Generallieutenant Johann Nicolaus von Luckner und seine Husaren im Siebenjährigen Kriege

Nikolas Luckner (1722-1794) was a German officer and general in French military service who became a Marshal of France in 1791, a military distinction that was awarded to generals for exceptional military achievements. He supported the French Revolution, and served on 1791–92 as the first commander of the Army of the Rhine. In April 1792, the French officer and composer Rouget de Lisle (1760-1836) dedicated to him the “Chant de Guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin” (War Song of the Army of the Rhine), which was to become better known as the Marseillaise. This account from 1855, which was reprinted in 1997, focuses on the early years Luckner served in the Bavarian, Dutch and Hanoverian armies. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) he fought as a commander of hussars in the Hanoverian army against the French.