Oh, the Alte Dessauer! Yeah, I wonder if it's him.
whom he actually kept used to invade Silesia in 1740
Huh, I thought Fritz left him behind and said it would look bad if he took his tutor to war? (I.e., Dessauer would get credit.) Ah, Wikipedia says, "The prince [Dessauer] himself was not often employed in the king's [Fritz's] own army, though his sons held high commands under Frederick. The king, indeed, found Leopold somewhat difficult to manage, and the prince spent most of the campaigning years up to 1745 in command of an army of observation on the Saxon frontier."
So yeah, Fritz doesn't seem to be a fan.
It seems from that paragraph in Seckendorff that I mentioned, about Fritz wanting Derschau sent away, that Fritz doesn't like this Derschau guy's influence on the King. But one, I don't think the Alte Dessauer is getting sent away by FW any time soon, I think that's a lost cause. Also, it occurs to me that Fritz said "get his own regiment," and the Dessauer should be way past that point.
Okay, searching through the journal, the first instance of "Derschau" is footnoted merely as "colonel and favorite of the king." So it can't be the Old Dessauer, but it could be one of his sons.
Although Wikipedia said Fritz gave the sons high command. Let me read their entries.
Oh, ha, guess what! Not our guy (at least if the editor can be trusted to have the rank right), but one of the Alte Dessauer's sons actually defected to the Austrians in 1743!
I still can't figure out who the colonel who's favorite of the king and Fritz hates is, though.
But okay, from googling, it looks like Derschau is the name of a Prussian noble family. Aha, it must be this guy. Christian Reinhold von Derschau. He was a colonel at the right time, got his own regiment in 1738, and was a close confidant of FW.
Re: With Liars among Liars: The Austrian Dossier (Seckendorf II)
whom he actually kept used to invade Silesia in 1740
Huh, I thought Fritz left him behind and said it would look bad if he took his tutor to war? (I.e., Dessauer would get credit.) Ah, Wikipedia says, "The prince [Dessauer] himself was not often employed in the king's [Fritz's] own army, though his sons held high commands under Frederick. The king, indeed, found Leopold somewhat difficult to manage, and the prince spent most of the campaigning years up to 1745 in command of an army of observation on the Saxon frontier."
So yeah, Fritz doesn't seem to be a fan.
It seems from that paragraph in Seckendorff that I mentioned, about Fritz wanting Derschau sent away, that Fritz doesn't like this Derschau guy's influence on the King. But one, I don't think the Alte Dessauer is getting sent away by FW any time soon, I think that's a lost cause. Also, it occurs to me that Fritz said "get his own regiment," and the Dessauer should be way past that point.
Okay, searching through the journal, the first instance of "Derschau" is footnoted merely as "colonel and favorite of the king." So it can't be the Old Dessauer, but it could be one of his sons.
Although Wikipedia said Fritz gave the sons high command. Let me read their entries.
Oh, ha, guess what! Not our guy (at least if the editor can be trusted to have the rank right), but one of the Alte Dessauer's sons actually defected to the Austrians in 1743!
I still can't figure out who the colonel who's favorite of the king and Fritz hates is, though.
But okay, from googling, it looks like Derschau is the name of a Prussian noble family. Aha, it must be this guy. Christian Reinhold von Derschau. He was a colonel at the right time, got his own regiment in 1738, and was a close confidant of FW.
Found him!