck, who treated him and the other officers from Breslau with coldness, until Steinmetz asked about returning to the king who had sent him.
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