Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Encyclopedia
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen (de
: Erzherzog Karl von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen, also known as Karl von Österreich-Teschen) (Full name: Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz of Austria) (5 September 1771 – 30 April 1847) was an Austria
n field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II
and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the younger brother of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
. Despite being epileptic
, Charles achieved respect both as a commander and as a reformer of the Austrian army. He was considered one of Napoleon's
most formidable opponents.
He began his career fighting the revolutionary armies of France. Early in the wars of the First Coalition
, he saw victory at Neerwinden
in 1793, before tasting defeat at Wattignies 1793 and Fleurus
1794. In 1796, as chief of all Austrian forces on the Rhine, Charles out-generaled Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
at Amberg and Würzburg
, and forced Jean Victor Marie Moreau
to withdraw across the Rhine, and followed these victories with others at Zürich
, Ostrach
, Stockach
, and Messkirch
in 1799. He reformed Austria's armies to adopt the nation at arms principle; in 1809, he went into the War of the Fifth Coalition
with confidence and inflicted Napoleon's first major setback at Aspern-Essling
, before suffering a massive defeat at the Battle of Wagram
. Following Wagram, Charles saw no more significant action in the Napoleonic Wars.
As a military strategist, historians compare him to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
, conservative, cautious, and competent. Charles was a study in contrasts. As a practitioner, he was flawless in executing complex and risky maneuvers of troops in the heat of battle, achieving brilliant victories in the face of almost certain defeat. Yet, as a theoretician, his devotion to ground and caution led his contemporary, Carl von Clausewitz
, to criticize his rigidity and adherence to geographic strategy. Regardless, he remains among Austria's pantheon of heroes of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
, Italy
, where his father was then Grand Duke. In a generous act by his father, he was adopted and raised in Vienna by his childless aunt Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria
and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen. His youth was spent in Tuscany
, at Vienna
and in the Austrian Netherlands, where he began his career of military service in the war of the French Revolution
. He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Jemappes
, and in the campaign of 1793 distinguished himself at the Action of Aldenhoven
and the Battle of Neerwinden
. In this year he became Statthalter in Belgium
and received the army rank of lieutenant field marshal. This promotion was soon followed by that to Feldzeugmeister. In the remainder of the war in the Low Countries
he held high commands, and was present at the Battle of Fleurus
.
In 1795 he served on the Rhine, and in the following year was entrusted with chief control of all the Austrian forces on that river. His conduct of the operations against Jourdan
and Moreau
in 1796 marked him out at once as one of the greatest generals in Europe. At first falling back carefully and avoiding a decision, he finally marched away, leaving a mere screen in front of Moreau. Falling upon Jourdan he beat him in the battles of Amberg and Würzburg
, and drove him over the Rhine with great loss. He then turned upon Moreau's army, which he defeated and forced out of Germany.
In 1797 he was sent to arrest the victorious march of General Bonaparte
in Italy
, and he conducted the retreat of the over-matched Austrians with the highest skill. In the campaign of 1799 he once more opposed Jourdan
, whom he defeated in the battles of Ostrach
and Stockach
, following up his success by invading Switzerland
and defeating Masséna
in the First Battle of Zürich
, after which he re-entered Germany and drove the French once more over the Rhine.
Ill-health, however, forced him to retire to Bohemia
, but he was soon recalled to undertake the task of checking Moreau's advance on Vienna. The result of the Battle of Hohenlinden had, however, foredoomed the attempt, and the archduke had to make the armistice of Steyr
. His popularity was now such that the Eternal Diet of Regensburg, which met in 1802, resolved to erect a statue in his honor and to give him the title of savior of his country, but Charles refused both distinctions.
In the short and disastrous war of 1805 Archduke Charles commanded what was intended to be the main army in Italy, but events made Germany the decisive theatre of operations; Austria sustained defeat on the Danube
, and the archduke was defeated by Massena in the Battle of Caldiero. With the conclusion of peace he began his active work of army reorganization, which was first tested on the field in 1809. As generalissimo of the army he had been made field marshal
some years before.
In 1806 Francis II (now Francis I of Austria) named the Archduke Charles Commander in Chief of the Austrian army as well as Head of the Council of War. Supported by the prestige of being the only general who had proved capable of defeating the French, he promptly initiated a far-reaching scheme of reform, which replaced the obsolete methods of the 18th century. The chief characteristics of the new order were the adoption of the nation in arms principle and the adoption of French war organization and tactics. The army reforms were not yet completed by the war of 1809, in which Charles acted as commander in chief, yet even so it proved a far more formidable opponent than the old and was only defeated after a desperate struggle involving Austrian victories and large loss of life on both sides.
Its initial successes were neutralized by the reverses of Abensberg
, Landshut
and Eckmuhl
but, after the evacuation of Vienna, the archduke won a strong victory at the Battle of Aspern-Essling
but soon afterwards lost decisively at the Battle of Wagram
. At the end of the campaign the archduke gave up all his military offices.
When Austria joined the ranks of the allies during the War of the Sixth Coalition
, Charles was not given a command and the post of commander-in-chief of the allied Grand Army of Bohemia went to the Prince of Schwarzenberg
. Charles spent the rest of his life in retirement, except for a short time in 1815 when he was military governor of the Fortress Mainz
. In 1822 he succeeded to the duchy of Saxe-Teschen.
On 15 September/17 September 1815 in Weilburg
, Charles married Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg (1797–1829). She was a daughter of Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
.
Frederick William was the eldest surviving son of Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.
Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange
and Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain
and Caroline of Ansbach
.
Charles died at Vienna
on 30 April 1847. He is buried in tomb 122 in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. An equestrian statue was erected to his memory on the Heldenplatz
in Vienna in 1860.
preached so earnestly in his strategic works, he displayed in practice only when the situation seemed to demand it, though his education certainly prejudiced him in favor of the defensive at all costs. He was at the same time capable of forming and executing the most daring offensive strategy, and his tactical skill in the handling of troops, whether in wide turning movements, as at Würzburg and Zürich, or in masses, as at Aspern and Wagram, was certainly equal to that of any leader of his time, with only a few exceptions.
His campaign
of 1796 is considered almost faultless. That he sustained defeat in 1809 was due in part to the great numerical superiority of the French and their allies, and in part to the condition of his newly reorganized troops. His six weeks' inaction after the victory of Aspern is, however, open to unfavorable criticism. As a military writer, his position in the evolution of the art of war is very important, and his doctrines had naturally the greatest weight. Nevertheless they cannot but be considered antiquated even in 1806. Caution and the importance of strategic points are the chief features of his system. The rigidity of his geographical
strategy may be gathered from the prescription that this principle is never to be departed from.
Again and again he repeats the advice that nothing should be hazarded unless one's army is completely secure, a rule which he himself neglected with such brilliant results in 1796. Strategic points, he says, not the defeat of the enemy's army, decide the fate of one's own country, and must constantly remain the general's main concern, a maxim
which was never more remarkably disproved than in the war of 1809. The editor of the archduke's work is able to make but a feeble defense against Clausewitz's
reproach that Charles attached more value to ground than to the annihilation of the foe. In his tactical writings the same spirit is conspicuous. His reserve in battle is designed to cover a retreat.
The baneful influence of these antiquated principles was clearly shown in the maintenance of Königgratz-Josefstadt
in 1866 as a strategic point, which was preferred to the defeat of the separated Prussian armies, and in the strange plans produced in Vienna for the campaign of 1859, and in the almost unintelligible Battle of Montebello
in the same year. The theory and the practice of Archduke Charles form one of the most curious contrasts in military history. In the one he is unreal, in the other he displayed, along with the greatest skill, a vivid activity which made him for long the most formidable opponent of Napoleon.
On the battlefield, it is probably fair to say, Charles was comparable in skill and style to Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- quite conservative and yet exceedingly competent. Wellington is better-known to posterity, because he led one of the two Allied armies at the final decisive victory of the Napoleonic Wars (the battle of Waterloo in 1815), although Wellington's superior reputation is perhaps also because he only once faced Napoleon, whereas Charles was confronted by Napoleon in battle more times than any other commander. On these occasions the reliable and yet unimaginative tactics Charles was fond of were not sufficient, except on one occasion at Aspern-Essling, to defeat the unpredictable Corsica
n. Nonetheless Charles is a member of a pantheon
of famous Napoleonic figures that includes the Emperor himself, Louis Nicolas Davout
, Andre Massena
, Karl von Schwarzenberg, Mikhail Kutuzov, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
and the aforementioned Duke of Wellington.
He was the 831st Knight
of the Order of the Golden Fleece
in Austria
.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Erzherzog Karl von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen, also known as Karl von Österreich-Teschen) (Full name: Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz of Austria) (5 September 1771 – 30 April 1847) was an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the younger brother of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
. Despite being epileptic
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, Charles achieved respect both as a commander and as a reformer of the Austrian army. He was considered one of Napoleon's
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
most formidable opponents.
He began his career fighting the revolutionary armies of France. Early in the wars of the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
, he saw victory at Neerwinden
Battle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...
in 1793, before tasting defeat at Wattignies 1793 and Fleurus
Battle of Fleurus (1794)
In the Battle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794, the army of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan faced the Coalition Army commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg in the most decisive battle of the Flanders Campaign in the Low Countries during the French Revolutionary Wars...
1794. In 1796, as chief of all Austrian forces on the Rhine, Charles out-generaled Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
at Amberg and Würzburg
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of Habsburg Austria led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's forces, but they were resisted until the arrival of...
, and forced Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
to withdraw across the Rhine, and followed these victories with others at Zürich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
, Ostrach
Battle of Ostrach
The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command of Archduke Charles, over the French forces, commanded by Jean...
, Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...
, and Messkirch
Battle of Messkirch
The Battle of Meßkirch was fought on 4 and 5 May 1800 and resulted the victory of French army against the Austrians.-Overview:On 25 April 1800 the French Armée d'Allemagne, under Jean Victor Marie Moreau, crossed the Rhine River at Kehl and Schaffhausen. The 1st Demi-Brigade, of the Corps led by...
in 1799. He reformed Austria's armies to adopt the nation at arms principle; in 1809, he went into the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
with confidence and inflicted Napoleon's first major setback at Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
, before suffering a massive defeat at the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
. Following Wagram, Charles saw no more significant action in the Napoleonic Wars.
As a military strategist, historians compare him to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, conservative, cautious, and competent. Charles was a study in contrasts. As a practitioner, he was flawless in executing complex and risky maneuvers of troops in the heat of battle, achieving brilliant victories in the face of almost certain defeat. Yet, as a theoretician, his devotion to ground and caution led his contemporary, Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war...
, to criticize his rigidity and adherence to geographic strategy. Regardless, he remains among Austria's pantheon of heroes of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
Youth and early career
Charles was born in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where his father was then Grand Duke. In a generous act by his father, he was adopted and raised in Vienna by his childless aunt Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria
Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen
Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen , called "Mimi", was the fourth daughter and fifth child of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor...
and her husband Albert of Saxe-Teschen. His youth was spent in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and in the Austrian Netherlands, where he began his career of military service in the war of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Jemappes
Battle of Jemappes
The Battle of Jemappes took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Belgium, near Mons. General Charles François Dumouriez, in command of the French Revolutionary Army, defeated the greatly outnumbered Austrian army of Field Marshal Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and his second-in-command...
, and in the campaign of 1793 distinguished himself at the Action of Aldenhoven
Battle of Aldenhoven (1794)
The Battle of Aldenhoven, a French victory, was fought on 2 October 1794. The French general, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, opposed an Austrian army under General Clairfayt. The battle took place near the town of Aldenhoven, twenty kilometres northeast of Aachen, in present-day Germany.-References:...
and the Battle of Neerwinden
Battle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...
. In this year he became Statthalter in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and received the army rank of lieutenant field marshal. This promotion was soon followed by that to Feldzeugmeister. In the remainder of the war in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
he held high commands, and was present at the Battle of Fleurus
Battle of Fleurus (1794)
In the Battle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794, the army of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan faced the Coalition Army commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg in the most decisive battle of the Flanders Campaign in the Low Countries during the French Revolutionary Wars...
.
In 1795 he served on the Rhine, and in the following year was entrusted with chief control of all the Austrian forces on that river. His conduct of the operations against Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
and Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
in 1796 marked him out at once as one of the greatest generals in Europe. At first falling back carefully and avoiding a decision, he finally marched away, leaving a mere screen in front of Moreau. Falling upon Jourdan he beat him in the battles of Amberg and Würzburg
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of Habsburg Austria led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's forces, but they were resisted until the arrival of...
, and drove him over the Rhine with great loss. He then turned upon Moreau's army, which he defeated and forced out of Germany.
Napoleonic Wars
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and he conducted the retreat of the over-matched Austrians with the highest skill. In the campaign of 1799 he once more opposed Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
, whom he defeated in the battles of Ostrach
Battle of Ostrach
The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command of Archduke Charles, over the French forces, commanded by Jean...
and Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...
, following up his success by invading Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and defeating Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
in the First Battle of Zürich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
, after which he re-entered Germany and drove the French once more over the Rhine.
Ill-health, however, forced him to retire to Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, but he was soon recalled to undertake the task of checking Moreau's advance on Vienna. The result of the Battle of Hohenlinden had, however, foredoomed the attempt, and the archduke had to make the armistice of Steyr
Steyr
Steyr is a town, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Steyr and Enns. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and simultaneously the 3rd largest town in Upper Austria....
. His popularity was now such that the Eternal Diet of Regensburg, which met in 1802, resolved to erect a statue in his honor and to give him the title of savior of his country, but Charles refused both distinctions.
In the short and disastrous war of 1805 Archduke Charles commanded what was intended to be the main army in Italy, but events made Germany the decisive theatre of operations; Austria sustained defeat on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, and the archduke was defeated by Massena in the Battle of Caldiero. With the conclusion of peace he began his active work of army reorganization, which was first tested on the field in 1809. As generalissimo of the army he had been made field marshal
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
some years before.
In 1806 Francis II (now Francis I of Austria) named the Archduke Charles Commander in Chief of the Austrian army as well as Head of the Council of War. Supported by the prestige of being the only general who had proved capable of defeating the French, he promptly initiated a far-reaching scheme of reform, which replaced the obsolete methods of the 18th century. The chief characteristics of the new order were the adoption of the nation in arms principle and the adoption of French war organization and tactics. The army reforms were not yet completed by the war of 1809, in which Charles acted as commander in chief, yet even so it proved a far more formidable opponent than the old and was only defeated after a desperate struggle involving Austrian victories and large loss of life on both sides.
Its initial successes were neutralized by the reverses of Abensberg
Battle of Abensberg
The Battle of Abensberg took place on 20 April 1809, between a Franco-German force under the command of Emperor Napoleon I of France and a reinforced Austrian corps led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Louis of Austria. As the day wore on, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller arrived with...
, Landshut
Battle of Landshut (1809)
The Battle of Landshut took place on April 21, 1809, between the French, Württembergers and Bavarians under Napoleon which numbered about 77,000 strong, and 36,000 Austrians under the General Johann von Hiller...
and Eckmuhl
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition...
but, after the evacuation of Vienna, the archduke won a strong victory at the Battle of Aspern-Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
but soon afterwards lost decisively at the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
. At the end of the campaign the archduke gave up all his military offices.
Later life
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
, Charles was not given a command and the post of commander-in-chief of the allied Grand Army of Bohemia went to the Prince of Schwarzenberg
Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg
Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Charles Philip, Prince of Schwarzenberg (April 18, 1771 – October 15, 1820) was an Austrian field marshal.- Life :...
. Charles spent the rest of his life in retirement, except for a short time in 1815 when he was military governor of the Fortress Mainz
Fortress Mainz
The Fortress of Mainz was a fortressed garrison town between 1620 and 1918. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, under the term of the 1815 Peace of Paris, the control of Mainz passed to the German Confederation and became part of a chain of strategic fortresses which protected the Confederation with...
. In 1822 he succeeded to the duchy of Saxe-Teschen.
On 15 September/17 September 1815 in Weilburg
Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
, Charles married Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg (1797–1829). She was a daughter of Frederick William of Nassau-Weilburg (1768–1816) and his wife Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
Louise Isabelle Alexandrine Auguste, Countess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg, Burgravine of Kirchberg, full German name: Luise Isabelle Alexandrine Auguste, Gräfin zu Sayn-Hachenburg, Burggräfin von Kirchberg was the Princess consort of Nassau-Weilburg through her...
.
Frederick William was the eldest surviving son of Karl Christian of Nassau-Weilburg and Princess Wilhelmine Carolina of Orange-Nassau.
Wilhelmine Carolina was a daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau , born Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, was the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands.-Early life:...
and Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange was the second child and eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain and his consort, Caroline of Ansbach. She was the spouse of William IV, Prince of Orange, the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands...
. Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
and Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
.
Charles died at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 30 April 1847. He is buried in tomb 122 in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. An equestrian statue was erected to his memory on the Heldenplatz
Heldenplatz
The Heldenplatz is a historical plaza in Vienna. Many important actions took place here, most notably Adolf Hitler's announcement of the Anschluss of Austria to the German Reich in 1938.-The Plaza:...
in Vienna in 1860.
Assessment of his achievements
The caution which the archdukeArchduke
The title of Archduke denotes a noble rank above Duke and below King, used only by princes of the Houses of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine....
preached so earnestly in his strategic works, he displayed in practice only when the situation seemed to demand it, though his education certainly prejudiced him in favor of the defensive at all costs. He was at the same time capable of forming and executing the most daring offensive strategy, and his tactical skill in the handling of troops, whether in wide turning movements, as at Würzburg and Zürich, or in masses, as at Aspern and Wagram, was certainly equal to that of any leader of his time, with only a few exceptions.
His campaign
Military campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
of 1796 is considered almost faultless. That he sustained defeat in 1809 was due in part to the great numerical superiority of the French and their allies, and in part to the condition of his newly reorganized troops. His six weeks' inaction after the victory of Aspern is, however, open to unfavorable criticism. As a military writer, his position in the evolution of the art of war is very important, and his doctrines had naturally the greatest weight. Nevertheless they cannot but be considered antiquated even in 1806. Caution and the importance of strategic points are the chief features of his system. The rigidity of his geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
strategy may be gathered from the prescription that this principle is never to be departed from.
Again and again he repeats the advice that nothing should be hazarded unless one's army is completely secure, a rule which he himself neglected with such brilliant results in 1796. Strategic points, he says, not the defeat of the enemy's army, decide the fate of one's own country, and must constantly remain the general's main concern, a maxim
Maxim (philosophy)
A maxim is a ground rule or subjective principle of action; in that sense, a maxim is a thought that can motivate individuals.- Deontological ethics :...
which was never more remarkably disproved than in the war of 1809. The editor of the archduke's work is able to make but a feeble defense against Clausewitz's
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war...
reproach that Charles attached more value to ground than to the annihilation of the foe. In his tactical writings the same spirit is conspicuous. His reserve in battle is designed to cover a retreat.
Battle of Königgrätz
The Battle of Königgrätz , also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire...
in 1866 as a strategic point, which was preferred to the defeat of the separated Prussian armies, and in the strange plans produced in Vienna for the campaign of 1859, and in the almost unintelligible Battle of Montebello
Battle of Montebello (1859)
The Battle of Montebello was fought on May 20, 1859 at Montebello . It was a minor engagement of the Second Italian War of Independence, fought between Piedmontese cavalry and French infantry against Austrian troops. The Austrian defeat, despite the greater number, was another sign that Austrian...
in the same year. The theory and the practice of Archduke Charles form one of the most curious contrasts in military history. In the one he is unreal, in the other he displayed, along with the greatest skill, a vivid activity which made him for long the most formidable opponent of Napoleon.
On the battlefield, it is probably fair to say, Charles was comparable in skill and style to Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
- quite conservative and yet exceedingly competent. Wellington is better-known to posterity, because he led one of the two Allied armies at the final decisive victory of the Napoleonic Wars (the battle of Waterloo in 1815), although Wellington's superior reputation is perhaps also because he only once faced Napoleon, whereas Charles was confronted by Napoleon in battle more times than any other commander. On these occasions the reliable and yet unimaginative tactics Charles was fond of were not sufficient, except on one occasion at Aspern-Essling, to defeat the unpredictable Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
n. Nonetheless Charles is a member of a pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...
of famous Napoleonic figures that includes the Emperor himself, Louis Nicolas Davout
Louis Nicolas Davout
Louis-Nicolas d'Avout , better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a Marshal of France during the Napoleonic Era. His prodigious talent for war along with his reputation as a stern disciplinarian, earned him the title "The Iron Marshal"...
, Andre Massena
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
, Karl von Schwarzenberg, Mikhail Kutuzov, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt , Graf , later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the Duke of Wellington.He is...
and the aforementioned Duke of Wellington.
He was the 831st Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa of Austria (1816-1867) Maria Theresa of Austria was the second wife of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies.-Family:She was the eldest daughter of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg.... |
31 July 1816 | 8 August 1867 | Married Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death.-Family:Ferdinand was born in Palermo, the son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife and first cousin Maria Isabella of Spain.His paternal grandparents were King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Queen Marie... , had issue |
| Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen Archduke Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf Dominik of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian Habsburg general. Inspector General for 36 years, he was honored with the rank of Field Marshal in the armies of Austria-Hungary and Germany .-Early life:He was the eldest son of Archduke Charles of Austria,... |
3 August 1817 | 2 February 1895 | Married Princess Hildegard of Bavaria Princess Hildegard of Bavaria Princess Hildegard of Bavaria was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.... , had issue |
| Archduke Karl Ferdinand | 29 July 1818 | 20 November 1874 | Married Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria Elisabeth Franziska Maria, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia .... , had issue |
| Archduke Frederick Ferdinand | 14 May 1821 | 5 October 1847 | Died unmarried. |
| Archduke Rudolph of Austria | 25 September 1822 | 11 October 1822 | Died in childhood. |
| Archduchess Maria Karoline of Austria | 10 September 1825 | 17 July 1915 | Married her first cousin Archduke Rainer of Austria Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria was an Austrian prime minister. He was a son of Archduke Rainer Joseph.... , third son of Archduke Rainer of Austria Archduke Rainer of Austria Rainer Joseph of Austria was a Viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia from 1818 to 1848. He was also an Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.-Biography:... and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignano. |
| Archduke Wilhelm of Austria | 21 April 1827 | 29 July 1894 | Died unmarried. |
Ancestry
Works
- Grundsätze der Kriegskunst für die Generale (1806)
- Grundsätze der Strategie erläutert durch die Darstellung des Feldzugs 1796 (1814)
- Geschichte des Feldzugs von 1799 in Deutschland und in der Schweiz (1819)