Josef von Smola (officer, 1764)

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Josef von Smola, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber after a drawing by Johann Peter Krafft , see p. a.

Josef Freiherr von Smola (born June 12, 1764 in Teplitz , Bohemia, † November 29, 1820 in Vienna ) was an Austrian officer .

Life

Josef von Smola was the son of a property manager in the Clary-Aldringen house . He began in the military in 1780 as a gunner in the artillery. In 1786 he joined the new Bombardier Corps and became a lieutenant the following year . In the war against the Turks he proved himself at the sieges of Šabac and Belgrade . In 1790 he led organizational improvements in the Artillery Fusilier Battalion in Flanders. In 1792 he took part in the campaign against France, including the battle of Jemappes . In 1793 he took command of a riding battery under Archduke Karl . At the Battle of Neer winds he was successful because he ordered the artillery to be combined. For this victory he received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa .

However , he was seriously injured in the Battle of Fleurus in 1794. In 1796 he was promoted to lieutenant captain. As this he was instrumental in the defense of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress . As a captain, his unit destroyed the French ship bridge in front of Mannheim in 1799 .

In 1800 he was seriously wounded a second time near Meßkirch . As a major in the Bohemian Legion, he set up the battalion of the Leitmeritz district . In 1805 he fought in Italy. In 1809 he fought as a colonel and chief of the 3rd Army Corps, among others near Regensburg . For this he was decorated with the Commander's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. Other battles against the French in which he took part were those at Aspern , Wagram and Znaim .

As a major general he still led campaigns from 1813 to 1815 in Inner Austria, Upper Italy and Southern France. In 1815, despite a stroke, he took command of the artillery brigades in Vienna after the peace agreement.

Not only as a general, but also as a technician, he was responsible for numerous innovations in the artillery, for example in 1807 he constructed a Wall mount .

Smola was married to Marie Freiin von Häring (1771–1807). His two sons, Josef Freiherr von Smola the Younger and Karl Freiherr von Smola, were also officers in the army of the Austrian Empire . The last living descendants are Miloslav von Smola (born August 29, 1949 in Prague ) and Miloslav von Smola (born January 6, 1986 in Prague), both currently live in the Czech Republic.

Appreciation

In 1891 the 11th Corps Artillery Regiment got its name. In 1966 the former army barracks in Großenzersdorf also received his name.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Smola, Josef von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Smola, Josef Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian officer
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1764
PLACE OF BIRTH Teplitz , Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1820
Place of death Vienna