Franz Xaver von Dallwigk

Franz Xaver Maria Freiherr von Dalwigk zu Lichtenfels (born December 4, 1773 in Jülich ; † June 18, 1833 in Mannheim ) was a Bavarian major general and holder of the Commander's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order .

Life

Dalwigk was the son of the major in the Baden regiment, Baron von Dallwigk, and his wife Amalia, née von Krey.

On April 17, 1792, he joined the ducal Zweibrück's bodyguard as captain and in 1799 fought against France in the combined Palatinate battalion. On February 11, 1800 he was promoted to major. With the formation of the English subsidiary troops near Heidelberg on April 9, 1800, he took part with the "De la Motte" battalion in the battle of Möskirch on May 5, 1800, in which he distinguished himself particularly, but received such a severe wound that he would have died in the field if a sergeant and a soldier had not rescued him from the battlefield at risk of death . Colonel Wrede paid tribute to Dallwigk's services in his official report of May 6, 1800 and applied for the Military Medal of Honor , which he was awarded with an electoral rescript of May 26, 1800. Recovered, Dallwigk fought with great bravery as a member of the 11th Fusilier Regiment in the Battle of Hohenlinden , but had to give way in the afternoon to the enemy superiority and made his way from Mühldorf to Linz . After the peace treaty he stayed with the 11th Infantry Regiment "Junker".

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on October 22, 1805 with the 2nd Line Infantry Regiment "Kurprinz" , he took part in the campaigns against Austria. As a bearer of the Military Medal of Honor, he was accepted as its knight with the foundation of the Military Max Joseph Order on March 1, 1806. During the war against Prussia and Russia, on April 23, 1807, he was appointed commander of the 5th Light Infantry Battalion. On January 25, 1808 he was promoted to colonel and appointed colonel in command of the 13th Line Infantry Regiment . As such he led his regiment in the campaign against Austria and Tyrol in 1809. In the battles near Siegenburg (April 18), Biburg (April 20) and Neumarkt (April 24, 1809), in which he was wounded, he distinguished himself repeatedly. On May 10, 1809, his regiment received the order to march from Salzburg on the left wing to Reit, to throw the enemy lying there and to bypass the Strub Pass on the right in the course of the attack on Lofer the following day . The latter took place under difficult conditions in partly high alpine terrain. Although he was already exhausted enough, he set a personal example and kept pulling the tired teams with him. In the middle of the night the surrounding dairy huts were carefully searched so that the troops were not ambushed or the company was betrayed. Since the ordered leader of the marching column got lost in the darkness, the troops did not come out on the morning of May 11 beyond the Strub Pass, but south of Lofer on the right bank of the Saalach . In the affair at Weidering on May 12, 1809, the 2nd Battalion of his regiment fought with flying colors. In the battle near Söll on May 13, 1809, Dalwigk and his regiment were marched as an avant-garde (advance formation) towards Wörgl . At a bridge over the Achen that was defended and reinforced with Austrian artillery , he had the obstacles cleared and took possession of the bridge. During the advance on Wörgl he lost his horse from an artillery hit, took over the horse of his adjutant despite being wounded again on April 24 and, despite fierce enemy resistance, led his regiment forward in such excellent order that Marshal Lefebvre was particularly satisfied with General Wrede expressed. The marshal insisted on placing himself at the head of the 13th Infantry Regiment, while Colonel Dallwigk and two companies on the left attacked the retreating enemy with brisk fire and took a large number of prisoners in the course of the pursuit. On May 15, 1809, he and his regiment decided the battle during the storming of Schwatz through his rapid decision- making and his energetic and daring action. For this he was not only explicitly praised in the army order of June 1, 1809, but was also appointed a member of the French Legion of Honor on July 20, 1809 (confirmed by an army order of August 5, 1809). Based on the report of Colonel Freiherr von Dalwigk, General Wrede stated in his certificate of August 15, 1809 that Dalwigk was a zealous, brave and yet humble staff officer who could “receive some reward for his bravery”. The Chapter of the Order, held on August 13, 1809, chaired by Major General Minucci , voted unanimously for the award of the Commander's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order. By army order of November 28, 1809 he was appointed commander of the order for the award at Schwatz. On July 6, 1809, Dalwigk took command of the Minucci Brigade after Wredes was wounded in the Battle of Wagram .

In the campaign against Russia in 1812, he led his battle-tested regiment, which since April 29, 1811 was called the 11th Line Infantry Regiment "Kinkel". On May 24, 1812, he took command of a brigade, but had to give it up again near Vilna due to his poor health and return to Bavaria. He was retired on September 15, 1812. With effect from November 20, 1829 he was characterized as major general. Major General Freiherr von Dalwigk died on June 18, 1833 in Mannheim.

Honors

Cavalier Dalwigk of the former Bavarian state fortress Ingolstadt

The Cavalier I of Ingolstadt Fortress was given the name "Dalwigk" on September 16, 1842.

literature

• Baptist Schrettinger: The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order and its members. R. Oldenbourg. Munich 1882.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Baptist Schrettinger: The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order and its members. R. Oldenbourg. Munich 1882.