Tibell

Gustaf Wilhelm Tibell (Malmköping, 1772 – Stockholm, 8 March 1832)

Son of an engineer corps lieutenant, Tibell entered the military school of Stockholm in 1782 as a pupil, leaving in 1788 as second lieutenant in the Södermanland regiment of infantry. He participated in the Finnish war against the Russians from 1788 to 1790, fighting at the battles of Brakila, Menelä, Anjala, Werelä and Keltis. In 1789 he was promoted to lieutenant, in 1792 to captain at the General Staff and chief of the first company of pupils of the Royal Academy of Karlberg: he was in charge of their instruction in tactics and the military code, and was also interim professor of arithmetics, algebra, geometry, artillery and fortification. He published a course of tactics that was adopted by the government as an elementary course for officers and soldiers. He was a founding member and was elected secretary of the military Society of Stockholm in November 1796. He became a captain in 1797. In 1798 he obtained permission from the king to leave in order to serve in the belligerent countries and entered French Republican service on 14 July 1798, after sitting an examination in mathematics, artillery and fortification, as a captain of the engineers in the General Staff of the Armée d’Italie. In that year he was chief of the Piedmontese topographical Bureau, and contributed to mapping Piedmont. In the 1799 campaign he commanded the geographical engineers at the vanguard of the army, was wounded at the battles of Castelnovo and Fossano, being promoted battalion chief on the field. He was again wounded and taken prisoner after fighting at Turin (from 24 May to 20 June), being released after three weeks. He fought at the battles of Bussolengo and Rivoli, was again wounded at Fossano, and was promoted to assistant general. He participated in the second Italian campaign and the battle of Marengo (14 June 1800). In 1800 he commanded the left wing of the topographical Bureau, and in 1801 the right wing. On 13 June 1801 the topographical Bureau, commanded by Brossier, was tasked with mapping the country between the Adda and the Adige on a scale of 1:25.000. Tibell was section chief, commanding 8 geographical engineers.
On 8 July 1801 Tibell, who had married a Cisalpine woman, crossed over to Cisalpine service with promotion to assistant commandant, chief of the topographer corps and director of the War Depot. He recruited 19 geographical engineers and collaborated with the French in mapping the country between the Adda and the Adige, which afterwards became a project to map the entire Italian Republic. He founded and was president of the Military Academy of the Italian Republic in 1802, an association of high-ranking officers that studied the science of war. This association published a periodical: 1802-1803. Giornale dell’Accademia Militare della Repubblica italiana. Milan: Stamperia e fonderia al Genio Tipografico, 3 vols. In 1803, when the need arose in the Italian Republic to organize a Fortifications Depot, it was seized as an opportunity of merging (and hence subordinating) the geographical engineers within the engineering corps. Tibell reacted by resigning, being accorded the rank of brigadier, and going back to Sweden.
There he was accepted as a major, a rank higher than that he held when he left Sweden, but significantly lower than he had earned in French and Italian service. His career was nonetheless rapid, and in a few years he became one of the most influential soldiers in Sweden. By 6 August 1803 he was promoted to assistant general, and began to be employed at the Krigs-Collegium, that is the War Ministry. On 30 July 1804 he became a member of the Krigs-Collegium, on 5 October a colonel, on 22 December member of the Committee for the organisation of the artillery. On 1 March 1805 he was ennobled (Adlad af Tibell). On 4 April 1805 he was made vice-president of the Krigs-Collegium. On 16 April he founded the Swedish topographer corps and became its chief. He also created the Swedish Military Archives. On 24 April Tibell was made a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, in the Mathematical Section. He participated in an expedition in Pomerania that year as Chief of Staff of the army. On 4 February 1808 he was promoted to brigadier and served again as Chief of Staff of the army in the Russo-Swedish War in 1808-09. On 16 April he became a member of the War Committee and on 22 September of the Finances Committee. On 5 December he was named assistant general of the fleet. After the war was lost there was a coup d’etat and King Gustavus Adolphus IV was deposed on 13 March 1809. Tibell was removed from all his duties on 23 March. In the Autumn he was tasked by the new King Charles XIII (1748-1818) with going to France and using his contacts in order to secure the exchange of war prisoners. When the heir to the throne died in 1810, he was active in moving Sweden into the French orbit and adopting a hereditary prince related to Napoleon. The choice fell on Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (1763-1844), Napoleon’s brother-in-law, marshal of the Empire and prince of Pontecorvo. On 3 July 1811 Tibell was named chief of the topographer corps and of the engineering corps. But he was expecting something more and probably did not like of the anti-French swing: in 1812 he quitted the country and his positions in it and went to France. He contacted Napoleon, who, however, refused to take him into service. Tibell then went back to Sweden, but was accused of treason. He was not put on trial, but fell into disgrace until the fall of Napoleon. In 1814 he was named president of the Krigshofrätten (a military court), in 1815 again became a member of the Krigs-Collegium and received the title of commander of the Svärdsorden (Order of the Sword). In February 1819 King Charles John XIV (that is Bernadotte) appointed him to unify in one military Code every law, decree and regulation concerning military administration. His work was published in 1821. The same year he was also made a knight in the Legion of Honour. In 1820 Tibell was again made vice-president of the Krigs-Collegium, then president on 2 November 1824. In the same year he was also promoted to lieutenant general. In 1827 he received the title of Friherre (baron).
He published many works: many relating to his numerous tasks, for example: Tibell, Gustaf Wilhelm. 1807-1826. Om Kongl. Fältmätnings-corpsens inrättning (The institution of the topographer corps. Stockholm). There is a report of a speech at the Royal Academy of Sciences: Om Höjdernas sammanhang på Jordklotet (On the peaks of the Earth and their relationship, 1809). Finally, there are several historical writings, for example: Id. 1826. Seraphimer-Ordens Historia i första tidehvarfvet från 1285 till 1748 (History of the order of the Seraphims from 1285 to 1748. Stockholm). As of 1822 Tibell was a member of the Royal Society for the history of Scandinavia (cf. MSA, WO 1905, SHD 16Yd 342, AN LH 2605/40, Guthrie, Paul (ed.). 1989-1991. Scandinavian biographical archive. [Reprod. in microfilm of Biografiskt lexikon öfver namnkunnige svenske män Bd. 1-23, Stockholm-Uppsala-Örebro, 1835-1875]. B 335. London-Munich-New York: K. G. Saur: 257-265, Ericson, Lars. 2001. The Nation at Arms. The Swedish Experience, in The Total War The Total Defence, 1789-2000, proceedings of the 26th International Congress of Military History, ed. Per Iko, Lars Ericson and Gunnar Åselius. Stockholm: Swedish Commission on Military History: 257-258).