Marshal Blücher
Erich Eyck looks at the battles fought - and won - by Napoleon's Prussian nemisis.
Captain von Blücher can go to the devil!” This was Frederick the 'Great’s angry reply in 1773 to the petition in which Blücher,- vexed by slights to his pride, had demanded his retirement from the Prussian Army. When the same Blücher reached the end of his days, he was a field-marshal of this army; he had been raised by his king to the rank of a Prince Blücher of Wahlstadt, he was celebrated by his soldiers in word and song as Marshal Vorwarts - Marshal Forward - and the inscription on the monument which the grateful nation erected to him came from the pen of no less a poet than Goethe.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
