Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (Marschall Vorwärts)

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742–1819), Prince of Wahlstatt, was the fierce Prussian field marshal whose indomitable aggressive spirit earned him the affectionate title 'Marschall Vorwärts' ('Marshal Forward'). Enlisting first in Swedish service during the Seven Years' War before joining the Prussian hussars under Frederick the Great, Blücher became the relentless fiery spearhead of German liberation from Napoleonic rule.

In 1813, supported by his brilliant chief of staff August von Gneisenau, Blücher defeated Macdonald at the Katzbach and spearheaded the allied assault at the Battle of Leipzig (the 'Battle of the Nations'). In 1815, after being defeated and trapped under his dead horse at Ligny on June 16, the seventy-two-year-old marshal rubbed his bruised body with schnapps and rhubarbs, promising Wellington: 'I will come.' On the evening of June 18 at Waterloo, Blücher's Prussian corps smashed into Napoleon's right flank at Plancenoit, routing the French army and ending the Napoleonic Empire.