Daniil Alexandrovich Gershtenzweig ( German: Daniel Waldemar Gerstenzweig-Enchminski ; 1790 - 1848 ) - artillery general, artillery commander of the Guards Corps .
| Daniil Aleksandrovich Gershntsveig | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of General Daniil Alexandrovich Gershtenzweig | |
| Date of Birth | 1790 |
| Date of death | August 14, 1848 |
| Affiliation |  Russian empire |
| Type of army | artillery |
| Rank | artillery general |
| Commanded | Guards and grenadier artillery of a separate Lithuanian corps, artillery of the Guards Corps |
| Battles / wars | War of the third coalition , Fifth Coalition War Overseas campaigns of 1813 and 1814 , Polish campaign of 1830 |
| Awards and prizes |
|
Biography
The son of an officer in the Polish army, came from a Polish noble family of German descent (Gerstentsveig-Enchminskie) and was born in 1790.
In 1805, he joined the guards artillery battalion as a junker and took part in the first campaign against Napoleon . Produced in 1807 as second lieutenant in the Moscow (3rd) Reserve Artillery Brigade, he participated in the campaign against Austria in 1809 and in the Patriotic War of 1812 . For the difference in the battles of Smolensk , Borodin and Maloyaroslavets (here he was wounded and shell-shocked, but remained in service) Gershtenzweig was awarded the orders of St. Anne of the 4th degree and St. 4th degree Vladimir with a bow and the rank of lieutenant.
In May 1813 he was transferred to the guards horse artillery and with the 1st battery he participated in the war for the liberation of Europe , and he was in seven battles and especially distinguished himself at Fer-Champenoise , for which he received a golden saber with the inscription "For courage" and the Prussian Order of Pour le mérite .
In 1814, Gerstenzweig was appointed commander of the semi-battery of the guards horse artillery, which was part of the troops that were in Warsaw under the command of Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich . Gerstentsveig was obliged to take every care to ensure that his semi-battery, composed of “excellent officers, lower ranks and horses”, was “exemplary” and served as an example for both Russian and formed Polish troops.
In December 1816, he was promoted to colonel and a few months later was appointed commander of the guards horse artillery battery, and in March 1818 he became commander of the guards light battery No. 3 and guards foot battery company No. 5. The Gershtenzweig equestrian battery stood out with “correct and fast movements "," Art in learning "and set perfectly shooting.
In 1821, he was appointed brigade commander of the guards and grenadier artillery of the Lithuanian Corps, and in 1823 he was appointed chief of the guards artillery of the reserve corps of troops under the command of the prince.
Produced on April 27, 1826 as Major General , Gershtenzweig on December 19, 1829 received the Order of St. George 4th degree for the immaculate length of service for 25 years in officer ranks (No. 4319 according to the list of Grigorovich - Stepanov) and in the same year - the Order of St. Stanislav 1st degree. In the next, he was appointed on duty general of the main headquarters of Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich.
When an uprising broke out in Poland and the prince left Warsaw, on November 30, Gershtenzweig brought six guns from the town of Gury to him and persuaded him, as Mokhnatsky tells in his Notes, to use artillery to pacify the city. Relating to Gershtenzweig with great confidence, the Cesarevich agreed with him, but then the opinion of the adjutant Cesarevich, Count Vladislav Zamoysky , prevailed, proving that the convenient moment had already been missed and that the buckshot could not delay the course of the revolution.
In 1831, Gerstenzweig participated in hostilities against Polish rebels and was awarded the orders: Anna of the 1st degree - for the battle at the village of Egan and St. Vladimir of the 2nd degree - for the case at the place Ratsionzh, where he was shell-shocked in the neck. March 22, 1831 he was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree (No. 423 according to the cavalier lists )
| In retaliation for the excellent courage and courage shown in the battle against the Polish rebels on February 13, 1831 at Grochow, where, commanding horse and artillery companies No. 17, 18, 19 and 20, he showed art and prudence in the quick action of this artillery, which contributed to the perfect defeat the enemy. |
During the Polish war, Gerstenzweig was entrusted with arranging a ferry for the armies near the village of Tyrczyn and providing it, fortifying Lomza , covering with the detachment of the right flank of the army, opening communications with the detachment of General Ridiger and forced persecution of the enemy, building a bridge in the area of Kalwaria and others; for the excellent execution of these orders, he was promoted to lieutenant general on June 10 (according to other sources - October 18). He also received the Polish Distinction for Military Dignity ( Virtuti Militari ) 2nd degree.
At the end of the war, Gerstenzweig was appointed chief of artillery of a separate guard corps , and in 1835 - commander of the combined cavalry corps. In this position, he managed the Novorossiysk military settlements, which owed him successful experience in setting up gardens and planting forests. In 1837 he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle .
In 1845, Gershtenzweig received the rank of general from artillery and in 1847 - the order of St. Vladimir 1st degree.
In 1848, he was entrusted with command of the troops (6 divisions), which, by agreement with the Turkish government, were supposed to suppress the unrest that had arisen in Moldova . Soon a severe health disorder was reflected in his mental state: a mistake in the execution of the Highest Command regarding the transfer of troops through the Prut led Gerstentszweig to such despair that he asked for his dismissal from command. After receiving leave, he went to Russia and on the way, in the town of Leove , in Bessarabia , being in quarantine observance on the occasion of cholera, under the influence of a difficult moral condition, shot himself on August 14, 1848.
Contemporaries left the most controversial memories of Gerstenzweig as a man: according to his former adjutant Mikhail Zolotaryov, he was one of the most educated military generals of his time. As a humane boss, encouraging the initiative of subordinates and not allowing himself to interfere in their orders, Gerstentszweig never created torment for the units he inspected; his shows, as Zolotarev testifies, never lasted more than an hour, and the horse exercises were truly exemplary and were carried out with remarkable speed. Gershtenzweig especially severely pursued the beating of a soldier: “By beating you will not learn, but you will spoil,” Zolotarev tells Gershtenzweig.
The author of the article in “Russian Antiquity” about the last Polish unrest, hiding under the pseudonym “Witness”, on the contrary, draws him as an Arakcheyev in the full meaning of the word, an ardent champion of the old system of treating soldiers.
Gerstentszweig was married to the daughter of the Polish general Madalinsky , an associate of Kostyushka . Their son Alexander was the Warsaw Military Governor General and in 1861, as a result of a quarrel with the Warsaw governor Count Lambert , also shot himself.
Sources
- Gerstentsveig, Danila Alexandrovich // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
- Zolotarev M. “Generals Danila Alexandrovich and Alexander Danilovich Gershntsveigi” // “Russian Antiquity”, 1874, vol. XI, p. 544-549
- Oreus I. Description of the Hungarian War of 1849 St. Petersburg, 1880.
- Witness “Generals of Gershtenzweigi” // “Russian Antiquity”, 1874, vol. XI, p. 724-726.
- Savchenko P. History of the 1st Horse-Artillery Battery
- List to the generals by seniority . Fixed on June 20th. SPb., 1840
- Trofimovsky I. “Suicide of Herstentszweig father. 1848 ”//“ Russian Antiquity ”, 1876, vol. XVI, p. 203.
- Chulkov N.P. Gershntsveig, Daniil Aleksandrovich // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
- Encyclopedia of Military and Naval Sciences , edited by G. A. Leer. T. II. SPb., 1885