Gustav Eduard von Hindersin
(18.07.1804 - 25.01.1872)
place of birth:  Wernigerode, Provinz Sachsen  (Prussian Saxony)
Königreich Preußen:  General-Inspektor der Artillerie;  General der Infanterie

                          

Prussian general of Scottish ancestry who, although born the son of a priest, spent his early life in great poverty. These early struggles contributed to his developing an iron strength of character. Entering the Prussian artillery in 1820 he became an officer in 1825 and was posted to the Great General Staff in 1841. In 1849, he served as a major on the staff of General Peucker, who commanded a corps in the suppression of the Baden insurrection. 

Hindersin fell into the hands of the insurgents while engaged at Ladenburg. In the Danish war of 1864, he was a lieutenant general and directed the artillery operations against the lines of Duppel. For his services, he was elevated into the German nobility by King of Prussia Wilhelm I. Soon afterwards, von Hindersin became Inspector General of Artillery. Von Hindersin's experience at Duppel had convinced him that the days of the smooth-bore gun were past, and he now devoted himself  to the rearmament and reorganization of the Prussian artillery. 

Far more important was his work in connection with the field and horse batteries. In 1864, only one battery in four had rifled guns, but by the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the ratio was five to eight. Besides the superiority of the rifled gun, these battles proved there was a marked absence of tactical efficiency within Prussian artillery, which was almost always outmatched by that of the enemy. Indeed, the German artillery played by far the most important part in the victories of the Franco-German War of 1870. Von Hindersin accompanied the Kaiser’s headquarters as Chief of Artillery, observing the actions at Gravelotte and Sedan, as well as the Siege of Paris.