Heinrich von Bellegarde

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Heinrich Graf Bellegarde, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber , 1844

Heinrich Joseph Johann Graf von Bellegarde (born August 29, 1756 in Dresden , † July 22, 1845 in Vienna ) was an Austrian field marshal and statesman .

Life

origin

His parents were the Saxon general Johann Franz von Bellegarde (Count since 1741) from Savoy and his wife Countess Maria Antonia von Hartig . The father Johann Franz was the Electoral Saxon Minister of War and Chief Chamberlain to Princes Xavier and Karl of Saxony .

Early military career

Bellegarde first entered the Saxon and then Austrian state services from 1771, fought with distinction in the Turkish War of 1788, became major general in 1792 and fought in the Netherlands from 1793–1794 , as Wurmser's chief of staff on the Upper Rhine . He took part as a commander in the battle at Avesnes-le-Sec (September 12, 1793).

When Archduke Karl took command of the army in Germany in February 1796, Bellegarde became a member of his council of war and soon afterwards a field marshal lieutenant . In April 1797 he concluded the armistice of Judenburg jointly with Merveldt and then later the preliminary peace of Leoben (April 18, 1797).

In the campaign of 1799 he commanded an independently operating corps of 25,000 men, which had to maintain the connection between the Russians under Suvorov and the main Austrian army under Archduke Karl. He defeated General Lecourbe at Finstermünz on March 20th, but was defeated by Giuliano von Moreau on June 20th, charged with the blockade of Tortona , and forced to go back over the Bormida .

After taking part in the Battle of Novi (August 15, 1799), he commanded the left wing of the Austrian army under Melas in 1800 and fought against Masséna near Santa Giustina , but was repulsed by Suchet on the Var . After the battle of Marengo (June 14th, 1800) and the Treaty of Alessandria instead of Melas' entrusted with the supreme command, he opened hostilities with the stubborn meeting at Pozzolo (December 25th, 1800) against Dupont , but was defeated and had to go behind Adige to go back.

Court war councilor and governor general

Heinrich Graf Bellegarde, etching by Heinrich Joseph Mansfeld, before 1866

Appointed to the court war council, he led its presidium from 1805. Called to Italy in the 1805 campaign, he commanded the right wing of the Austrians under the command of Archduke Karl in the battle of Caldiero (October 29/31, 1805). Soon afterwards he became governor general of the Venetian provinces, in 1806 field marshal , governor general of both Galicia and governor of the crown prince.

In March 1809, Bellegarde commanded the 1st and 2nd Army Corps on the left bank of the Danube together with the Prince of Hohenzollern . He drove the troops of Marshal Davout from Regensburg , then went back across the Danube and united with the main army under Archduke Karl. In the battles near Aspern (May 21/22, 1809) and near Wagram (July 5/6, 1809), as well as in the Battle of Znojmo (July 10/11, 1809) he successfully led the I. Army Corps.

After the Treaty of Schönbrunn (October 14, 1809) he was again entrusted with the governorate of Galicia ; In 1813, at the outbreak of hostilities between Austria and France, Bellegarde was again President of the Court War Council.

Commander in Chief in Italy

On December 15, 1813, Bellegarde in Vicenza took over the command of the Austrian army in Italy. While General Count Nugent pushed the operations on Ravenna and Forlì via Ferrara , Bellegarde showed his diplomatic skills. His envoy, General Graf von Neipperg, went to Naples in mid-January 1814 and achieved the defection of the kingdom under Murat from the Napoleonic affair . On February 11, Murat had the citadel of Ancona, which was occupied by the French, bombarded and was thus de facto at war with the French viceroy of Italy , Eugen von Beauharnais . The opposing troops carried out major attacks on February 8, 1814, in the Battle of Mincio and in March on Taro. After receiving Napoleon's renunciation of the throne, Viceroy Eugene signed a convention with the Austrian general Count Ficquelmont on April 23 , as a result of which he surrendered Milan and ceded supreme command of the Italian troops to Bellegarde. In 1815, Lieutenant Field Marshal Nugent commanded the right wing of Bellegarde, occupied Rome and defeated King Murat, who had fallen away again, at Ceprano and San Germano. After the end of the war, Bellegarde became the first governor-general of the newly founded Kingdom of Lombardy-Veneto on April 5, 1815 , until his successor Archduke Anton arrived as viceroy in the summer of 1816 .

In the autumn of 1816, Bellegarde spent some time in Paris as a private citizen and then returned to Vienna. In 1818, Emperor Franz I appointed him Chief Steward to Crown Prince Ferdinand . On July 24, 1820, Bellegarde was appointed again as President of the Court War Council, and at the same time he succeeded Prince zu Schwarzenberg as Conference Minister. In the face of new difficulties in Italy, his task was to direct the necessary armaments. Finally, in 1825, an eye weakness forced him to submit his dismissal.

family

He married Auguste von Berlichingen (1765–1831) in Vienna in 1791 . She was the widow of Friedrich August von Berlichingen († 1789) and daughter of the Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Friedrich Alexander von Berlichingen and Anna Katharina Countess Fergach . The couple had two sons who also became Austrian generals:

  • August (October 29, 1795 - June 21, 1873) ∞ Julie von Gudenus (October 28, 1795 - February 11, 1865)
  • Heinrich (* 1798 - † June 17, 1871) ∞ Pauline von Wolkenstein-Trostburg (* May 6, 1805)

Awards

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Karl von Smola: The life of Field Marshal Heinrich Count von Bellegarde , p. 1 ( online here ).

Web links

Commons : Heinrich Bellegarde  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Karl of Austria-Teschen President of the Court War Council
1809–1813 		Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg
predecessor Office successor
Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg President of the Court War Council
1820–1825 		Friedrich Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
personal data
SURNAME Bellegarde, Heinrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bellegarde, Heinrich Joseph Johann Graf von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian field marshal and statesman
DATE OF BIRTH August 29, 1756
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1845
Place of death Vienna