Eugène Guillaume Alexis by Mercy-Argenteau
Eugène Guillaume Alexis Count von Mercy-Argenteau (* 1743 in Huy , today Belgium , † May 4, 1819 in Vienna ) was an Austrian field military officer .
He was born as the son of Florimond Claude, Count of Mercy-Argenteau in 1743 in Huy, southwest of Lüttich ( Liège ) in what was then the Austrian Netherlands . He came from an old military dynasty and was a descendant of Franz von Mercy .
In 1760, at the age of 17, he joined the Imperial Austrian infantry regiment "Mercy-Argenteau" (1769 No. 56). Mercy-Argenteau had his first war mission during the Seven Years' War in the battle of Torgau on November 3, 1760. He also took part in the successful storming of the Schweidnitz fortress in October 1761.
In 1773 he moved to the "Königsegg" infantry regiment and then was promoted to major in the "Laudon" infantry regiment. During the 8th Austrian Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire (1787-1792), Count Mercy-Argenteau commanded this infantry regiment and was particularly successful in the battle for Belgrade in autumn 1789.
During the First Coalition War he was transferred to Italy as a major general and served under Feldzeugmeister Joseph Nikolaus de Vins . Here he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Maria Theresa Order for his services on May 11, 1796 .
Mercy-Argenteau, meanwhile promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal, commanded a corps of four brigades (20 battalions and 2 squadrons) under Beaulieu in the spring of 1796 . Mercy-Argenteau lost the battle at Monte Legino (April 11, 1796), and at the Battle of Montenotte and at the Battle of Dego against the French Italian army.
From 1796 to 1805 Mercy-Argenteau was in command of the city and fortress of Vienna. At the beginning of the Third Coalition War , Mercy-Argenteau commanded the Italian Army under Archduke Karl . During the Battle of Caldiero in October 1805, he commanded the Archduke's reserve corps in San Gregorio .
After the war of 1805 he retired and was promoted to Feldzeugmeister on September 6, 1808 . He died withdrawn on May 4, 1819 in Vienna.
See also
List of infantry regiments of the Imperial Habsburg Army in the early modern period
literature
- Wilhelm Edler von Janko : Argentau, Eugen Graf von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 524.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mercy-Argenteau, Eugène Guillaume Alexis von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mercy-Argenteau, Eugène Guillaume Alexis Graf von (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austro-Hungarian Feldzeugmeister and knight of the Maria Theresa Order |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1743 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Huy , now Belgium |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 4, 1819 |
| Place of death | Vienna |