View source for Karl Freiherr von Müffling

{{Short description|German general and cartographer (1775–1851)}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = ''[[Freiherr]]''
| name          = Karl von Müffling
| image         = WP Karl von Muffling.jpg
| caption       = Karl von Muffling, {{circa}}1837
| nickname      = ''Weiss''
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1775|6|12|df=y}}
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1851|1|10|1775|6|12|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]]
| death_place   = [[Berlin]], Kingdom of Prussia
| allegiance    = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]]
| branch        = {{army|Kingdom of Prussia}}
| serviceyears  = 1787–1847
| rank          = [[File:Generalfeldmarschall (Prussia) - Full dress.gif|25px|alt=Mariscal prussià]] {{lang|de|[[Generalfeldmarschall#Kingdom of Prussia and German Empire|Generalfeldmarshall]]}}
| battles       = [[War of the First Coalition]]
| awards        = [[Iron Cross]]<br />[[Pour le Mérite]] (military)<br />[[Order of the Black Eagle]]
}}
'''Friedrich Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Müffling''', nicknamed '''Weiss''' (12 June 1775{{snd}}10 January 1851), was a [[Prussia]]n ''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]''<ref>{{German title Freiherr}}</ref> and military theorist. He served as [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]]'s liaison officer in [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]]'s headquarters during the [[Battle of Waterloo]] and was one of the organizers of the final victory over [[Napoleon]]. After the wars he served a diplomatic role at the [[Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818)|Congress of Aix-la-Chappelle]] and was a major contributor to the development of the [[Prussian General Staff]] as Chief. Müffling also specialized in military [[topography]] and [[cartography]].

==Biography==
Born in [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]], Müffling entered the Prussian army in 1790.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1799 Müffling contributed to a military dictionary edited by Lieutenant W. von Leipziger, and in the winter of 1802–1803, being then a [[subaltern (rank)|subaltern]], he was appointed to the newly formed general staff as quartermaster-lieutenant. He had already done survey work, and was now charged with survey duties under the astronomer [[Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach]] (1754–1832). In 1805, when in view of a war with [[France]] the army was placed on a war footing, Müffling was promoted captain and assigned to the general staffs, successively, of General von Wartensleben, [[Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen]] and [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1806 Müffling served under Hohenlohe, [[Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach]], and Blücher, and was included in the capitulation of the latter's corps at [[Ratekau]] on 7 November 1806, the day after the [[Battle of Lübeck]]. After this he entered the civil service of the Duke of Weimar. He rejoined the army on the outbreak of the [[German Campaign of 1813]], and was placed on the headquarters staff of the Army of Silesia.

The death of [[Gerhard von Scharnhorst]] from a wound received at [[Battle of Lützen (1813)|Lützen]] forced a reorganization of the Prussian Army's command. [[August von Gneisenau]] succeeded Scharnhorst as Chief of Staff to Blucher. Müffling in turn was appointed as his deputy (''Generalquartiermeister''), although Gneisenau would have preferred [[Carl von Clausewitz]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Müffling |first1=Friedrich Freiherr von |title=Passages from my life: together with memoirs of the campaign of 1813 and 1814 |date=1852 |publisher=R Bently |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Gj4KAAAAIAAJ/page/n70 57]–58 |edition=2 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Gj4KAAAAIAAJ |accessdate=30 July 2018}}</ref>

His business qualities and common sense were greatly valued, though the temperamental differences between Müffling and Gneisenau often led to friction, especially as the former was in a measure the representative of the antiquated topographical school of strategists, to whom (rightly in the main) the disaster of the [[Battle of Jena]] was attributed. In the interval between the first occupation of [[Paris]] and the [[Hundred Days]], Müffling served as chief of the staff to the Russian General [[Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly]] and to General [[Friedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf]]. He was Prussian commissioner at the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington's]] headquarters in the [[Waterloo campaign]], and was involved in the various controversies which centred round the events at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] on 18 June 1815.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

After the final fall of [[Napoleon]] Müffling was a signatory to the [[Convention of St. Cloud]] and later served on the staff of the Army of Occupation in France. For some months he was military governor of Paris. He spent a part of his time on the [[Rhine]] in survey work, and was employed by King [[Frederick William III]] in various diplomatic missions. In 1821 he became chief of the general staff at Berlin, and though he has been accused of indulging his taste for topographical work at the expense of training for war, his work was not wasted, for he gave an excellent organization to the general staff, and executed elaborate and useful surveys. In 1829 he visited [[Constantinople]] and [[St Petersburg]] in connection with negotiations for peace between Russia and [[Turkey]]. He took a prominent part in the military and civil history of Prussia, and from 1838 to 1847 was governor of Berlin. He was also the inventor of a system of [[Hachure map|hachuring]] for maps. Failing health compelled his retirement in the latter year, and he died on 10 January 1851, at his estate of Ringhofen.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Works==
Under the initials of C(arl) von W(eiss), Muffling wrote various important works on military art and history:{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
*''Operations plan der preuss-sächs. Armee 1800'' (Weimar, 1807)
*marginalia on the archduke Charles's ''Grundsätze der höheren Kriegskunst für die Generäle der österreichischen Armee''
*marginalia on Rühle von Lilienstern's ''Bericht über die Vorgänge bei der Hohenloheschen Armee 1806''
*''Die preussisch-russische Kampagne bis zum Waffenstillstande 1813'' (Berlin, 1813)
*''Geschichte der Armeen unter Wellington und Blücher 1819'' (Stuttgart, 1817)
*''Zur Kriegsgesch. der Jahre 1813-1814: die Feldzüge der schlesischen Armee von des Beendigung des Waffenstillstandes bis zur Eroberung von Paris'' (Berlin, 1824)
*''Betrachtungen über die grossen Operationen und Schlachten 1813-1815'' (Berlin, 1825)
*''Napoleons Strategie 1813'' (Berlin, 1827)
*an essay on the Roman roads on the lower Rhine (Berlin, 1834).

His reminiscences:
* ''Aus meinem Leben'' (Berlin, 1851).
* ''Narrative of my Missions to Constantinople and St. Petersburg, in the Years 1829 and 1830'' (London, 1855); translated by [[David Jardine (barrister)|David Jardine]].

==Orders and decorations==
{{columns-list|colwidth=25em|
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} [[Kingdom of Prussia]]:<ref name="rangliste">{{citation|title=Rangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee|year=1849|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062311249&view=1up&seq=116&skin=2021 108]|location=Berlin|publisher=Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn|language=German|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
** [[Iron Cross]] (1813), 1st Class
** [[Pour le Mérite]] (military), with Oak Leaves, ''3 June 1814''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lehmann|first1=Gustaf|title=Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913|year=1913|trans-title=The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite|lang=de|url=https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN135808618|page=260|volume=2|location=Berlin|publisher=[[E.S. Mittler & Sohn|Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn]]}}</ref>
** Service Award Cross
** Knight of the [[Order of the Black Eagle]], ''18 November 1829''; in Diamonds, ''15 October 1840''<ref>{{citation|title=Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler|year=1851|language=German|chapter=Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm III. ernannte Ritter|page=[https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10362193?page=29 19]|location=Berlin|publisher=Decker}}</ref>
* {{flag|Austrian Empire}}: Knight of the [[Military Order of Maria Theresa]], ''1814''<ref>{{citation|chapter=Ritter-Orden: Militärischer Maria-Theresien-Orden|chapter-url=https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1848&size=45&page=205|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Kaiserthumes Österreich|date=1848|access-date=27 November 2021|page=13}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Pavillon royal de France.svg}} [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Kingdom of France]]: Commander of the [[Order of Military Merit (France)|Military Merit Order]]<ref name="rangliste"/>
* {{flag|Grand Duchy of Hesse}}: Grand Cross of the [[Ludwig Order]]<ref name="rangliste"/>
* {{flag|Netherlands}}: Commander of the [[Military William Order]], ''22 March 1819''<ref name="Military William Order01">{{cite web|url=https://www.defensie.nl/onderwerpen/onderscheidingen/dapperheidsonderscheidingen/databank-dapperheidsonderscheidingen/1819/03/22/muffling-f-k-f-baron-von |title=Militaire Willems-Orde: Muffling, F.K.F. Baron von|trans-title=Military William Order: Muffling, F.K.F. Baron von|website=Ministerie van Defensie|language=Dutch|access-date=27 November 2021|date=22 March 1819}}</ref>
* {{flag|Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the White Falcon]], ''6 October 1817''<ref>{{citation|title=Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogthum Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach|year=1846|chapter=Großherzogliche Hausorden|page=[https://zs.thulb.uni-jena.de/rsc/viewer/jportal_derivate_00285404/Staatshandbuch_Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach_1846_0020.tif?logicalDiv=jportal_jpvolume_00095962 10]|location=Weimar|publisher=Böhlau|language=German}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}}: Honorary Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]] (military division), ''20 October 1815''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shaw|first1=William Arthur|author-link1=William Arthur Shaw|year=1906|title=The Knights of England|volume=1|location=London|publisher=Sharrett & Hughes|pages= [https://archive.org/details/cu31924092537418/page/228/mode/2up 228]}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Hanover}}: Grand Cross of the [[Royal Guelphic Order]], ''1825''<ref>{{cite book|author=Staat Hannover|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1850|chapter=Königliche Orden|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ5jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP7|year=1850|publisher=Berenberg|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ5jAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA55 55]|language=German|location=Hannover}}</ref>
* {{flag|Russian Empire}}:<ref name="rangliste"/>
** Knight of the [[Order of St. George]], 4th Class, ''10 December 1813'';<ref>{{cite book|title=Almanach de la cour: pour l'année ... 1817|year=1817|publisher=l'Académie Imp. des Sciences|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZpKAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA140 140]}}</ref> 3rd Class, ''25 January 1817''
** Knight of the [[Order of St. Vladimir]], 1st Class, ''1829''<ref name="Deutsche Biographie">[http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118584693.html Deutsche Biographie, Müffling, Karl]</ref>
** Knight of the [[Order of St. Alexander Nevsky]], in Diamonds, ''1830''<ref name="Deutsche Biographie"/>
** Knight of the [[Order of St. Andrew]], in Diamonds, ''8 October 1838''
** Knight of the [[Order of St. Anna]], 1st Class in Diamonds
}}

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}

*{{EB1911|wstitle=Müffling, Friedrich Karl Ferdinand, Freiherr von|volume=18|page=955}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | before=[[Johann Rühle von Lilienstern]] | title=[[German General Staff|Chief of the Prussian General Staff]] | years=1821&ndash;1829 | after=[[Wilhelm von Krauseneck]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muffling, Friedrich Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von}}
[[Category:1775 births]]
[[Category:1851 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Halle (Saale)]]
[[Category:People from the Duchy of Magdeburg]]
[[Category:People of the Battle of Waterloo]]
[[Category:Field marshals of Prussia]]
[[Category:German barons]]
[[Category:Prussian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:German male writers]]
[[Category:German cartographers]]
[[Category:19th-century German inventors]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1813)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)]]
[[Category:Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (France)]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Military Order of William]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Members of the Prussian State Council (1817-1918)]]
[[Category:Scholars from the Kingdom of Prussia]]