Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf
Friedrich Emil Ferdinand Heinrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf (
April 9,
1762 -
February 17,
1823), born and died in
Berlin, was a
Prussian field marshal and a member of the old
junker family
von Kleist.
He entered the Prussian army in
1778. He served in
War of the Bavarian Succession. He served in the
French Revolutionary Wars. By
1799, Kleist had been promoted to major and was put in command of a batallion of grenadiers.
Kleist served in the Napoleonic Wars and fought at
Jena. In
1807 he went on extended leave but by
1808 he was put in command of an infantry brigade and the next year he was made commandant of Berlin. During the
War of Liberation he was given a corps with which he fought in the battles of
Kulm and
Leipzig. In
1814, he was given the title
count of Nollendorf for his decisive role in this battle.
After Leipzig, Kleist blockaded the fortress of
Erfurt and in early
1814 he marched his troops into
France where his corps was attached to Blücher's army. He then fought in the battle of
Laon and in the attack on
Paris. At the end of the war Kleist was promoted to the rank of
General der Infanterie. During the
Hundred Days, Kleist was given command of a Prussian corps which was to operate independently from
Blücher's
Army of the Lower Rhine, he was therefore not involved in the battles of
Ligny and
Waterloo.
Two years before his death he was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
