Franz Xaver Joseph de Lusignan

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Franz Xaver Joseph Marquis de Lusignan 1801

Marquis Franz Xaver Joseph de Lusignan from the House of Lusignan (born June 23, 1753 in Jaca , Aragon , † December 23, 1832 in Eiwanowitz in the Hanna (Eiwanowacz) , South Moravia ) was a French, later Austrian officer ( Feldzeugmeister ) during the Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars as well as owner of the Line Infantry Regiment No. 16.

Lusignon's birthplace Jaca

biography

Since he was eight he was educated at the Collège de Juilly of the Oratorian monks in Juilly, not far from Paris . Because of his outstanding achievements, he received in 1769 from King Louis XV. without request a position as a sous-lieutenant in the Languedoc infantry regiment on Corsica , then from 1771 in Toulon . In the same year he went into Austrian service as an ensign in Ferrari's 14th Infantry Regiment. He fought in a free corps during the War of the Bavarian Succession .

Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order

During his stay in the Austrian Netherlands , he was promoted to major in 1789 . The following year he distinguished himself in the battle near Liège by repelling the attack by a majority of Belgian rebels with only a few soldiers. For this he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order in his 23rd doctorate on December 19, 1790 .

Battle of Marengo
Battle of Novi

As a lieutenant colonel, Lusignan commanded 800 infantry soldiers and 100 horsemen in the two-day fighting at Virton , near the border with France. Under his command were four companies of the Bender Infantry Regiment No. 41, four companies of the Walloon Le Loup Jäger, and an escadron of the Esterhazy Hussar Regiment No. 32. On October 22nd he was at Latour by Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Timbrune , Comte de Valences vanguard of the Ardennes Army with a total of 5000 soldiers, 3500 infantrymen, 1500 cavalrymen and six field guns attacked. His troops suffered a defeat, the fight continued the next day at Virton, where he was defeated again. He fought in the Battle of Jemappes in November 1792. As the commander of the rearguard, he was captured by the French two weeks later during Archduke Charles' retreat from north-east Italy, who held him pending an exchange of prisoners. In 1794 the Marquis became colonel and commandant of the Klebek Infantry Regiment No. 14. In 1795 he fought on the Upper Rhine under the command of Dagobert Graf von Wurmser and captured a redoubt during the fighting for the Mainz lines .

On February 28, 1797 with the rank of May 24, 1796, the Marquis was promoted to major general and in January 1797 the commanding general, Joseph Alvinczy von Berberek Lusignan , gave him command of the first column of the right wing, with four battalions and 12 companies of light Infantry to relieve the siege of Mantua on the fourth attempt . To do this, he had to show his soldiers around the heights of Monte Baldo. During the Battle of Rivoli , the Marquis commanded one of two avant-gardes and the Commanding General Joseph Alvinczy von Berberek ordered him another flank march, this time to a position in the rear of Napoleon Bonaparte's French army . He carried out his orders but found himself isolated on a hill far from the battle. On the afternoon of January 14th, Bonaparte defeated the other Austrian troops. Attacked from the north by André Masséna's soldiers and blocked in the south by a division under Gabriel Venance Rey , Lusignan tried to break through in the west. In the process, however, around 3,000 of his completely exhausted soldiers were captured and Lusignan was able to escape. Hunted in front of the Massena division, he and 300 men had to surrender on March 14, 1797 after the Battle of Belluno in Pieve di Cadore .

During the Second Coalition War, the officer served in Italy. On April 5, 1799, he led a brigade of the Michael Frölich Division in the battle of Magnano , where he was wounded three times. For a time he was deputy commandant of the division. He also led a division in the first engagement of the Battle of Marengo against General Jean Victor Moreau on May 16, 1799, then he commanded a brigade under Michael von Melas in the Battle of Novi on August 15 that year, which suffered a heavy defeat French ended up. Then he was captured again and was exchanged for General Jean Charles Monnier, who was arrested in Ancona .

Emperor Franz II promoted him on January 30, 1801 (rank of September 7, 1800) to field marshal lieutenant. In 1805 Lusignan took command of a division in Tyrol . After becoming the second owner of the Venetian Line Infantry Regiment No. 16 in 1802 , the Emperor appointed Lusignan as its sole owner in 1806.

Coat of arms of the Marquis de Lusignan

During the fifth coalition war, the field marshal lieutenant commanded a division in the 3rd Army Corps under the command of Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Hechingen . While leading his troops in the Battle of Teugn-Hausen on April 19, 1809, he suffered a serious head injury that led to his retirement. In gratitude, the Kaiser promoted him to Feldzeugmeister on May 29, 1809.

coat of arms

Squared shield. 1 and 4 of blue with a silver cross (Cyprus). 2 and 3 of silver and blue striped ten times across, each with an upright, right-turned, red lion. The marqis crown above the shield.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German literary newspaper for criticism of international science. Volume 7, issues 40–52, Verlag Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, Berlin 1886, p. 49.
  2. ↑ New archive for history, national studies, literature and art. Volume 1, Verlag Franz Ludwig, Vienna 1829, p. 560 ff
  3. ↑ http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/mmto3.htm
  4. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives :, Digby & Kudrna, Leopold . napoleon-series.org Franz Joseph Lusignan@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.smith
  5. ^ Digby Smith: The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 , p. 29
  6. ^ Martin Boycott-Brown: The Road to Rivoli. Cassell & Co., London 2001, pp. 392 ff.
  7. ^ David Chandler: The Campaigns of Napoleon. Macmillan Publisher, New York 1966, p. 120
  8. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives:, Enrico . napoleon-series.org The 1799 Campaign in Italy: The Austrians Advance@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ascerbi
  9. ^ Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: Imperial and Imperial Generals (1618-1815) . Austrian State Archives / A. Schmidt-Brentano 2006, p. 60
  10. ↑ Military schematism of the Austrian Empire. KK Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1838, p. 130
  11. ^ Valentin von Streffleur : Austrian military magazine. First issue, printed by Anton Strauss's blessed widow, Vienna 1833, p. 95
  12. ↑ Dr. Jaromir Hirtenfeld : The military Maria Theresa order and its members. Verlag der Buchhandlung für Militärliteratur Karl Prohaska, Vienna 1857, p. 322, 1735
  13. ^ Ritter von Rittersberg: New Archive for History, Political Studies, Literature and Art. Volume 1, Verlag Franz Ludwig, Vienna 1829, p. 561 ff.
personal data
SURNAME Lusignan, Franz Xaver Joseph de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian officer
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1753
PLACE OF BIRTH Jaca , Aragon
DATE OF DEATH December 23, 1832
Place of death Eiwanowitz in the Hanna (Eiwanowacz) , South Moravia