Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1693 to 1747.
Background
Leopold was born on the 3rd of July 1676 in Dessau. He was the ninth of ten children (and the younger of only two sons) of John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, by his wife Henriette Catherine, daughter of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. An older brother had died well before Leopold was born.
Education
From his earliest youth he devoted himself to military pursuits, for which he educated himself both physically and mentally.
Career
Beginning his military career serving against the French in 1695, Leopold commanded the Prussian contingent in the allied forces during most of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14).
A friend of the Austrian field marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy, he fought in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and France, distinguishing himself at the battles of Höchstädt an der Donau (Bavaria; 1703), Cassano d’Adda (Italy; 1705), Turin (1706), Tournai (Belgium), and Malplaquet (France; both 1709).
In 1715 he commanded the Prussian Army against Charles XII of Sweden, defeating him at Stralsund and on the island of Rügen.
The long peace that followed gave Leopold the chance to use his considerable organizational talents. Introducing the iron ramrod (wooden ones tended to break in the heat of battle), the modern bayonet (replacing the plug bayonet that had to be removed from the barrel to fire the weapon), and the uniform marching step in his own regiment in the late 1690s, he extended these improvements to the entire Prussian Army after 1715.
Under his strict, often brutal tutelage, the Prussian infantry achieved the discipline and rapidity of fire that made possible Frederick II’s victories against vastly more numerous and powerful foes. In this endeavour, Leopold had the confidence and cooperation of his monarch, King Frederick William I (ruled 1713–40). As a result of his experience in the field, the Prince always favoured his own branch of the service, infantry, over cavalry and artillery.
After the succession of Frederick II in 1740, war again broke out. Leopold, by now an old man, once more took a field command. On Dec. 14, 1745, as Frederick was hurrying to his aid, the “Old Dessauer” defeated a superior Austrian and Saxon army at Kesselsdorf, Saxony, the final action of his long career.
He retired from active service, and the short remainder of his life was spent at Dessau, where he died on the 7th of April 1747.
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Religion
It was his habit to pray before battle, for he was a devout Lutheran.
Membership
In the earlier part of the reign of Frederick William I, the prince of Dessau was one of the most influential members of the Prussian governing circle.
Personality
Nicknamed "the Old Dessauer" (German: der alte Dessauer), he possessed good abilities as a field commander.
Connections
As a young prince, Leopold fell in love with Anna Louise Föhse (Dessau, 22 March 1677 – Dessau, 5 February 1745), an apothecary's daughter in Dessau. His mother, the Dowager Princess, tried to break up the relationship, sending her son abroad for an extended travel, but to no avail.
One year after officially becoming an adult in 1697, he married his beloved Anna Louise in Dessau on 8 September 1698, forming a union that was morganatic until the imperial decree of 29 December 1701. The couple had ten children.
On 29 December 1701 Anna Louise was created an Imperial Princess (German: Reichsfürstin) by the Emperor Leopold I, who also declared that their children would be considered princes and princesses of Anhalt (as all of them arguably, and the two born before this decree certainly, would not have otherwise) and would enjoy all the rights that other princes of the Empire enjoy. King Frederick I of Prussia extended his personal guarantee on 12 March 1702, promising to recognize the rights of the issue of this marriage. The agnates of all the branches of Anhalt also gave their agreement a few days later, on 21 March.
Leopold and Anna Louise enjoyed a long and happy marriage, and the princess acquired an influence over her husband that she never ceased to exert on behalf of his subjects. After the death of Leopold's mother she performed the duties of regent when he was absent on campaign. Often, too, she accompanied him into the field.
In later life, however, Leopold sired two illegitimate sons by one Sophie Eleonore Söldner (Ellrich, 7 September 1710 – Dessau, 16 September 1779).