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. == References ==