Hans Friedrich von Platen

Count Philip Wilhelm soon took him as a cornet to his regiment, and he fought as a second lieutenant in the War of Spanish Succession. He had been promoted to first lieutenant by the time of the sieges of Kaiserswerth and Venlo. From 1702 he became general adjutant of Dubislav Gneomar von Natzmer. With Natzmer's help, Platen became a deputy in the Gensdarmes' regiment. In 1703 he was involved in the siege of Bonn. He was captured at the Battle of Höchstädt (1704), when the French army under Claude Louis Hector de Villars defeated the imperial armies; he was soon exchanged.[1]

In 1705 Platen fought on the Upper Rhine and in 1706 on the Lower Rhine.[2] In 1707 he was promoted to major and fought the following year in the Battle of Oudenaarde. He participated in the conquests of Lille and Ghent as well as in Mons. In 1709 he fought in the decisive Battle of Malplaquet. There, he impressed Frederick William, then the Prussian crown prince, who introduced him to the king and rewarded him with estates at Putzermin and half of Fritzow. Platen fought in 1710 at Douay, Bethune, and Aire and, in 1711, at Bouchain. He remained in Holland until the Peace of Utrecht.[1]

In the Pomeranian campaign of the Great Northern War, Platen was at the Siege of Stralsund. At the beginning of the reign of Frederick William, he became lieutenant colonel; on 28 June 1717, he was appointed colonel and in 1725 took over the Dragoon Regiment No. 1 as Inhaber (Proprietor). In 1728, he was appointed generalmajor and, on 12 July 1739, generalleutnant.[4] After the Battle of Mollwitz in 1741, his regiment was divided; he retained command of half, and the other half fell under the command of Colonel Karl Friedrich von Posadowsky.[1]

On 12 May 1743, Frederick II appointed him general of the cavalry, but whether he ever learned of it is unclear, since he died on 17 May 1743 in Mohrungen.[1]