Moller, born in 1690, joined the Prussian military on 26 January 1720 as a
cannoneer in the artillery corps, of which his father was the regimental
quartermaster. On 1 April 1729, he was promoted to
second lieutenant and on 31 August 1733, to
first lieutenant. In 1737, he was dispatched to the Austrian army, to fight in the war against the Ottoman Empire. On 19 November 1741 he returned to the Prussian army, and was promoted to staff captain; in January 1742, he was promoted to
captain and on 20 April 1755 to
major.
Battle of Lobositz The
Battle of Lobositz, fought on 1 October 1756, was the first major battle of the
Seven Years' War; the artillery played a significant role. The guns started firing at about 6:00 am, but it was occasional fire: after 7:00 am, the artillery put forth a sustained and effective effort. Although the Austrians held the higher ground as far as the infantry and cavalry were concerned, and the artillery thundered from the heights above the Prussian line so long and so loudly that even seasoned veterans became unnerved: some of the
Croats in
Maximilian Ulysses Reichsgraf von Browne's army fled to the rear of the field and even Browne himself, a life-long veteran, admitted to never hearing anything like it. From 1:00 pm onward, the Prussian
howitzers pounded against the Austrian force so effectively the artillery used its ammunition at a rapid rate. The battle was not an unqualified success, although the Austrians abandoned the field which, in the 18th century, was tantamount to admitting defeat. Moller was promoted to
lieutenant colonel the day after the battle, 2 October 1756, and received the Order
Pour le Mérite. Frederick wrote to
Field Marshal Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin: "Moller has done miracles and secunded me in an astonishing manner."
Battle of Zorndorf Moller also was present at
Prague,
Olomouc and Zorndorf. There, at Zorndorf, Moller's artillery was a key to the battle plan. Frederick's plan of attack was first to hammer the Russian right with heavy artillery fire and then to launch
Heinrich von Manteuffel's advanced guard against it. Expecting cavalry, the Russians formed in a square, the best way to receive a mounted attack but the worst way to receive an artillery barrage. Moller opened fire with 60 total of his 18- and 24-pounders, placed in two locations around Zorndorf; the initial range was too far, so they closed about 600 paces, and then ripped the Russian squares apart. Russian sources reported that one particular cannon shot killed or wounded 48 grenadiers. Despite this accuracy, Moller's contribution at Zorndorf could not be measured in a single stroke, but in his ability to move his
horse artillery around the battlefield. At 1:00 pm, they were in one place, firing canister into tightly-packed Russian formations; at 4:00 pm, they were another place, pounding the Russian line; at 7:00, they were elsewhere, preventing a Russian counter-attack.
Last days Frederick held Moller in high regard. Moller once told the King, "Your Majesty, all will be well, my genius will tell me", and the outcome had justified his confidence; Frederick frequently asked him in times of trouble, "what [did] his genius tell him". Moller died in
Freiberg,
Saxony, on 9 November 1762. His nephew,
Christian Friedrich August von Moller (1734–1802), was a lieutenant general. ==References==