Georg Carl von Döbeln

Georg Carl von Döbeln (29 April 1758 – 16 February 1820) was a Swedish friherre (baron), Lieutenant general and above all known for his efforts on the Swedish side during the Finnish War.

Early life

Georg Carl was born at the Stora Torpa manor in Segerstads parish in Västergötland (now Falköping Municipality) to district court judge Johan Jakob von Döbeln and Anna Maria Lindgren. He was also the great-grandson of professor and city physician Johan Jacob Döbelius. When von Döbeln was eight years old his father died and he was put in school by relatives with the aim of him becoming a priest. The boy however, showed affinity for a military life and he was enrolled at the Karlskrona naval academy in 1773. Upon graduating as an officer in 1775, he was directed by the family towards a career in law. Disliking this, he sought employment as a junior officer in 1778.

Military career

As a lieutenant, Döbeln took part in Gustav III's Russian War and was shot in the forehead at the Battle of Porrassalmi. The wound did not heal properly and he was forced to wear a black silken bandanna for the rest of his life. During the operation he stayed awake and wrote about it while looking at the whole process with the help of a mirror.

Before returning to Sweden for the Russian War of 1788–1790, von Döbeln had served with French forces in India. At the bloody Battle of Cuddalore in 1783 he distinguished himself by his boldness, and also served as an engineering officer — a role in which he showed considerable versatility. When his regiment returned to France in 1784 he had been promoted to captain and become the regimental adjutant.

He and his forces would be forced to retreat a week later when the French XIII Corps, numbering 34,000 under the famed Marshal Davout, arrived to re-take Hamburg. For violating the Crown Prince's repeated and explicit orders to not liberate Hamburg, Döbeln was court-martialled and sentenced to be executed. However, the execution order was countermanded by Charles John himself, who had Döbeln sequestered in Vaxholm Prison during the autumn of 1813.

While there, Döbeln wrote a letter to a relative, expressing the desire to be allowed to fight in the conflict, and serve out his sentence after the fighting concluded. The letter's contents became known to the Crown Prince, whose Gascon romanticism was touched, and he fully pardoned Döbeln. The two remained on good terms until Döbeln's death in 1820.

Personal life

He was married to Kristina Karolina Ullström (they later divorced). The couple had one son, Napoleon (1802–1847). Although popular, having had a great career and after his death considered a war hero, von Döbeln lived his last years impoverished.

Döbelns Park in central Umeå in northern Sweden is the oldest park in Umeå. It came to be named after Döbeln when his monument was placed in the park in 1867. There is also a smaller park called "Döbelns plan" in the same city. A 1942 film was made about his 1813 campaign in North Germany.