Commander of the Austro-Prussian army who issued the Brunswick Manifesto
On 25 July 1792 at Koblenz he issued a manifesto in his name warning that Paris and its people would face severe reprisals if the French royal family were harmed.
Ruling prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, a nephew of Frederick the Great and a Prussian field marshal, he took command of the combined Austrian and Prussian armies when war began in 1792. On 25 July he issued the Brunswick Manifesto at Koblenz; it bore his name, but the text is generally attributed to émigré circles. Meant to protect the king, the threat instead hardened feeling against the monarchy in Paris. He took Longwy and Verdun, then halted at Valmy on 20 September and withdrew from France. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Auerstedt in 1806.
Career timeline
1780Succeeded his father as ruling prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
1792As commander of the Austro-Prussian army he issued the Brunswick Manifesto on 25 July.
1792Took Longwy and Verdun, then halted at Valmy on 20 September and withdrew from France.
1806Commanded the Prussian army at Auerstedt, was mortally wounded and died at Ottensen on 10 November.
King of Prussia who signed the Declaration of Pillnitz and campaigned against France
In August 1791 he co-signed the Declaration of Pillnitz with Leopold II in support of the French king, and in 1792 he joined in person the campaign led by the Duke of Brunswick.
He succeeded his uncle Frederick II as King of Prussia in 1786 and, at home, turned away from his predecessor’s enlightened style towards tighter censorship and religious control. In reaction to the French Revolution he set aside the old rivalry with Austria: in August 1791 he joined Leopold II in the Declaration of Pillnitz, and a formal alliance followed in February 1792. He took part in person in the 1792 and 1793 campaigns against France, but was held back by lack of money while his advisers looked more to the partitions of Poland. He signed a separate peace with France at Basel in 1795 and died in 1797.
Career timeline
1786Became King of Prussia on the death of his uncle Frederick II.
1791Issued the Declaration of Pillnitz with Leopold II in August in support of the French king.
1792–1793Concluded a formal alliance with Austria in February 1792 and took part in person in the campaigns of 1792 and 1793 against France.
1793–1795Gained territory in the second and third partitions of Poland and made a separate peace with France at Basel in April 1795.