The Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819) commanded the Prussian armies in the war against Napoleon, 1813-1815. He became a leading hero of the Germans in the struggle to end foreign domination of their lands.

Gebhard von Blücher was born in Rostock in the northern state of Mecklenburg on Dec. 16, 1742. The son of a captain in the cavalry, he became a cadet in a Swedish regiment. He was captured by the Prussians during the Seven Years War and, like so many others, allowed himself to be pressed into the Prussian service. He had reached the rank of captain when, in 1770, Frederick the Great dismissed him in his usual brutal fashion for some minor transgression.

After Frederick's death Blücher rejoined the Prussian army. He distinguished himself in the wars against revolutionary France and eventually became a general. Fortunately for Blü...