Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
| Leopold I | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Anhalt-Dessau | |
 |
|
| Prince of Anhalt-Dessau | |
| Reign | 7 August 1693 – 7 April 1747 |
| Predecessor | John George II |
| Successor | Leopold II |
| Born | 3 July 1676 Dessau, Anhalt-Dessau |
| Died | 7 April 1747 (aged 70) Dessau, Anhalt-Dessau |
| Spouse | Anna Louise Föhse |
| Issue |
William Gustav, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Prince Dietrich, later Regent Prince Frederick Henry Eugen Princess Henriette Marie Louise Louise, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg Prince Maurice Princess Anna Wilhelmine Leopoldine Marie, Margravine of Brandenburg-Schwedt Princess Henriette Amalie John Georg Henry von Berenhorst Karl Franz von Berenhorst |
| House | Ascania |
| Father | John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau |
| Mother | Henriette Catherine of Nassau |
Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (3 July 1676 – 7 April 1747) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1747. He was also a Generalfeldmarschall in the Prussian army. Nicknamed "the Old Dessauer" (German: der alte Dessauer), he possessed good abilities as a field commander, but was mainly remembered as a talented drillmaster who modernized the Prussian infantry.
Elected by Frederick I to the rank of field marshal in 1712, Leopold distinguished himself for his success during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was later appointed the commander of the Prussian-Saxon army during the Great Northern War against Sweden. Leopold was a personal friend of Frederick William I. The last great achievement of his military career was commanding the Prussian troops to victory over the Saxons at the Battle of Kesselsdorf in 1745 during the Second Silesian War.
Leopold was born in Dessau as the ninth of ten children (and the younger of only two sons) of John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Henriette Catherine, daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. An older brother had died well before Leopold was born.
From his earliest youth he devoted himself to military pursuits, for which he educated himself both physically and mentally. He became colonel of a Prussian regiment in 1693, and in the same year inherited his own principality; for the remainder of his long life, he performed the duties of a sovereign prince and a Prussian officer simultaneously.
Leopold's first campaign was that of 1695 in the Netherlands, in which he was present at the Siege of Namur. He remained in the field to the end of the war of 1697, the affairs of the principality being managed chiefly by his mother, the Dowager Princess Henriette Katharina (in fact, she had been acting as regent since the death of his father until he reached adulthood the same year, but continued in charge of the government of Anhalt-Dessau for some time after he attained his majority).
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