Levin August von Bennigsen (10 February 1745-3 December 1826) was a general of the Russian Empire.
Biography[]
Bennigsen was a Hanoverian who fought in the Seven Years' War and served in the army of the Russian Empire from 1773. He fought against the Ottoman Empire, the Polish Rebels of Tadeusz Kosciuszko in 1794 and fought the Persians later that year. In 1798 he assisted in the conspiracy to kill King Paul I of Russia and he was made Governor of Lithuania in 1801 by Alexander I.
In 1806 he was appointed as the general of the Russian 1st army in the Napoleonic Wars. He managed to stop Napoleon's advance at Pultusk. In 1807 he launched a surprise winter offensive but eventually had to retreat and the campaign culminated in the Battle of Eylau which ended as a draw. Finally after a brief summer campaign he was defeated at the Battle of Friedland. The result was the end of the Fourth Coalition war. Even though he was defeated it should be noted that he was one of the rare generals that managed to go toe to toe with Napoleon during his prime years. He was the first general to stop Napoleon from getting a decisive victory since he crowned himself Emperor. He also had an important role in the Liberators' War of 1813, assisting in the offensive that eventually defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig
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