August von Werder

Who was August von Werder?

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich August Leopold Graf von Werder was a Prussian general.

Werder was born in Schloßberg near Norkitten in the Province of East Prussia. He entered the Prussian Gardes du Corps in 1825, transferring the following year into the Guard Infantry, with which he served for many years as a subaltern. In 1839 he was appointed an instructor in the Cadet Corps, and later he was employed in the topographical bureau of the Great General Staff. In 1842-1843 he took part in the Russian operations in the Caucasus, and on his return to Germany in 1846, was placed, as a captain, on the staff. In 1848 he married. Regimental and staff duty alternately occupied him until 1863, when he was made major-general, and given the command of a brigade of Guard Infantry.

In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Werder greatly distinguished himself at Gitschin and Königgratz at the head of the 3rd division. He returned home with the rank of lieutenant-general and the Order Pour le Mérite. In 1870, at first employed with the 3rd Army Headquarters and in command of the Württemberg and Baden forces, he was after the Battle of Worth entrusted with the operations against Strasbourg, which he captured after a long and famous siege.