George of Rukavina
Georg Freiherr Rukavina von Vidovgrad , Croatian Juraj barun Rukavina Vidovgradski , (born March 21, 1777 in Ternovacz , Croatia , today a district of Gospić ; † September 9, 1849 in Timisoara ) was a Croatian nobleman and old Austrian field warden .
family
Georg Freiherr Rukavina von Vidovgrad came from an old family who owned significant property in the Mostar area . After the Ottomans conquered their homeland, the family moved to the Croatian region of Lika . Georg's father Dominik Rukavina was already a soldier in the Austrian army, he was a participant in several wars, was awarded the commemorative medal for bravery , and was raised to the rank of nobility in 1800 as a first lieutenant.
On December 27, 1810, Georg Rukavina married Cäcilie Wohlgemuth von Greiffenthal and Dobrolovich. The marriage had two children, the son Alfred, born on December 29, 1812, and the daughter Maria, born on June 2, 1815.
Military career
Cadet and NCO
Georg first attended the military school in Gospić. He then entered the Austrian military as a Fourier and from 1793 served as a cadet in the Ogulin border regiment. On July 16, 1795 he was involved in the storming of San Giacomo ( Republic of Genoa ). At the age of 18, he was awarded the honorary golden medal for bravery for his work and was promoted to ensign on September 1, 1795. On November 6, 1796, when all officers in his unit were out of action, he took command of Caliano in South Tyrol, broke through the enemy lines with his soldiers and took 200 prisoners.
officer
This was followed in 1797 and every two years promotions to lieutenant, first lieutenant and captainleutnant, and in 1810 to captain. In the wars against Napoleon , he was characterized by particular bravery. In 1809 he fought on April 16 near Landshut and on May 21 and 22 in the battle of Aspern . He suffered a serious wound in the process. The following year, Rukavina was promoted to major. On March 10, 1814, just promoted to lieutenant colonel, he defeated a numerically clearly superior enemy near Mantua with only three companies. In 1818 he was promoted to colonel and was given command of the Oguliner 3rd border regiment, with the express order of the emperor to put the "somewhat neglected" regiment in order. In 1824 Rukavina was raised to the Hungarian nobility.
general
On August 20, 1829, Rukavina was promoted to major general. In June 1835 he defeated an army of 12,000 Bosnians near Zettin , for which the emperor awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Leopold Order. On February 29, 1836 he became a field marshal lieutenant, commander of the 61st Infantry Regiment and a division general in the Petrovaradin fortress . In 1840 Georg Rukavina was made baron of Vidovgrad . From 1844 he was in command of the Timisoara Fortress . As early as April 1848, the Hungarian government issued various orders that resulted in a weakening of the fort's defenses. In October 1848, Rukavina von Vidovgrad was ordered by the Hungarian government to hand over command of the fortress to General Haller and to retire. Von Rukavina refused and declared that he would “only obey his emperor in this regard”.
Instead of complying with the order, he prepared the fortress for a siege and held it from April 23 to the relief battle at Temesvar on August 9, 1849 against the Hungarian revolutionary troops. On the evening of the liberation he was awarded the Military Maria Theresa Order and the Russian Order of St. George by General Haynau . In recognition of his military achievements, he was appointed Feldzeugmeister on August 21, 1849 and a few days before his death he was awarded the Knight's Cross First Class of the Order of the Iron Crown. Georg Freiherr Rukavina von Vidovgrad died of cholera on September 9, 1849.
Awards
- Honorary gold medal for bravery (1795)
- Knight of the Austrian Imperial Leopold Order (1835)
- Knight of the Military Maria Theresa Order (July 29, 1849)
- Secret Council (1849)
- Knight of the Russian Order of Saint George (1849)
- Knight 1st class of the Order of the Iron Crown (1849)
literature
- Jaromir Hirtenfeld : The Military Maria Theresa Order and its members , Imperial Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1857, p. 1596–1601, p. 1752.
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Rukavina von Vidovgrad, Georg Freiherr . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 27th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1874, pp. 248–251 ( digitized version ).
- Adolf Schinzl : Rukavina von Widovgrad, Georg Freiherr . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 29, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, p. 631 f.
- Jaromir Hirtenfeld (Ed.): Austrian Soldier Friend , 3rd year, Issue 71, Karl Gerold Verlag, Vienna 1850, p. 315/316
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Adolf Schinzl: Rukavina von Widovgrad, Georg Freiherr , p. 631.
- ↑ a b c d Constantin von Wurzbach: Rukavina von Vidovgrad, Georg Freiherr , p. 248.
- ↑ a b Jaromir Hirtenfeld: The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members , p. 1596.
- ↑ a b c Constantin von Wurzbach: Rukavina von Vidovgrad, Georg Freiherr , p. 250.
- ↑ a b c Constantin von Wurzbach: Rukavina von Vidovgrad, Georg Freiherr , pp. 248–249.
- ↑ a b Jaromir Hirtenfeld: The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members , p. 1598.
- ^ A b c Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The kk or kuk Generalität 1816-1918 , Austrian State Archives, Vienna 2007, p. 156, digitized .
- ↑ a b c Constantin von Wurzbach: Rukavina von Vidovgrad, Georg Freiherr , p. 249.
- ↑ a b Jaromir Hirtenfeld: The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members , p. 1599.
- ↑ a b c Jaromir Hirtenfeld: The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members , p. 1600.
- ^ Adolf Schinzl: Rukavina von Widovgrad, Georg Freiherr , p. 632.
- ↑ Jaromir Hirtenfeld: The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members , p. 1752.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rukavina, Georg von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Rukavina, Georg Freiherr von; Rukavina, Juraj (Croatian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian Feldzeugmeister |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 21, 1777 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ternovacz |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 9, 1849 |
| Place of death | Timisoara |