Archduke Eugen of Austria
Encyclopedia
Archduke Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria of Austria-Teschen (21 May 1863 – 30 December 1954) was an Archduke
of Austria
and a Prince of Hungary
and Bohemia
. He was the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from the Habsburg
dynasty.
) and of his wife Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
. He was born at the castle of Gross Seelowitz (Židlochovice)
, near Brünn (Brno)
in Moravia
. At his baptism he was given the names Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria. His education was Spartan in character. His country living at Gross Seelowitz and holidays at Gmund
alternated with a sound education and strict instruction.
At the Albrechtspalais in Vienna
, Eugen received instruction in all the military subjects in addition to languages, music and the history of art. At the age of 14 in keeping with the family tradition and like his elder brother, he also began his military career with the Tyrol
ean Kaiserjäger Regiment and was commissioned as a Leutnant on the 27 October 1877. Shortly thereafter he was transferred as an Oberleutnant
to a hussar
regiment and in the following years participated in many lengthy manoeuvres
.
In 1882, Eugen took an examination before a commission assembled by Archduke Albrecht that verified his suitability to attend the military academy at Wiener Neustadt
. Eugen became then the sole archduke to attend the several year long course at the academy (1883–1885) and subsequently successfully graduated as a fully trained general staff officer.
and rapidly rose through the ranks. He commanded a battalion
of Infantry Regiment 13 as a lieutenant colonel
before assuming command of the entire regiment as a colonel
. Following a further regimental assignment as commanding officer of Hussar regiment 13, he assumed command of an infantry brigade in Olmütz and then a division in Vienna. In 1900 he was appointed to the command of XIV Army Corps in Innsbruck
and promoted to General der Kavallerie
on 27 April 1901. This command simultaneously also made him the commanding general in Innsbruck and the defence commander for the Tyrol. He was appointed eight years later as an army inspector and senior defence commander for the Tyrol. When in 1909 the possibility of a war against Serbia
was in the air he alongside Archduke Franz Ferdinand and General Albori was named as a presumptive army commander.
Eugen also had exercised his influence in the field of personnel. He had urgently recommended Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Conrad von Hötzendorf, his divisional commander at Innsbruck as the successor to the retiring chief of the general staff — General Beck-Rzikowsky. In 1911, the Archduke retired from active military service ostensibly for health reasons. Conrad von Hötzendorf however suggested in his memoirs that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had become increasingly jealous of the importance of Eugen.
In addition to his military career above all else, Eugen was called upon to perform his duty as the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. On 11 January 1887, Eugen entered the Teutonic Knights
as a professed knight. At the same time he was chosen to be the coadjutor of his uncle, Archduke Wilhelm, the then Hoch- und Deutschmeister.
When Archduke Wilhelm suddenly died, Eugen was enthroned as the new Hoch- und Deutschmeister on 19 November 1894 and in this office he also proved himself very effective. He further developed the institution of the volunteer nursing care (Marianer), founded new hospitals and improved the training of the sisters. Finally he had the central archives of the order in Vienna sorted out and extended.
At the outbreak of the First World War he immediately reported for active duty. He was however at first palmed off with a relatively unimportant post as the patron of the voluntary war welfare organization. Finally he was transferred in December 1914 to assume to post of commander of the forces in the Balkans
with his headquarters at Peterwardein. Together with his chief of Staff, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Alfred Krauss, a very talented military theoretician with a decisive and vigorous character, he reorganized the hard hit 5th army.
On 22 May 1915, Eugen was promoted to Generaloberst. Two days later on the 24th of May he was entrusted with the command of the southwestern front against Italy. He moved his headquarters to Marburg
(Maribor) and now commanded a theatre stretching from the Swiss border to the Adriatic. His main objective here was a pure and simple defence against the many times numerically superior Italian forces. Only at the beginning was the designation "Southwest Front Command" clear. From March 1916, it functioned as Heeresgruppen-Kommando Erzherzog Eugen in Tyrol
to the exclusion of the remaining parts of the front and at the beginning of the execution of the 12th battle of the Isonzo as Heeresfront Erzherzog Eugen with the allied German 14th Army and Heeresgruppe von Boroević under command but Heeresgruppe von Conrad was not immediately subordinate.
During the First Battle of the Isonzo
Eugen traveled back and forth behind the front. He attended many conferences, appeared on the front lines and encouraged the troops and in this way achieved great popularity. At the same time he managed the rear areas in order to guarantee the best possible supply to the forward troops.
Before the great attack from the South Tyrol which took take place in the Spring of 1916 Eugen assumed command as army group commander of the 11th and 3rd armies and took up headquarters at his cousin's, the Graf von Bozen und Maurer, estate just outside Bozen (Bolzano). After initial success, the attack had to be broken off in consequence of the danger posed to the Russian front following the Brussilow offensive of June 1916 and the subsequent transfer of formations to that threatened front. However after breaking off the offensive, Archduke Eugen successfully withdrew his troops in the second half of June 1916 into secure positions.
In the further course of the war Eugen had to transfer more and more of his troops to the hard fighting Isonzo Army so that he soon had to manage without reserves in his own theatre of operations. Although he had had only a very limited forces holding the Tyrolean front he never considered withdrawing further and shortening his line. He was too personally attached to the land to do that.
Eugen was promoted to Field Marshal
on 23 November 1916 and in the middle of March 1917 again took up his work as the commander of the southwest front. During the Caporetto offensive, Eugen was the actual commander employing his complete energy in the process. He recognized that this was the last favorable opportunity for the Central Powers
. The Archduke, who normally was no great flayer of the soldiers could on this occasion not push hard enough. There appeared temporarily to be great confusion in the issuing of orders. It is possible that many blamed Eugen and his staff for this.
Against the will of the chief of the general staff, Generaloberst Baron Arz, the Emperor Karl released Eugen from active service on 18 December 1917. The southwestern front command was terminated. The relief of Eugen does not appear to been made for personal but on objective reasons. After Russia's withdrawal from the war and the shortening of various other fronts (Isonzo, Carinthia, Dolomites), the senior generals pushed at the Piave. With his very senior rank, Eugen could only be a commander in chief. But as the Emperor Karl himself took up the supreme command Eugen had to go.
Eugen still enjoyed high renown and at the end of the war at the beginning of November 1918, the idea of Eugen becoming a regent
was introduced. The last foreign minister Graf Andrassy and the member of parliament Dr. Franz Dinghofer of the German nationalist party had discussed this. However, Eugen would never have accepted such an offer without the consent of the emperor.
He also received the Swords to both his Large Military Merit Medal and Bronze Military Merit Medal at a later date to the original awards.
Additionally he was the possessor of a host of foreign awards and decorations:
and then at Basel
where he lived modestly in a hotel from 1918 to 1934. In order to safeguard the existence of the Teutonic Order , Eugen voluntarily resigned his position as the Hoch- und Deutschmeister in 1923. He had been the last secular grand master of the order. In this way the possessions of the order were saved.
In 1934, Eugen settled at the order's convent at Gumpoldskirchen
near Vienna. He participated at monarchical rallies, attended veterans' meetings and placed himself again at the service of the dynasty even though he himself no longer believed in the restoration. Following the Anschluß of Austria to Germany in 1938 the German Order was dissolved and its possessions confiscated.
Eugen received, probably with the intervention of Hermann Göring
and other senior military figures a rented house at Hietzing
where he survived the Second World War. In 1945, he fled to the Tyrol where he received through the French occupying power a small rented villa at Igls. On 21 May 1953, the whole of Innsbruck celebrated the field marshal's 90th birthday.
Eugen died on 30 December 1954 at Meran surrounded by the brothers of his order from Lana
. On 6 January 1955, he was buried in the St. Jakobskirche at Innsbruck next to Archduke Maximilian III (1558–1619).
Archduke
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....
of Austria
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and a Prince of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
and 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...
. He was the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
dynasty.
Early life
Eugen was the son of Karl Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria (son of Archduke Charles, Duke of TeschenArchduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
) and of his wife Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
Elisabeth Franziska Maria, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Hungary and Bohemia ....
. He was born at the castle of Gross Seelowitz (Židlochovice)
Židlochovice
Židlochovice is a town in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic.The town covers an area of , and has a population of 3,075.Židlochovice lies approximately south of Brno and south-east of Prague.- References :*...
, near Brünn (Brno)
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. At his baptism he was given the names Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria. His education was Spartan in character. His country living at Gross Seelowitz and holidays at Gmund
Gmünd
Gmünd is a town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.The municipality is situated within the valley of the Lieser river, a left tributary of the Drava, east of the Hohe Tauern mountain range.-Municipality breakdown:...
alternated with a sound education and strict instruction.
At the Albrechtspalais in 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...
, Eugen received instruction in all the military subjects in addition to languages, music and the history of art. At the age of 14 in keeping with the family tradition and like his elder brother, he also began his military career with the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
ean Kaiserjäger Regiment and was commissioned as a Leutnant on the 27 October 1877. Shortly thereafter he was transferred as an Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
to a hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
regiment and in the following years participated in many lengthy manoeuvres
Military exercise
A military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
.
In 1882, Eugen took an examination before a commission assembled by Archduke Albrecht that verified his suitability to attend the military academy at Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt
-Main sights:* The Late-Romanesque Dom, consecrated in 1279 and cathedral from 1469 to 1785. The choir and transept, in Gothic style, are from the 14th century. In the late 15th century 12 statues of the Apostles were added in the apse, while the bust of Cardinal Melchior Klesl is attributed to...
. Eugen became then the sole archduke to attend the several year long course at the academy (1883–1885) and subsequently successfully graduated as a fully trained general staff officer.
Military career
In 1885, Eugen was assigned to the General StaffGeneral Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
and rapidly rose through the ranks. He commanded a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of Infantry Regiment 13 as a lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
before assuming command of the entire regiment as a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. Following a further regimental assignment as commanding officer of Hussar regiment 13, he assumed command of an infantry brigade in Olmütz and then a division in Vienna. In 1900 he was appointed to the command of XIV Army Corps in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
and promoted to General der Kavallerie
Army General
For the army rank of General, as opposed to the specific rank of Army General, see General officer.Army General is a title used in many countries to denote the rank of General nominally commanding an army in the field...
on 27 April 1901. This command simultaneously also made him the commanding general in Innsbruck and the defence commander for the Tyrol. He was appointed eight years later as an army inspector and senior defence commander for the Tyrol. When in 1909 the possibility of a war against Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
was in the air he alongside Archduke Franz Ferdinand and General Albori was named as a presumptive army commander.
Eugen also had exercised his influence in the field of personnel. He had urgently recommended Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Conrad von Hötzendorf, his divisional commander at Innsbruck as the successor to the retiring chief of the general staff — General Beck-Rzikowsky. In 1911, the Archduke retired from active military service ostensibly for health reasons. Conrad von Hötzendorf however suggested in his memoirs that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had become increasingly jealous of the importance of Eugen.
In addition to his military career above all else, Eugen was called upon to perform his duty as the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. On 11 January 1887, Eugen entered the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
as a professed knight. At the same time he was chosen to be the coadjutor of his uncle, Archduke Wilhelm, the then Hoch- und Deutschmeister.
When Archduke Wilhelm suddenly died, Eugen was enthroned as the new Hoch- und Deutschmeister on 19 November 1894 and in this office he also proved himself very effective. He further developed the institution of the volunteer nursing care (Marianer), founded new hospitals and improved the training of the sisters. Finally he had the central archives of the order in Vienna sorted out and extended.
World War I
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
with his headquarters at Peterwardein. Together with his chief of Staff, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Alfred Krauss, a very talented military theoretician with a decisive and vigorous character, he reorganized the hard hit 5th army.
On 22 May 1915, Eugen was promoted to Generaloberst. Two days later on the 24th of May he was entrusted with the command of the southwestern front against Italy. He moved his headquarters to Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
(Maribor) and now commanded a theatre stretching from the Swiss border to the Adriatic. His main objective here was a pure and simple defence against the many times numerically superior Italian forces. Only at the beginning was the designation "Southwest Front Command" clear. From March 1916, it functioned as Heeresgruppen-Kommando Erzherzog Eugen in Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
to the exclusion of the remaining parts of the front and at the beginning of the execution of the 12th battle of the Isonzo as Heeresfront Erzherzog Eugen with the allied German 14th Army and Heeresgruppe von Boroević under command but Heeresgruppe von Conrad was not immediately subordinate.
During the First Battle of the Isonzo
Battles of the Isonzo
The Battles of the Isonzo were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I. They were fought along the Soča River on the eastern sector of the Italian Front between June 1915 and November 1917...
Eugen traveled back and forth behind the front. He attended many conferences, appeared on the front lines and encouraged the troops and in this way achieved great popularity. At the same time he managed the rear areas in order to guarantee the best possible supply to the forward troops.
Before the great attack from the South Tyrol which took take place in the Spring of 1916 Eugen assumed command as army group commander of the 11th and 3rd armies and took up headquarters at his cousin's, the Graf von Bozen und Maurer, estate just outside Bozen (Bolzano). After initial success, the attack had to be broken off in consequence of the danger posed to the Russian front following the Brussilow offensive of June 1916 and the subsequent transfer of formations to that threatened front. However after breaking off the offensive, Archduke Eugen successfully withdrew his troops in the second half of June 1916 into secure positions.
In the further course of the war Eugen had to transfer more and more of his troops to the hard fighting Isonzo Army so that he soon had to manage without reserves in his own theatre of operations. Although he had had only a very limited forces holding the Tyrolean front he never considered withdrawing further and shortening his line. He was too personally attached to the land to do that.
Eugen was promoted to Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
on 23 November 1916 and in the middle of March 1917 again took up his work as the commander of the southwest front. During the Caporetto offensive, Eugen was the actual commander employing his complete energy in the process. He recognized that this was the last favorable opportunity for the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. The Archduke, who normally was no great flayer of the soldiers could on this occasion not push hard enough. There appeared temporarily to be great confusion in the issuing of orders. It is possible that many blamed Eugen and his staff for this.
Against the will of the chief of the general staff, Generaloberst Baron Arz, the Emperor Karl released Eugen from active service on 18 December 1917. The southwestern front command was terminated. The relief of Eugen does not appear to been made for personal but on objective reasons. After Russia's withdrawal from the war and the shortening of various other fronts (Isonzo, Carinthia, Dolomites), the senior generals pushed at the Piave. With his very senior rank, Eugen could only be a commander in chief. But as the Emperor Karl himself took up the supreme command Eugen had to go.
Eugen still enjoyed high renown and at the end of the war at the beginning of November 1918, the idea of Eugen becoming a regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
was introduced. The last foreign minister Graf Andrassy and the member of parliament Dr. Franz Dinghofer of the German nationalist party had discussed this. However, Eugen would never have accepted such an offer without the consent of the emperor.
Military awards
Amongst the Archduke's considerable number of Austro-Hungarian awards here are the most important:- Order of the Golden FleeceOrder of the Golden FleeceThe 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...
(13 April 1878) - Military Merit CrossMilitary Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Cross was a decoration of the Empire of Austria and, after the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was first established on October 22, 1849 and underwent several revisions to its design and award criteria over the years of its existence...
(30 November 1898) - Jubilee Commemoration Medal (2 December 1898)
- Military Service Award III Class (24 October 1902)
- Bronze Military Merit Medal (26 September 1905)
- Brilliants to the Military Merit Cross (12 August 1908)
- Second Expression of Appreciation (Silver Military Merit Medal 1911) (11 October 1908)
- Military Jubilee Cross (2 December 1908)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stephen of HungaryOrder of Saint Stephen of HungaryThe Royal Hungarian Order of Saint StephenThe Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, the royal Hungarian order, founded in 1764 by the empress Maria Theresa of Austria, consisted of the grand master , 20 knights grand cross, 30 knights commanders and 50 knights...
(30 March 1911) - Red Cross Merit Star with War Decoration (8 March 1915)
- Bronze Military Merit MedalMilitary Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Medal was a military decoration of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I on March 12, 1890...
(War ribbon) (9 May 1915) - Military Merit CrossMilitary Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Cross was a decoration of the Empire of Austria and, after the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was first established on October 22, 1849 and underwent several revisions to its design and award criteria over the years of its existence...
1st Class with War Decoration (29 July 1915) - Large Military Merit MedalMilitary Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Medal was a military decoration of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I on March 12, 1890...
(24 May 1916) - Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria TheresaMilitary Order of Maria TheresaThe Military Order of Maria Theresa was an Order of the Austro-Hungarian Empire founded on June 18, 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolin, by the Empress...
(15 January 1917) - Silver Military Merit MedalMilitary Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Medal was a military decoration of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I on March 12, 1890...
with Swords (26 June 1917) - Brilliants to the Military Merit CrossMilitary Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)The Military Merit Cross was a decoration of the Empire of Austria and, after the establishment of the Dual Monarchy in 1867, the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was first established on October 22, 1849 and underwent several revisions to its design and award criteria over the years of its existence...
1st Class with War Decoration and Swords (5 November 1917)
He also received the Swords to both his Large Military Merit Medal and Bronze Military Merit Medal at a later date to the original awards.
Additionally he was the possessor of a host of foreign awards and decorations:
- Grand Cross of the Royal Romanian Order "Star of Romania" (3 October 1881)
- Grand Cross of the Royal Spanish Order of Charles III (2 July 1883)
- Throat and Breast Cross of a Professed Knight of the Teutonic Order (11 January 1886)
- Grand Cross of the Royal Portuguese Military Merit Order (7 March 1890)
- Grand Cross of the Grand Duke of Hesse Ludwig OrderLudwigsordenThe "Ludwigsorden" , was an order of the Grand Duchy of Hesse which was awarded to meritorious soldiers and civilians from 1807 to 1918.-History:...
(5 May 1892) - Throat and Breast Cross of the Hoch- und Deutschmeister (30 July 1894)
- Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Tuscan Order of St. JosephOrder of Saint JosephThe Order of Saint Joseph was instituted in 1807 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany during his reign as Grand Duke of Würzburg. It was transformed into a Tuscan Dynastic Order in 1817....
(7 April 1896) - Imperial Russian Order of St. AndrewOrder of St. AndrewThe Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
with Chain (26 June 1896) - Imperial Russian Order of St. Alexander NevskyOrder of St. Alexander NevskyThe Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.-History:The introduction of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was planned by Emperor Peter I of Russia...
- Imperial Russian Order of the White Eagle
- Imperial Russian Order of St. AnnaOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
1st Class - Siamese Order of the Royal House of ChakriOrder of the Royal House of ChakriThe Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri was established in 1882 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam to commemorate the Bangkok Centennial...
(17 September 1897) - Royal Swedish Order of the SeraphimOrder of the SeraphimThe Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish Royal order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star...
(10 October 1897) - Royal Swedish Jubilee Commemorative Medal
- Papal Order of ChristOrder of Christ (papacy)The Supreme Order of Christ is the highest order of chivalry being awarded by the Pope. According to some scholars owes its origin to the same Order of Christ of the Knights Templar, from which came the Order of Christ that was awarded by the Kings of Portugal and the Emperors of Brazil...
(17 February 1904) - Grand Cross of the House Order of Saxe-Ernestine (5 June 1904)
- Collar of the Royal Spanish Order of Charles III (21 June 1907)
- Grand Cross of the Papal Order of the Holy SepulchreOrder of the Holy SepulchreThe Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a Roman Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the pope. It traces its roots to Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, principal leader of the First Crusade...
(24 September 1907) - Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian OrderRoyal Victorian OrderThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(20 September 1908) - Commemoration Medal to the Regency of Queen Maria Christina of Spain (1909)
- Grand Cordon of the Royal Belgian Order of Leopold (6 October 1910)
- Royal Prussian Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
1st and 2nd Class (30 March 1915) - Grand Commander of the Royal Prussian Hohenzollern House OrderHouse Order of HohenzollernThe House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
with Swords (4 August 1915) - Grand Cross of the Royal Bavarian Military Order of Max JosephMilitary Order of Max JosephThe Military Order of Max Joseph was the highest purely military order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria...
(16 November 1915) - Imperial Ottoman Gold and Silver Imtiyaz MedalImtiyaz MedalThe Imtiyaz Medal / Imtiaz Medal or Nishan-i-Imtiaz was an Ottoman military decoration, instituted in 1882. It was presented in two classes, gold and silver. The gold medal was the highest Ottoman military decoration for gallantry. When awarded during World War I, the medal was worn with a...
s (15 January 1916) - Friedrich-August Cross 1st and 2nd Class of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (15 March 1916)
- Royal Prussian Order Pour le MéritePour le MériteThe Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
(24 May 1916) - Grand Cross of the House Order of Vigilance or of the White Falcon with Swords of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimer (2 December 1916)
- Honour Award of the Royal Bulgarian Red Cross (1916/1917)
- Oak leaves to the Royal Prussian Order Pour le MéritePour le MériteThe Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
(11 November 1917) - Royal Bulgarian Order of BraveryOrder of BraveryThe Order of Bravery is a Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Republic of Bulgaria. It is the most esteemed Bulgarian order and the second highest in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and forth highest in the Republic of Bulgaria...
1st Class (20 November 1917) - Grand Cross of the Royal Württemberg Military Merit OrderMilitary Merit Order (Württemberg)The Military Merit Order was a military order of the Kingdom of Württemberg, which joined the German Empire in 1871. The order was one of the older military orders of the states of the German Empire...
(2 January 1918) - Royal Bavarian Honour Award to commemorate the Golden Anniversary of King Ludwig III (20 January 1918)
Later life
Following the collapse of the monarchy Eugen first settled in LucerneLucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
and then at Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
where he lived modestly in a hotel from 1918 to 1934. In order to safeguard the existence of the Teutonic Order , Eugen voluntarily resigned his position as the Hoch- und Deutschmeister in 1923. He had been the last secular grand master of the order. In this way the possessions of the order were saved.
In 1934, Eugen settled at the order's convent at Gumpoldskirchen
Gumpoldskirchen
Gumpoldskirchen is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Gumpoldskirchen borders on the municipalities Mödling, Guntramsdorf, Gaaden, Pfaffstätten and Traiskirchen. The municipal area extends from the flats in the Vienna Basin to forest areas of the Anningers in...
near Vienna. He participated at monarchical rallies, attended veterans' meetings and placed himself again at the service of the dynasty even though he himself no longer believed in the restoration. Following the Anschluß of Austria to Germany in 1938 the German Order was dissolved and its possessions confiscated.
Eugen received, probably with the intervention of Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
and other senior military figures a rented house at Hietzing
Hietzing
Hietzing is the 13th municipal District of Vienna . It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling...
where he survived the Second World War. In 1945, he fled to the Tyrol where he received through the French occupying power a small rented villa at Igls. On 21 May 1953, the whole of Innsbruck celebrated the field marshal's 90th birthday.
Eugen died on 30 December 1954 at Meran surrounded by the brothers of his order from Lana
Lana
Lana \l-na\ is a female given name, pronounced LAN-ah, LAW-NA, or LAHN-ah.Although a name in itself it may be short for Svetlana, Ruslana, Allana, Elana or Ilana....
. On 6 January 1955, he was buried in the St. Jakobskirche at Innsbruck next to Archduke Maximilian III (1558–1619).