Yay on you finishing Krockow. Incidentally, cahn, he mentions discreetly at the start of his book that, well, he's a Prussian noble, too, so that colors his attitude: what he doesn't mention is that the von Krockows show up all over the place in the Frederician period. One died at Hochkirch, another got the Pour Le Merite at the battle of Torgau and later fought Napoleon, another got wounded at Leuthen...
I hadn't realized this, but after East Prussia surrendered to Russia in the Seven Years' War and paid homage to Elizaveta, Fritz held a grudge and refused to go there ever again, for as long as he lived.
It's not just generals whom Fritz blames for not suicidally fighting till the end, clearly. I think Lehndorff - who is from East Prussia - mentions this somewhere, too, with a sigh.
Heinrich was at Mollwitz? I'd forgotten that.
Of all the books I've read, Krockow is the only one who claims this. Ziebura has him joining the army later, which would also fit with Fritz telling Catt (in the diary, not just in his memoirs) that his younger brothers when still kids begged him to let them come along on the merry invading. AW wasn't a kid anymore (just), so that means Heinrich and Ferdinand. There's also one of the very early preserved letters from Fritz to Heinrich saying "patience", which I think is dated post Mollwitz, not before. Mundt, too, quoting Easum the American 1940s biographer, says Heinrich wasn't yet allowed to participate in the first Silesian War (as opposed to AW, who joined Fritz and the army on January 22nd 1741). Heinrich according to Mundt did visit - with his governor and with Fritz' permission - Old Dessauer's campaign camp on May 2nd, but had to go back to Berlin, learn and be the recipient of more Fritzian "apply yourself!" letters thereafter. So I think Krockow is wrong here; everyone else thinks Heinrich only particpated in the second, not the first Silesian war.
Ghost stories: he's kidding, relax. The tone is definitely tongue-in-cheek in German.
Heinrich and music: something else Mundt mentioned that I hadn't seen before is this: More certain - than whether or not Heinrich was already a Francophile in FW's life time - are his musical knowledge and abilties. Heinrich was able around 1735/1736 to impromptu replace a concert master of the crown prince's music train who had fallen sick just before a performance at the royal table, and to conduct said performance for real, not just play-acting. How and by whom he had been taught these skills sadly can't be tracked down anymore.
Mundt's source citation for this story is: "Proebst, Herrmann: Die Brüder. Friedrich der Große, August Wilhelm, Heinrich und Ferdinand. Taten und Schicksale der Söhne des Soldatenkönigs, Berlin 1939, page 71." Note the date of publication, sigh. Anyway, I haven't seen this story before, and of course don't know which source Proebst claims, but it just begs more questions, because: "Royal table", as in FW's table? Surely not? If royal table as in the crown prince's table, how come Heinrich was with Big Brother to begin with? The date could be compatible with Unnamed Brother's visit in May 1736, though I have to say if ten years Heinrich conducted a musical performance chez Fritz on that occasion, I wonder why Fritz only mentioned the larder raiding. (Also why Fritz, most definitely the "let me play the lion, too" type, didn't replace the concert master himself.)
Amalie & suicide attempt & ensuing ugliness: this is part of the Trenck legend, - not, it has to be said, mentioned by Trenck himself in his memoirs - and I think first shows up in the original version of Thiebault's memoirs which I haven't read, as opposed to the 19th century changed edition. I'm not 100% sure, though. The historical foundation for this seems to be that Amalie in her last decade or so had severe eye trouble and, like much of her family, increasingly bad health, culminating in the stroke that meant she could hardly move her arms anymore in her last year of life. Thiebault, who only joined the court in the 1760s, wasn't around in the 1740s when Amalie supposedly committed this suicide attempt, and it's noticable no one else mentions it. Lehndorff notes down his share of sensational rumors about Amalie only to shoot them down - that she has illegitimate children, for example, or that she burns babies in her fireplace - but at no point mentions the Trenck saga, or a suicide attempt for any reason at all. Given all the love affairs and rumored love affairs of Prussian VIPs, male or female, he does note down, usually complete with "yes, I believe that rumor" or "no way!!!", I find it hard to believe he would have avoided commenting on this one, even if only to deny it.
Re: Krockow tidbits
I hadn't realized this, but after East Prussia surrendered to Russia in the Seven Years' War and paid homage to Elizaveta, Fritz held a grudge and refused to go there ever again, for as long as he lived.
It's not just generals whom Fritz blames for not suicidally fighting till the end, clearly. I think Lehndorff - who is from East Prussia - mentions this somewhere, too, with a sigh.
Heinrich was at Mollwitz? I'd forgotten that.
Of all the books I've read, Krockow is the only one who claims this. Ziebura has him joining the army later, which would also fit with Fritz telling Catt (in the diary, not just in his memoirs) that his younger brothers when still kids begged him to let them come along on the merry invading. AW wasn't a kid anymore (just), so that means Heinrich and Ferdinand. There's also one of the very early preserved letters from Fritz to Heinrich saying "patience", which I think is dated post Mollwitz, not before. Mundt, too, quoting Easum the American 1940s biographer, says Heinrich wasn't yet allowed to participate in the first Silesian War (as opposed to AW, who joined Fritz and the army on January 22nd 1741). Heinrich according to Mundt did visit - with his governor and with Fritz' permission - Old Dessauer's campaign camp on May 2nd, but had to go back to Berlin, learn and be the recipient of more Fritzian "apply yourself!" letters thereafter. So I think Krockow is wrong here; everyone else thinks Heinrich only particpated in the second, not the first Silesian war.
Ghost stories: he's kidding, relax. The tone is definitely tongue-in-cheek in German.
Heinrich and music: something else Mundt mentioned that I hadn't seen before is this: More certain - than whether or not Heinrich was already a Francophile in FW's life time - are his musical knowledge and abilties. Heinrich was able around 1735/1736 to impromptu replace a concert master of the crown prince's music train who had fallen sick just before a performance at the royal table, and to conduct said performance for real, not just play-acting. How and by whom he had been taught these skills sadly can't be tracked down anymore.
Mundt's source citation for this story is: "Proebst, Herrmann: Die Brüder. Friedrich der Große, August Wilhelm, Heinrich und Ferdinand. Taten und Schicksale der Söhne des Soldatenkönigs, Berlin 1939, page 71." Note the date of publication, sigh. Anyway, I haven't seen this story before, and of course don't know which source Proebst claims, but it just begs more questions, because: "Royal table", as in FW's table? Surely not? If royal table as in the crown prince's table, how come Heinrich was with Big Brother to begin with? The date could be compatible with Unnamed Brother's visit in May 1736, though I have to say if ten years Heinrich conducted a musical performance chez Fritz on that occasion, I wonder why Fritz only mentioned the larder raiding. (Also why Fritz, most definitely the "let me play the lion, too" type, didn't replace the concert master himself.)
Amalie & suicide attempt & ensuing ugliness: this is part of the Trenck legend, - not, it has to be said, mentioned by Trenck himself in his memoirs - and I think first shows up in the original version of Thiebault's memoirs which I haven't read, as opposed to the 19th century changed edition. I'm not 100% sure, though. The historical foundation for this seems to be that Amalie in her last decade or so had severe eye trouble and, like much of her family, increasingly bad health, culminating in the stroke that meant she could hardly move her arms anymore in her last year of life. Thiebault, who only joined the court in the 1760s, wasn't around in the 1740s when Amalie supposedly committed this suicide attempt, and it's noticable no one else mentions it. Lehndorff notes down his share of sensational rumors about Amalie only to shoot them down - that she has illegitimate children, for example, or that she burns babies in her fireplace - but at no point mentions the Trenck saga, or a suicide attempt for any reason at all. Given all the love affairs and rumored love affairs of Prussian VIPs, male or female, he does note down, usually complete with "yes, I believe that rumor" or "no way!!!", I find it hard to believe he would have avoided commenting on this one, even if only to deny it.