Gotthard Johann von Knorring

Gotthard Johann von Knorring was a Baltic German who was a soldier in the Russian Army, rising to become a general.

Biography

He was born in 1744 or 1746 into the Knorring family, as a member of the Baltic German nobility. Knorring grew up on Ervita manor, in the Governorate of Estonia. He was appointed general quartermaster in 1788 and had active duty during the war against Sweden. In 1792–1794, he participated in the campaigns in Poland-Lithuania. When Paul I started his reign, Knorring withdrew from the military for some years. He participated in the war against France in 1807 but was recalled due to disagreements with the commanding general, Levin August von Bennigsen. In December 1808 he was appointed commander of the Russian forces in Finland after Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden, and under his command the Russian forces crossed the Gulf of Bothnia on the ice and invaded Sweden proper. Shortly after, in March 1809 the command of the Russian forces transferred to Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly. He died in 1825.