Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow
| Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm Freiherr von Lützow | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
May 18, 1782 Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Died | December 6, 1834 (aged 52) |
| Allegiance | Prussian |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Prussian Army, Lützow Free Corps |
| Commands held | Lützow Free Corps |
Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm Freiherr von Lützow (18 May 1782 – 6 December 1834) was a Prussian lieutenant general notable for his organization and command of the Lützow Freikorps of volunteers during the Napoleonic Wars.
Lützow was born in Berlin on 18 May 1782. He came from the House of Mecklenburg; his father was a Prussian Major General, Johann Adolph von Lützow (1748–1819), and his mother was named Wilhelmine (née von Zastrow) (1754 to 1815).
Lützow first entered the Prussian Army in 1795, and eleven years later as a lieutenant took part in the disastrous battle of Auerstadt. He then achieved distinction in the siege of Kolberg, as the leader of a squadron of Schill's volunteers.
In 1808, as a major Lützow retired from the Prussian army, indignant at the humiliating treaty of Tilsit. He took part in the heroic venture of his old chief Schill in 1809; wounded at Dodendorf and left behind, he thereby escaped the fate of his comrades, many of whom were either killed at the Battle of Stralsund (1809) or were among the 12 officers executed at Napoleon's command in the aftermath. In Schöneiche he was hidden by the owner of the village in a little hunters' hut at the village border and there Lützow was able to recover from his wounds. Today the newer building made of stone is called "Lützow Haus" ("Lützow House") in commemoration of this episode.
In 1811, Lützow was recommissioned into the Prussian army as major, and at the outbreak of the German War of Liberation received permission from Scharnhorst to organize a free corps consisting of infantry, cavalry and Tirolese riflemen, for attacking flanks or in guerilla fighting in the French rear and rallying the smaller governments into the ranks of the allies. From their uniform, they were known as the "Black Troopers" or "Black Riflemen".
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