Johann Paul von Werner | |
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Born | Raab, Hungary | 11 December 1707
Died | 25 October 1785 Tost | (aged 77)
Allegiance | Austria Prussia |
Service/ | Austrian Army Prussian Army |
Years of service | 1723–1750 (Austria) 1751–1780 (Prussia) |
Rank | Generalleutnant |
Commands | Hussar Regiment No 6 (Brown Hussar Regiment) |
Battles/wars | War of the Polish Succession Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) War of the Austrian Succession Seven Years' War War of the Bavarian Succession |
Awards | Pour le Merite Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great |
Johann Paul von Werner (11 December 1707 – 25 January 1785) was chief of the Prussian Hussar Regiment No. 6 (Brown Hussars); he also received the Prussian Order Pour le Mérite. Initially in Austrian service, he fought against Spain, France, the Ottoman Empire and against Prussia. One of Frederick the Great's trusted diplomats, Hans Karl von Winterfeldt, recruited him into Prussian service in 1750; subsequently, he fought for Prussia against the Austrians in the Seven Years' War and the War of Bavarian Succession. He was wounded once, and taken prisoner several times. The Prussian playwright Gotthold Lessing modeled the character of the sergeant in his Minna von Barnhelm on Werner.