Paul Davidovich
Encyclopedia
Baron Paul Davidovich or Pavle Davidović (1737, Buda
– 18 February 1814, Komárom
) became a general of the Austrian Empire
and a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
. He played a major role in the 1796 Italian campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars
, leading corps-sized commands in the fighting against the French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. He led troops during the Napoleonic Wars
and was Proprietor (Inhaber)
of an Austrian infantry regiment.
(Ofen) (in modern-day Budapest
, Hungary) in 1737, Davidovich came from a Serb family which had immigrated to the Austrian Empire
from the Ottoman Empire
at the time of Emperor Leopold I
. In 1757, Davidovich joined the Austrian army's Ferdinand Karl Infantry Regiment # 2. He served during the Seven Years War and rose in rank to Captain. In 1771, he received promotion to Major
in d'Alton Infantry Regiment # 19. He performed heroically under fire at Bystrzyca Klodzka
(Habelschwerdt) in January 1779 during the War of the Bavarian Succession. This action earned him the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
. He was rewarded with the noble rank of Freiherr
in 1780. The following year, he became Oberst-Leutnant
of the Esterhazy Infantry Regiment # 34. He earned promotion to Oberst
(colonel
) of the Peterwardeiner Grenz Infantry
Regiment in 1783.
During the Austro-Turkish War, Davidovich talked the Turkish governor of Šabac
into surrendering in 1788. He assisted Maximilian Baillet de Latour in stamping out the 1789 Belgian revolt and was elevated to the rank of General-Major
in 1790.
and Wattignies
. He participated in the Flanders campaign in 1794 under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He served under Dagobert von Wurmser
in the successful siege of Mannheim
which capitulated on 22 November 1795. He was promoted to Feldmarschal-Leutnant
in March 1796.
During the spring of 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army overran the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the Duchy of Milan
, and began the Siege of Mantua. In July, Davidovich transferred to the Italian theater and was placed under Wurmser's command. During the first relief of Mantua, he commanded the Left-Center (III) Column, which included the brigades of Anton Mittrowsky
, Anton Lipthay
, and Leberecht Spiegel. The force numbered 8,274 infantry, 1,618 cavalry, and 40 cannon. He fought at the Battle of Castiglione
on 5 August.
In the second relief of Mantua, Wurmser and his chief-of-staff Franz von Lauer
planned to transfer major elements of the army from the upper Adige River valley to Bassano del Grappa
via the Brenta River
valley. They assigned Davidovich to hold the Adige valley with 13,500 soldiers in the brigades of the Prince of Reuss, Josef Vukassovich
, and Johann Sporck. Lauer believed that the French army would remain passive during the operation. Defying expectations, Bonaparte attacked Davidovich with 30,000 men. In the Battle of Rovereto
on 4 September, the French swamped the Austrian defenses, inflicted 3,000 casualties, captured Trento
, and pushed Davidovich north beyond Lavis
. Bonaparte soon won the Battle of Bassano
and drove Wurmser and 12,000 men within the fortress of Mantua.
For the third relief of Mantua, Emperor Francis II appointed Jozsef Alvinczi commander of a newly-formed army. Alvinczi planned to advance on Mantua from the east with 28,000 soldiers while Davidovich and 19,500 troops moved from the Adige valley in the north. Davidovich's Tyrol
Corps comprised the brigades of Sporck, Vukassovich, Johann Laudon, and Joseph Ocskay
, plus a small reserve. After a bloody clash at Cembra
on 2 November, he recaptured Trento
. He routed Claude Vaubois'
outnumbered French division at the Battle of Calliano
on 7 November. Despite being urged by Alvinczi to attack again, he proved very slow to follow up his success. One reason was the 3,500 casualties suffered at Cembra and Calliano. Other difficulties included a false report that placed Andre Massena
's division in his front, heavy snow in the mountains, and the fact that messages took two days to arrive from Alvinczi. He routed Vaubois again at Rivoli Veronese
on 17 November, but this victory came two days too late. After the French defeated Alvinczi on 15–17 November at the Battle of Arcole, Bonaparte turned on Davidovich in great strength. The French beat him in a second clash at Rivoli on 22 November. With Davidovich's corps in flight northward, Alvinczi was forced to abandon the campaign.
army in Italy. During the Battle of Caldiero on 29–31 October 1805, he led the nine infantry battalions, eight cavalry squadrons, and 26 artillery pieces of the left wing. After the war, he served as deputy (Adlatus) to the commanding general in Slavonia
. He inspected fortresses in Serbia
and received promotion to Feldzeugmeister
in 1807. In his last active command, he led a division of Hungarian insurrection militia
at the Battle of Raab
on 14 June 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition
. He died on 18 February 1814 at Komárno
when he was governor of that fortress.
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
– 18 February 1814, Komárom
Komárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
) became a general of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and a Knight of the 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...
. He played a major role in the 1796 Italian campaign during 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...
, leading corps-sized commands in the fighting against the French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. He led troops during 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...
and was 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.
Early career
Born in BudaBuda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
(Ofen) (in modern-day Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary) in 1737, Davidovich came from a Serb family which had immigrated to the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
at the time of Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
. In 1757, Davidovich joined the Austrian army's Ferdinand Karl Infantry Regiment # 2. He served during the Seven Years War and rose in rank to Captain. In 1771, 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 d'Alton Infantry Regiment # 19. He performed heroically under fire at Bystrzyca Klodzka
Bystrzyca Klodzka
Bystrzyca Kłodzka is a city in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. It is famous for its historical buildings and is a tourist centre. It has a population of 12,000 and is located on the Nysa Kłodzka and Nysa Łomnicka rivers.-Geography:...
(Habelschwerdt) in January 1779 during the War of the Bavarian Succession. This action earned him the Knight's Cross of the 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...
. He was rewarded with the noble rank of Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
in 1780. The following year, he became 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...
of the Esterhazy Infantry Regiment # 34. He earned promotion 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...
) of the Peterwardeiner Grenz Infantry
Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry or Grenzers were light infantry troops who came from the Croatian and Transylvanian Military Frontier in Habsburg Monarchy . This borderland formed a buffer zone between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, and the troops were originally raised to defend Austria against the...
Regiment in 1783.
During the Austro-Turkish War, Davidovich talked the Turkish governor of Šabac
Šabac
Šabac is a city and municipality in western Serbia, along the Sava river, in the historic region of Mačva. It is the administrative center of the Mačva District. The city has a population of 52,822 , while population of the municipality is 115,347...
into surrendering in 1788. He assisted Maximilian Baillet de Latour in stamping out the 1789 Belgian revolt and was elevated to the rank of 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...
in 1790.
French Revolutionary Wars
In 1793 during the War of the First Coalition, he distinguished himself in the battles of NeerwindenBattle 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...
and Wattignies
Battle of Wattignies (1793)
The Battle of Wattignies was fought at the village of Wattignies-la-Victoire, France, on 15 and 16 October 1793 during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French army commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and Lazare Carnot defeated the army of Habsburg Austria led by Prince Josias of Coburg...
. He participated in the Flanders campaign in 1794 under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He served under Dagobert von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
in the successful siege of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
which capitulated on 22 November 1795. He was promoted to 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....
in March 1796.
During the spring of 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army overran the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, and began the Siege of Mantua. In July, Davidovich transferred to the Italian theater and was placed under Wurmser's command. During the first relief of Mantua, he commanded the Left-Center (III) Column, which included the brigades of Anton Mittrowsky
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky von Mittrowitz und Nemyšl, or Anton Mittrovsky, served in the Austrian army for many years. He was promoted to general officer in the spring of 1796, just in time to lead a brigade against Napoleon Bonaparte during the 1796-1797 Italian Campaign of the French...
, Anton Lipthay
Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud
Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud , also Anton Liptai or Anton Liptay, served in the Austrian army, attained general officer rank, and fought in several battles against the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars.-Early career:Born in Nógrád, Hungary in 1745, Lipthay joined...
, and Leberecht Spiegel. The force numbered 8,274 infantry, 1,618 cavalry, and 40 cannon. He fought at the Battle of Castiglione
Battle of Castiglione
The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at...
on 5 August.
In the second relief of Mantua, Wurmser and his chief-of-staff Franz von Lauer
Franz von Lauer
Franz von Lauer began his service in the Austrian army as an engineer officer and became a general officer while fighting against Ottoman Turkey. He earned recognition as a siege specialist while fighting the armies of the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
planned to transfer major elements of the army from the upper Adige River valley to Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...
via the Brenta River
Brenta River
The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region.During Roman era, it was called Medoacus and near Padua it divided in two branches, Medoacus Maior and Medoacus Minor ; the river changed its course in early Middle...
valley. They assigned Davidovich to hold the Adige valley with 13,500 soldiers in the brigades of the Prince of Reuss, Josef Vukassovich
Josef Philipp Vukassovich
Josef Philipp von Vukassovich , also Josef Wukassovitch, was a Croatian soldier who joined the army of Habsburg Monarchy and fought against both Ottoman Empire and the First French Republic. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded a brigade in the 1796–1797 Italian campaign against...
, and Johann Sporck. Lauer believed that the French army would remain passive during the operation. Defying expectations, Bonaparte attacked Davidovich with 30,000 men. In the Battle of Rovereto
Battle of Rovereto
In the Battle of Rovereto on 4 September 1796 a French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte defeated an Austrian corps led by Paul Davidovich during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars...
on 4 September, the French swamped the Austrian defenses, inflicted 3,000 casualties, captured Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
, and pushed Davidovich north beyond Lavis
Lavis
Lavis is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 7 km north of Trento...
. Bonaparte soon won the Battle of Bassano
Battle of Bassano
The Battle of Bassano was fought on 8 September 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, in the territory of the Republic of Venice, between a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces led by Count Dagobert von Wurmser. The battle ended in a French victory...
and drove Wurmser and 12,000 men within the fortress of Mantua.
For the third relief of Mantua, Emperor Francis II appointed Jozsef Alvinczi commander of a newly-formed army. Alvinczi planned to advance on Mantua from the east with 28,000 soldiers while Davidovich and 19,500 troops moved from the Adige valley in the north. Davidovich's 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...
Corps comprised the brigades of Sporck, Vukassovich, Johann Laudon, and Joseph Ocskay
Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko
Joseph Ocskay von Ocskó joined the army of the Habsburg Empire and rose to the rank of general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in numerous actions in the 1796-1797 Italian campaign against the French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte...
, plus a small reserve. After a bloody clash at Cembra
Cembra
Cembra is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 15 km northeast of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,776 and an area of 17.0 km²....
on 2 November, he recaptured Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
. He routed Claude Vaubois'
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. On 20 August 1808 he was created Comte de Belgrand de Vaubois...
outnumbered French division at the Battle of Calliano
Battle of Calliano
The Battle of Calliano on 6 and 7 November 1796 saw an Austrian corps commanded by Paul Davidovich rout a French division directed by Claude Belgrand de Vaubois. The engagement was part of the third Austrian attempt to relieve the French siege of Mantua during the French Revolutionary Wars...
on 7 November. Despite being urged by Alvinczi to attack again, he proved very slow to follow up his success. One reason was the 3,500 casualties suffered at Cembra and Calliano. Other difficulties included a false report that placed 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....
's division in his front, heavy snow in the mountains, and the fact that messages took two days to arrive from Alvinczi. He routed Vaubois again at Rivoli Veronese
Rivoli Veronese
Rivoli Veronese is a comune in Veneto, Italy, in the Province of Verona, on a hill on the right bank of the Adige, 20 km miles NW of Verona.-History:...
on 17 November, but this victory came two days too late. After the French defeated Alvinczi on 15–17 November at the Battle of Arcole, Bonaparte turned on Davidovich in great strength. The French beat him in a second clash at Rivoli on 22 November. With Davidovich's corps in flight northward, Alvinczi was forced to abandon the campaign.
Napoleonic Wars
In 1804, he became the proprietor of Davidovich Infantry Regiment # 34, a Hungarian unit, and held this position until his death. When the War of the Third Coalition broke out, he commanded part of 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...
army in Italy. During the Battle of Caldiero on 29–31 October 1805, he led the nine infantry battalions, eight cavalry squadrons, and 26 artillery pieces of the left wing. After the war, he served as deputy (Adlatus) to the commanding general in Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
. He inspected fortresses in 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...
and received promotion to 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...
in 1807. In his last active command, he led a division of Hungarian insurrection militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
at the Battle of Raab
Battle of Raab
The Battle of Raab was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Austrian-Hungarian forces. The battle was fought near Győr in Hungary and ended in a Franco-Italian victory...
on 14 June 1809 during 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...
. He died on 18 February 1814 at Komárno
Komárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
when he was governor of that fortress.
Further reading
- Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966.