Gneisenau, August (Wilhelm Anton), Count Neidhardt von

Gneisenau, August (Wilhelm Anton), Count Neidhardt von
born Oct. 27, 1760, Schildau, near Torgau, Saxony
died Aug. 23, 1831, Posen, Prussia

Prussian field marshal and military reformer.

Along with Gerhard J.D. von Scharnhorst, he remolded the Prussian army shattered by Napoleon (1806) from a mercenary force into an instrument of modern warfare, introducing universal military service. In 1811–12 he traveled on secret missions to negotiate a new war against Napoleon, which was renewed in 1813. As chief of staff to Gebhard von Blücher, he planned Prussian, and sometimes Russian, strategy. Gneisenau's insistence on the decisive battle and relentless pursuit proved successful at the Battle of Waterloo.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Gneisenau, August, Count Neidhardt von — ▪ Prussian field marshal in full  August Wilhelm Anton, Graf Neidhardt Von Gneisenau   born Oct. 27, 1760, Schildau, near Torgau, Saxony [Germany] died Aug. 23, 1831, Posen, Prussia [now Poznań, Poland]       Prussian field marshal and reformer,… …   Universalium

  • von — /von/; Ger. /fawn/, unstressed /feuhn/, prep. from; of (used in German and Austrian personal names, originally to indicate place of origin and later to indicate nobility): Paul von Hindenburg. * * * (as used in expressions) Friedrich Leopold… …   Universalium

  • Wilhelm — /wil helm/; Ger. /vil helm/, n. a male given name, German form of William. * * * (as used in expressions) Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Baeyer Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Bessel Friedrich Wilhelm Hermann Wilhelm Brandt Bunsen Robert Wilhelm… …   Universalium

  • august — augustly, adv. augustness, n. /aw gust /, adj. 1. inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic: an august performance of a religious drama. 2. venerable; eminent: an august personage. [1655 65; < L augustus sacred,… …   Universalium

  • August — /aw geuhst/, n. 1. the eighth month of the year, containing 31 days. Abbr.: Aug. 2. a male given name, form of Augustus. [bef. 1100; ME < L Augustus (named after AUGUSTUS); r. OE Agustus < L, as above] * * * (as used in expressions) Arrhenius… …   Universalium

  • Anton — /an ton, teuhn/, n. a male given name, form of Anthony. * * * (as used in expressions) Bruckner Josef Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Denikin Anton Ivanovich Dolin Sir Anton Anton Herman Gerard Fokker Frisch Ragnar Anton Kittil Gneisenau August… …   Universalium

  • count — count1 /kownt/, v.t. 1. to check over (the separate units or groups of a collection) one by one to determine the total number; add up; enumerate: He counted his tickets and found he had ten. 2. to reckon up; calculate; compute. 3. to list or name …   Universalium

  • Germany — /jerr meuh nee/, n. a republic in central Europe: after World War II divided into four zones, British, French, U.S., and Soviet, and in 1949 into East Germany and West Germany; East and West Germany were reunited in 1990. 84,068,216; 137,852 sq.… …   Universalium

  • Prussia — /prush euh/, n. a former state in N Europe: became a military power in the 18th century and in 1871 led the formation of the German empire; formally abolished as an administrative unit in 1947. German, Preussen. Cf. East Prussia, West Prussia. *… …   Universalium

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