Max Müller (Danish army officer)

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Max Müller
Born	(1808-10-22)October 22, 1808 Fredericia, Fredericia Municipality, Denmark-Norway
Died	October 28, 1884(1884-10-28) (aged 76) Frederiksberg, Frederiksberg Municipality, Denmark
Allegiance	Denmark
Branch	Royal Danish Army
Years of service	1827 — 1879
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Second Schleswig War Battle of Sankelmark
Alma mater	Royal Danish Military Academy

Carl Philip Friedemann Maximilian Müller, more commonly known as Max Müller, was a Danish officer who served the First and Second Schleswig Wars.

Early military career[]

Max was born as the son of Christian Vilhelm Carl Müller who was a captain in the Funen Infantry Regiment. He died in 1820 while his son was 12.^[1] His mother, Helene F. Strickenbach was from and later moved with her 5 children, of which Max was the eldest, to Rendsborg. In 1822, Müller joined the Royal Danish Military Academy and in 1825,^[1] after passing the officer's degree, became second lieutenant in the Holstein Infantry Regiment, whereby he did not serve until New Year's Day 1827,^[1] as he was previously first corporal in the Cadet Corps and royal page. The regiment, which in 1842 was renamed the 15th Battalion, was stationed in Rendsburg, and he remained there both as a first lieutenant in 1834 and as a characterized captain in 1841.^[1] Müller was not vacant during his long service as lieutenant, but partly he read a lot, and partly he hardened his body by long walks and all kinds of weapons exercises. It was reported that if someone stepped too close to him or spoke ill of his country of birth, he would not understand the joke, but gave the recipient the choice between a pistol, sword, and saber duel, or to make an apology towards people with Danish descent. He was anything but gentle, and just as he demanded much of himself, so he also made great demands on his subordinates, who with great respect looked up to the nearly 3 acre tall, muscular and tendon-strong man with the dark brown hair and beard, the strongly marked features and the unyielding will.

First Schleswig War[]

In 1846, Müller became captain of the 2nd class and was transferred to Copenhagen as company commander of the 4th Battalion, with which he also moved in the field in 1848. It did not take long before he earned a name as one of the army's most capable officers, leading his company with distinction at Bov, Schleswig, Nybøl and Dybbøl.^[1] He was stationed at Sundeved during April 1849 and later at Isted. During his service in 1849, he especially showed leadership qualities as he was employed by Krabbes brigade. During the Battle at Vedelspang, he was the head of 2 companies that recaptured the , which the insurgenterne got stuck in. He repeated this again and again as he lead a charge while saying: "Go on!" and the bayonet charge caused his opponent to flee in droves and ever since that day always retained a great love for the bayonet and let the troops under him exercise in bayonet attacks as long as he was in the service. During the war he became a Knight of Dannebrog in 1848 .

After the war, Müller joined the 1st Reinforcement Battalion and several divisions and in 1852 the 13th Battalion, whereby he became a major in 1853,^[1] but received the command of the 1st Battalion in Rendsburg in the following year, as he also became a lieutenant colonel without seniority with seniority received in 1857.^[2] He now spent 9 years here again and hardened his Copenhageners, who weren't always easy to lead, by strenuous exercises both on the exercise field and in the terrain, so that his battalion quickly became the Army's best trained department, in which an iron discipline prevailed. His name was therefore already in the 1850s known in wide circles, even when he in his study of tactics was one of those who first had an eye for the advantages of the company column, to whose introduction he contributed significantly.^[2] In 1858, he became a Knight of Dannebrog.

Second Schleswig War[]

Otto Bache, Colonel Max Müller at Sankelmark Lake at February 6, 1864, 1886, Ribe Art Museum.

When the army was mobilized in the autumn of 1863, it had first been the provision that Müller should have had command of the 1st Regiment. People thought that there couldn't be anyone better for the position as it was also reported that he could have led this department against the enemy, for the crew nurtured an unconditional trust and faith in him and followed him blindly, while the first dissatisfaction with his severity had long since given way to admiration and love. Instead, he was appointed colonel and commander of the 7th Brigade, consisting of the 1st and 11th Regiments. The brigade came up to Dannevirke, and two of its battalions took part in the battle at Selk and Königshügel on February 3.^[1] When the army withdrew from Dannevirke on the 5th, he became commander of the 3rd Division under general Peter Frederik Steinmann, consisting of the 7th and 8th Brigades, to cover the retreat, and these then took turns to be closest to the Prussians and Austrians.^[2] At the Sankelmark, Müller was ordered to take up position with his brigade to let the 8th Brigade go through and to stop the pursuing Austrians. Thus arose the Battle of Sankelmark, in which Müller displayed his best military qualities.^[2][1] "It is not enough that I await the enemy, I must attack him myself," he had stated upon receiving the order to take up a post, and he led both the 1st Regiment, which was at the forefront, and then the 11th Regiment. the enemy, so it came to real hand-to-hand fighting. Denmark lost a total of 17 officers, 28 non-commissioned officers and 783 men, of which 568 were captured.^[3] The Austrians' losses amounted to 30 officers and 403 men.^[4]

Later, the brigade, which accompanied General 's division north and then fought at Vejle, but then he did not engage in battle again. During the armistice after the defeat at Dybbøl, Müller became head of a newly formed brigade, the landing brigade, which was stationed on Funen.^[5]

Postwar life[]

After the war, during which he was honored with the Commander's Cross of 1st Dannebrog in 1864. Müller continued to be brigade commander with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, while becoming a member of the Defense Commission of 1866. However he gained no influence, as he understood far better to command than to negotiate.^[4] In implementing the Army Act of 1867, he was appointed general and commander of the 1st Zealand Brigade,^[1] and in this position, he ruled with an iron fist and without ever sparing himself to develop the fighting skills of his troops. In 1870 he was head of the Camp Division at Hald and in 1875, became honored with the Grand Cross of Dannebrog,^[1] while in 1879 due to age he was dismissed from the military service.^[2][4] Müller was considered incomparable to lead a battalion or brigade and would probably also have done excellently under greater circumstances, as in crucial moments he knew how to act with great calm and act quickly and sensibly. However, he knew his limitations, should follow from what he wrote in the Journal of War Administration of 1865:

When one represents us the place where, and the time when we would kill for, then we must do it in such a manner that we crushes all that is against us.^[4]

After a long illness, he died on October 28, 1884 in Frederiksberg and was buried at the Frederiksberg Ældre Kirkegård.^[2] His wife, Emilie f. Thorsen, daughter of merchant Gottborg Thorsen in Flensburg whom he had married September 11 1852.

Legacy[]

Max Müller is depicted on a painting from Sankelmark by Otto Bache 1887 at the  [da], reproduced in woodcut by Hans Peter Hansen and by Niels Simonsen in 1864. There was also a lithograph and woodcut 1868 and 1879 and was portrayed on the stone engraving titled Fædrelandsslykke in 1886.

In the TV series 1864, Müller is portrayed by Rasmus Bjerg.^[6][1]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Neergaard, N (1916). Under Junigrundloven, II (2 bind). København: Lindhardt og Ringhof.
• Johansen, Claes (2014). Death Trap Dannevirke. Aarhus: Turbine. ISBN 978-87-7141-805-7.