Johann Kollowrat
Encyclopedia
Kollowrat-Krakowsky, Johann Karl, Graf von (21 December 1748 - 5 June 1816) joined the Austrian
army, fought against the Kingdom of Prussia
and Ottoman Turkey before being promoted to general officer rank. During combat against the French in the French Revolutionary Wars
, he first became known as an artillery specialist. In the Napoleonic Wars
, he commanded corps in the 1805 and 1809 campaigns. He became the Proprietor (Inhaber)
of an Austrian infantry regiment in 1801 and held that position until his death.
He was the last governor of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1791, having succeeded Count George Olivier of Wallis
and acceeded those territories in accordance to the Treaty of Sistova
.
on 21 December 1748, Kollowrat's military career began in 1766 when he joined the Austrian army. Two years later he became a captain. In 1778-1779, he fought against the Prussians in the War of the Bavarian Succession during which he received promotion to Major
. In 1786 he became an Oberst-Leutnant
. The Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
saw him elevated in rank to Oberst
(colonel
) in command of the Alvinczi Infantry Regiment # 19. After performing notable service and being wounded at Belgrade
, he earned promotion to General-Major
on 9 October 1789.
He succeeded in 1791 count George Olivier as supreme military commander of the Habsburg forces in Serbia.
during the 1795 campaign. In recognition of his abilities, Emperor Francis II named him Feldmarschal-Leutnant
on 4 March 1796. He distinguished himself while directing the batteries at the Siege of Kehl
in 1796-1797 and received the Commander's Cross Military Order of Maria Theresa
for his efforts. On 28 October 1800, he received the rank of Feldzeugmeister
.
. He led the 9,500 Austrians of the 4th column at the Battle of Austerlitz
in 1805. Advancing across the Pratzen plateau, his force found itself in the path of Napoleon's main attack. After severe fighting, Marshal
Nicolas Soult's corps broke Kollowrat's Austrians and drove them off the field.
where it was unengaged because it operated north of the Danube. Transferring to command of the III Corps, his troops missed the Battle of Aspern-Essling
. Instead, he operated against Emperor Napoleon I's lines of communication with little effect.
On the second day of the Battle of Wagram
, Archduke Charles
launched the corps of Kollowrat and Johann von Klenau
in a dangerous assault against the French left flank. Napoleon stopped the slow-moving III Corps by hurling a cavalry division at it. The French horsemen suffered crippling losses but they bought time for the Grand Army's artillerists to assemble a 112-gun grand battery. When these cannons opened fire, they stopped the III Corps cold. Next, Napoleon sent Etienne Macdonald
's corps against the junction between Kollowrat's III Corps and Johann Liechtenstein's I Reserve Corps. Despite this heavy attack, the Austrians succeeded in halting Macdonald. But by this time, the French had overwhelmed the Austrian army on the rest of the battlefield. Archduke Charles issued orders to retreat and Kollowrat was forced to pull back his command.
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
army, fought against the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and Ottoman Turkey before being promoted to general officer rank. During combat against the French in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, he first became known as an artillery specialist. In the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, he commanded corps in the 1805 and 1809 campaigns. He became the Proprietor (Inhaber)
Proprietor (Inhaber)
A Proprietor, or Inhaber, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the Inhaber who also acted as...
of an Austrian infantry regiment in 1801 and held that position until his death.
He was the last governor of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1791, having succeeded Count George Olivier of Wallis
George Olivier, count of Wallis
George Olivier, Count of Wallis was a field marshal of Irish descent in the service of the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and last regent of the Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia . Born into an Irish family, he distinguished himself in Sicily by his capture of Messina. He then...
and acceeded those territories in accordance to the Treaty of Sistova
Treaty of Sistova
The Treaty of Sistova ended the Austro-Turkish War between the Ottoman Empire and Austria. It was signed in Sistova in present-day Bulgaria on August 4, 1791....
.
Early career
Born in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
on 21 December 1748, Kollowrat's military career began in 1766 when he joined the Austrian army. Two years later he became a captain. In 1778-1779, he fought against the Prussians in the War of the Bavarian Succession during which he received promotion to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. In 1786 he became an Oberst-Leutnant
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...
. The Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)
The Austro-Turkish War of 1787 was an inconclusive struggle between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. It took place concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792.-History:...
saw him elevated in rank to Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
(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...
) in command of the Alvinczi Infantry Regiment # 19. After performing notable service and being wounded at Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, he earned promotion to General-Major
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
on 9 October 1789.
He succeeded in 1791 count George Olivier as supreme military commander of the Habsburg forces in Serbia.
War of the First Coalition
In 1792, Kollowrat transferred to the artillery and fought in the War of the First Coalition. After proving himself a crack gunner and a careful student of logistics, he received command of the 2nd Artillery Regiment. He served as chief of artillery under the Count of ClerfaytFrançois Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt
François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt , a Walloon, joined the army of the Habsburg Monarchy and soon fought in the Seven Years War. Later in his military career, he led Austrian troops in the war against Ottoman Turkey...
during the 1795 campaign. In recognition of his abilities, Emperor Francis II named him Feldmarschal-Leutnant
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
on 4 March 1796. He distinguished himself while directing the batteries at the Siege of Kehl
Siege of Kehl (1796)
The 1796-1797 Siege of Kehl lasted from October 1796 to 9 January 1797, during the War of the First Coalition...
in 1796-1797 and received the Commander's Cross Military Order of Maria Theresa
Military Order of Maria Theresa
The 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...
for his efforts. On 28 October 1800, he received the rank of Feldzeugmeister
Feldzeugmeister
Feldzeugmeister was a military rank in various European armies , especially in the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found in the beginning of the 20th century in some European countries...
.
War of the Second Coalition
At the Battle of Hohenlinden, the army commander Archduke John of Austria rode with Kollowrat's 22,000-strong Austro-Bavarian column. Before Kollowrat's column left the heavy woods, the French ambushed its leading elements. Because his column rapidly followed the main highway and the columns on either side fell behind schedule due to snow squalls and poor roads, a French flanking attack enveloped Kollowrat's column. After severe fighting, the French hemmed in the allies on three sides and their formations disintegrated. Kollowrat's men suffered very heavy losses in captured men and cannons.Austerlitz
He became proprietor of the Kollowrat Infantry Regiment # 36 in 1801. In the same year, he became a member of the Aulic CouncilAulic Council
The Aulic Council was originally an executive-judicial council for the Holy Roman Empire....
. He led the 9,500 Austrians of the 4th column at the Battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
in 1805. Advancing across the Pratzen plateau, his force found itself in the path of Napoleon's main attack. After severe fighting, Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Nicolas Soult's corps broke Kollowrat's Austrians and drove them off the field.
Danube campaign
In 1809, Kollowrat led the II Corps during the Battle of EckmuhlBattle 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...
where it was unengaged because it operated north of the Danube. Transferring to command of the III Corps, his troops missed 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...
. Instead, he operated against Emperor Napoleon I's lines of communication with little effect.
On the second day of 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...
, Archduke Charles
Archduke 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...
launched the corps of Kollowrat and Johann von Klenau
Johann von Klenau
Johann von Klenau , also called Johann Josef Cajetan von Klenau und Janowitz, the son of a Bohemian noble, was a field marshal in the Habsburg army...
in a dangerous assault against the French left flank. Napoleon stopped the slow-moving III Corps by hurling a cavalry division at it. The French horsemen suffered crippling losses but they bought time for the Grand Army's artillerists to assemble a 112-gun grand battery. When these cannons opened fire, they stopped the III Corps cold. Next, Napoleon sent Etienne Macdonald
Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald
Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald, 1st duke of Taranto was a Marshal of France and military leader during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Family background:...
's corps against the junction between Kollowrat's III Corps and Johann Liechtenstein's I Reserve Corps. Despite this heavy attack, the Austrians succeeded in halting Macdonald. But by this time, the French had overwhelmed the Austrian army on the rest of the battlefield. Archduke Charles issued orders to retreat and Kollowrat was forced to pull back his command.
Later career
After 1809, Kollowrat held no further major field commands. He was promoted to Feldmarschall on 12 September 1809. In 1813 he fell ill and did not participate in the fighting. Instead, he organized relief efforts for the many Allied and French wounded soldiers. He died in Prague on 5 June 1816.Printed materials
- Arnold, James R., Marengo & Hohenlinden, Pen & Sword, 2005.
- Bowden, S. & Tarbox, C., Armies on the Danube 1809, Empire Games Press, 1980.
- Chandler, David, Campaigns of Napoleon, Macmillan, 1979.
External references
- Kollowrat-Krakowsky by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna
- Kollowrat
- Kollowrat-Krakowsky in German by Jens-Florian Ebert