Born in
Kleve and descended from a family of , Johann was the son of Baron Kaspar von Elmpt (died 1730), and after receiving his initial education in his native town, he entered the service of the French Army. In 1749 he transferred into the Russian army at the rank of captain. He quickly advanced through the ranks, being promoted to colonel on 25 December 1755. Elmpt distinguished himself during the Prussian Campaigns of the
Seven Years' War. He was appointed a
brigadier, and then made a
major-general on 2 April 1762. He served as
quartermaster general for the field army, and performed a number of vital staff responsibilities, including the drawing up of military maps for
Livonia and
Courland, including plans for field camps and troop dispositions throughout the region. In 1763 he was awarded the
Order of Saint Anna. With the formation of a field army in
Glukhov under
Pyotr Rumyantsev in 1768 to fight the Turks, Elmpt was made part of its command staff, but he transferred to another field army the following year. In September 1769, Elmpt and
Mikhail Kamensky under orders from
Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn, crossed a large force of
Grenadier regiments over the
Dniester river to assault the fortress at
Khotyn, leading to a battle that decimated the Turkish forces there. Later Elmpt participated in the seizure of
Iași, and commanded a special detachment of the main army stationed on the Dniester and
Bug River. He was rewarded for these feats with the
Order of Alexander Nevsky and a promotion to the rank of
Lieutenant General. In 1772 Elmpt was a major commander of troops against the
Bar Confederation, later commanding a corps guarding the borders with Sweden. Promoted yet again to full General in 1780, he would serve as commander of the Russian 3rd Division in the
Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). Elmpt's tense relationship with his Austrian counterpart General
Gabriel von Splényi created problems in the military operations between the two armies. Rumyantsev intervened and made Elmpt give command of his division over to Major General
Ernst Salignac. Elmpt returned to
Riga claiming poor health. In 1790 Elmpt was rewarded with the dignity of a
Reichsgraf (
Imperial Count) of the Holy Roman Empire, an honor that was confirmed in the Russian peerage in December of that same year. With the ascension of
Tsar Paul, Elmpt found his military career revived. He was given command of all army forces stationed in the Livonian Military Division based out of Riga, his rank was adjusted to that of General of Infantry, and he was given the honorary position of Chief of the prestigious Saint Petersburg Grenadier Regiment, rechristened under his own name. On the day of Paul's formal coronation (5 April 1797), Elmpt was awarded the dual high honors of the
Order of St. Andrew and promotion to the rank of Field Marshal. On 10 January 1798 Field Marshal Elmpt was discharged from military service due to his advanced age, but was permitted the privilege to continue to wear his army uniform in public. He died four years later at
Svitene Manor on his estate in what is today southern
Latvia. His son Philipp was bethrothed to
Suvorov's only daughter Natalie; but she broke off the engagement. As Philipp had no male issue, the title of Count von Elmpt was inherited by his son-in-law
Joseph Carl von Anrep. ==Notes==