Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling

Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling (15 February 1719 – 28 November 1779) was a Prussian Hussar general under Frederick the Great.

Biography Belling was born in Paulsdorf, Kingdom of Prussia (modern Pawłowo, Poland) to Lieutenant Colonel Johann Abraham von Belling and Katharina née von Kospoth. He was the grandson of general Johann Georg von Belling.

Belling was educated as a cadet and joined the Prussian Army in 1737. Because of his small body size he was deployed at Kolberg for garrison service only. In 1739 he joined the Prussian Hussars and was removed to the Zieten Hussars in 1741. Throughout the War of the Austrian Succession he fought at the battles of Mollwitz, Hohenfriedberg, Prague and Kesselsdorf.

In the Pomeranian War, on 29 August 1760, the Belling-Hussars captured Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and Belling, distantly related to Blücher, managed to persuade him to join the Prussian Hussars.