Count Neithardt von Gneisenau
Chief of Staff
Lieutenant-General
1760-1831
Gneisenau was a Prussian Lieutenant General
during the Napoleonic Era and was one of the chief organizers
of Napoleon's final defeat. He joined the Prussian army in 1786.
He fought at Jena and, as a major, won fame for his valiant defense
of Kolberg against the French. After Prussia had accepted the
harsh peace of Tilsit, Gneisenau worked with General von Scharnhorst
to modernize the army. Succeeding Scharnhorst as Chief of the
General Staff in June 1813, he was the principle strategist in
the War of Liberation; the plan of the Battle of Leipzig was mostly
his work. He was Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Army,
Blucher. It was this team combination that would help lead to
the final defeat of Napoleon. At the Battle of Ligny, when Blucher
was presumed to be dead or captured, Gneisenau chose Wavre to
fall back to, instead of separating himself from allies he didn't
trust completely. This gave Blucher the position he needed to
support Wellington at Waterloo the next day. He retired from active
service in 1816, when the need for military reform had passed.
He returned to lead an expedition against the Polish insurrection
as Field Marshal Gneisenau. He was killed in the confrontation.
