Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau

Leopold I
Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Reign7 August 1693 – 7 April 1747
PredecessorJohn George II
SuccessorLeopold II
Born3 July 1676
Dessau, Anhalt-Dessau
Died7 April 1747(1747-04-07) (aged 70)
Dessau, Anhalt-Dessau
SpouseAnna Louise Föhse
IssueWilliam Gustav, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
Prince Dietrich, later Regent
Prince Frederick Henry Eugen
Princess Henriette Marie Louise
Louise, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg
Prince Maurice
Princess Anna Wilhelmine
Leopoldine Marie, Margravine of Brandenburg-Schwedt
Princess Henriette Amalie
John Georg Henry von Berenhorst
Karl Franz von Berenhorst
HouseAscania
FatherJohn George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
MotherHenriette Catherine of Nassau
SignatureLeopold I's signature

Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (3 July 1676 – 7 April 1747) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1747. He was also a Generalfeldmarschall in the Prussian Army. Nicknamed "the Old Dessauer" (German: der alte Dessauer), he possessed good abilities as a field commander, but was mainly remembered as a talented drillmaster who modernized the Prussian infantry.

Appointed by Frederick I to the rank of field marshal in 1712, Leopold distinguished himself for his success during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was later appointed the commander of the Prussian-Saxon army during the Great Northern War against Sweden. Leopold was a personal friend of Frederick William I. The last great achievement of his military career was commanding the Prussian troops to victory over the Saxons at the Battle of Kesselsdorf in 1745 during the Second Silesian War.