Anton Galgótzy

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Anton Galgótzy, 1900

Anton Galgótzy , from 1866: Anton von Galgótzy (born February 1, 1837 in Sankt Georgen (Hungarian: Sepsiszentgyörgy , or Sfântu Gheorghe in today's Romania); † November 5, 1929 in Vienna ) was an Austrian general about whom he already belongs Numerous anecdotes circulated during his lifetime.

Life

In 1851, Galgótzy was a 14-year-old volunteer in the Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 37 and from 1854 served as a sub-lieutenant in the Imperial and Royal Infantry Regiment No. 34. In the campaign of 1859 he was assigned to the Quartermaster General's staff and quickly became a lieutenant and captain. After attending military school, he was a general staff officer in the V Army Corps during the 1866 campaign . He distinguished himself in the battle of Custozza on June 24th, 1866 and was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, third class , in July 1866 , which (statutorily until 1884) was associated with the elevation to the hereditary knighthood .

From 1867 onwards, Galgótzy became Chief of Staff of the General Command in Brno in 1874 . In 1876 he became a colonel and chief of the operations office of the General Staff. He remained in this position until 1881. After a brief command of the troops as commander of the 34th Infantry Regiment, he was entrusted with the leadership of the 6th Mountain Brigade. With her he was used to fight the uprising that broke out in South Dalmatia and Herzegovina in 1882 because of the introduction of general conscription . Galgótzy operated so skillfully with his troops that the area where he was deployed was quiet again within a few weeks. Promoted to major general, he remained in command of his brigade until 1886 . Then he was appointed commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Sarajevo and shortly afterwards promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal . From 1887 to 1891 he was deputy chief of the general staff and from 1891 to 1905 commander of the Xth Army Corps and commanding general in Przemyśl . In May 1895 he was promoted to Feldzeugmeister , and in 1901 he celebrated his 50th anniversary in the service. In 1905 he was appointed General Troop Inspector, that is, the designated commander-in-chief of an army in the event of war. In 1908 the 71-year-old retired with great honor. He had served 59 years, 4 months and 1 day (the 3 years of war counted twice). In 1918 he was activated again for five months and was a member of a commission for the selection of knights of the Maria Theresa Order. His land register shows a total period of service of 60 years, 8 months and 1 day.

Anton Karl von Galgótzy was buried to rest on November 8, 1929 in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Gate 2, Group 33 C, Row 1, No. 21).

Appreciation

There is a wreath of anecdotes about this legendary general, who was not only extremely efficient, but also a highly idiosyncratic original of sarcastic wit. The fact that he paid little attention to external appearances is confirmed by an anecdote according to which he only telegraphed when he was promoted to major general of the Tiller company in Vienna: "Sends uniform for medium-sized general". His laconic accounting for a road construction is also known: “Receive 10,000 guilders. Consumes 4220 guilders. Returned 5780 guilders. If you don't believe it, you're a donkey! ”When the war minister indignantly presented this paper to the emperor, the emperor looked up and - after a moment's thought - only said:“ I believe it! ”

The writer and former professional officer Alexander Roda Roda not only recorded many Galgótzy anecdotes, but also praised him as a very important troop leader. He characterized him as "the hope of the army" of those years and "the predestined leader in the war against Russia". He would be "as the general troop inspector of three, by far the most capable, and once selected for great tasks that fate no longer posed to him."

After his death, memorial services for the most popular kuk general were held in Austria, Czechoslovakia , Hungary and Yugoslavia , and articles of appreciation appeared in the press. Even Time magazine of December 9, 1929 devoted an extensive obituary to him.

literature

  • Alexander Duschnitz, SF Hoffmann: Military homage work. The chief warlord and his staff. The kuk Wehrmacht in words and pictures . Sn, Vienna 1908, OBV .
  • Dorothea Longard de Longgarde : K. uk officers. Serious and cheerful things from the time before the world war. From Dorothea Gerard . Westermann, Berlin 1916, OBV .
    • Original edition: Dorothea Gerard: The Austrian officer at work and at play . (English). Tauchnitz edition - collection of British and American authors, Volume 4508, ZDB -ID 131376-9 . Tauchnitz, Leipzig 1915, OBV .
  • Galgótzy Anton. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 393.
  • Alexander Roda-Roda: The great Roda-Roda book . Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-499-12532-3 .
  • Galgotzy Anton . In: Felix Czeike : Historisches Lexikon Wien . Volume 2: De - Gy . Kremayr & Scheriau / Orac, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-218-00743-7 . - Anton Galgotzy in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  • Austrian State Archives - War Archives: Anton Galgótzy Land Register

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Daily news. (...) medals. In:  Die Debatte and Wiener Lloyd , No. 199/1866 (Volume III), July 23, 1866, p. 2, column 1 below. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / ddb.
  2. ↑ Hedwig Abraham (Red.): Anton Galgótzy . In: viennatouristguide.at , accessed on November 19, 2014.
  3. ^ X., S. (probably: Szabo Xanthopulo):  Memories of Radetzky, Benedek and Gablenz. An Austrian hero book by an Englishwoman. In:  Neues Wiener Journal , Mittagblatt, No. 8299/1916 (XXIV. Volume), December 5, 1916, p. 3, top left (online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nwj.
personal data
SURNAME Galgótzy, Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian general
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1837
PLACE OF BIRTH Sankt Georgen
DATE OF DEATH November 5, 1929
Place of death Vienna