Early Life
Leopold was born at Dessau.
After having lost both parents in 1751 (his mother on 20 April and his father on 16 December), the eleven-year-old Leopold inherited Anhalt-Dessau under the regency of his uncle, Prince Dietrich.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Leopold joined the Prussian army. After the Battle of Kolín (18 June 1757), he was impressed so negatively by the spectacle of warfare that he resigned from the army and declared the neutrality of Anhalt-Dessau.
Read more about this topic: Leopold III, Duke Of Anhalt-Dessau
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