mediocre during the campaign. The Hanoverian and Hessian troops systematically destroyed the railways during their retreat, while Falckenstein delayed in pursuing them, preferring instead to let his troops rest in Hanover. He eventually directed his three divisions to Göttingen, even after learning that Austria's allies had abandoned the city. Moltke ordered Falckenstein to finish off the Hanoverian army, but Falckenstein wanted to let a lack of supplies force Major General Friedrich von Arentschildt and King George V of Hanover to surrender. After losing contact with the Hanoverians on 22 June and upon the advice of Otto von Bismarck, Falckenstein began marching south to Frankfurt to prevent a union of the disorganized forces of the German Confederation. Moltke and King William I of Prussia were furious with Bismarck's interference and Falckenstein's slowness, ordering the general to attack the Hanoverians vigorously. Arentschildt's army suffered greatly from their lack of supplies, however, and were cornered at Langensalza in Prussian Saxony by the advance of Falckenstein's three divisions from the north and, organized by Moltke, 9,000 troops under General Eduard von Flies from Gotha to the south. Falckenstein began preparing to attack Arentschildt's Hanoverian army after receiving a royal directive from William I. Flies, however, despite being outnumbered two to one, advanced on his own initiative against Arenttschildt on 27 June. Flies' Prussians were defeated in the Battle of Langensalza, but the Hanoverians were unable to capitalize on their victory. Falckenstein's troops arrived the following day, and Arentschildt was forced to flee eastward into territory ringed by Prussian railways, leading to Hanover's surrender at Nordhausen on 29 June. Falckenstein's forces fought a series of engagements against south German states and entered Frankfurt on 16 July. Because of differences with the Prussian General Staff, he was forced to relinquish command to von Manteuffel and instead was made governor of Bohemia. In 1867, Falckenstein was chosen as a representative of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) to the Reichstag of the North German Confederation. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, Falckenstein was Generalgouverneur der deutschen Küstenlande (General Governor of the German Coastal Lands) and resided in Hanover. He organized the German coastal defenses and created a volunteer Seewehr as a naval militia. Falckenstein retired in 1873. He died at Dolzig (now Dłużek, Poland), then in the Province of Brandenburg. Honours and awards Kingdom of Prussia: Iron Cross, 2nd Class, 31 March 1814 (1813) Knight of the Order of