Joseph Jelačić from Bužim
Joseph Graf Jelačić von Bužim ( Croatian Josip grof Jelačić Bužimski ; born October 16, 1801 in Peterwardein , Slavonian military border , Habsburg Monarchy ; † May 19, 1859 in Agram , Austrian Empire ) was a general and ban of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia and k. k. Feldzeugmeister and commander of the Maria Theresa Order .
Jelačić, often also spelled Jellachich or Jellacic at the time , came from the Croatian noble family Jelačić from Bužim . In the Austrian Revolution of 1848/49 he, together with Prince Alfred I. zu Windisch-Graetz , commanded the suppression of the October Uprising in Vienna .
In Croatia he is considered a national hero , for example the central square of the Croatian capital Zagreb is named after him, and a banknote of the Croatian currency Kuna bears his likeness .
Life
Training at the Theresianum
Jelačić was a son of Field Marshal Lieutenant Franz Freiherr Jelačić von Bužim and his German-born wife Anna, nee. Portner from Höflein. Regardless of his particular preference for the soldier, he was accepted into the Theresian Knight Academy (today's high school "Theresianum") in 1810 after a performance with Emperor Franz , in which pupils are trained for civil service.
Until 1819 he remained in the Academy and entered on March 11 of that year as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Dragoon Regiment Baron Vinko Knezevic (Vincenz Knesevich) of St. Helena , who was maternal uncle. At the academy, Jelačić had acquired a wide range of skills, mainly languages, because he spoke fluent German, Italian, French, Croatian and a few more South Slavic dialects and acquired history; In addition, however, he also trained himself in military physical exercises, because Jelačić was a skilled fencer, a skilled marksman and an excellent, even daring rider.
Commander in the military border
On May 1, 1825, he was first lieutenant in the regiment, on September 1, 1830, captain in the Ogulin border regiment in the military border , and on November 21, 1831, a real captain in the same. In this capacity he led the reserve of the third attack column on October 17, 1835 in the battle near Velika Kladuša (Groß-Kladuss) against the Bosnian Turks . As a result, he was appointed major in the Freiherr von Gollner No. 48 infantry regiment on February 20, 1837, from which he was promoted as a lieutenant colonel to the 1st Banal Border Regiment on May 1, 1841 and appointed its colonel on October 18 has been. In doing so, he distinguished himself through the administrative administration of his district and gained the trust of the border people handed over to his leadership.
Changed political conditions
On March 22, 1848, Jelačić was appointed major general. Shortly thereafter, the Croatian Sabor (Landtag) elected him to the Ban of Croatia and also decided to elect the Landtag according to universal suffrage in the future , these elections took place in May 1848. At the same time, the revolutions of 1848 - starting from Paris - covered all of Central Europe . On April 7, 1848 Jelačić was appointed Lieutenant Field Marshal . He thus became commander in chief for Croatia . Soon after his appointment as a ban and at the same time to the secret council, he went to Vienna to take the oath as the latter, but rejected the oath as a ban due to the changed relations between Hungary and Austria. After a short stay in Vienna , where on the one hand the garrison troops received him with honor and on the other hand unsuccessful attempts at counter-demonstrations were made, he returned to Zagreb (Agram), where he refused to recognize the Hungarian Ministry and convened the Croatian-Illyrian parliament (Sabor) .
Convocation of the Sabor
On March 25, 1848, the meeting of the Sabors took place in Zagreb . The Sabor made the following main demands on the Habsburgs:
- Association of the Croatian countries Croatia-Slavonia , Istria and Dalmatia .
- Separation from the Hungarian crown
- Abolition of serfdom
- Civil rights
- Equality of peoples
The Croatian Sabor rejected the Hungarian policy of Magyarization ("Hungary from the Carpathians to the Adriatic "), especially under the leader of the Hungarian revolution Lajos Kossuth , and gave Ban Josip Jelačić the task of acting against it.
On April 19, 1848, Jelačić declared the union between Hungary and Croatia dissolved. At the same time he declared his loyalty to the Emperor of Austria .
Jelačić also felt legitimized by the Pillersdorf constitution of April 25, 1848, which never came into force . One of her paragraphs read: "All tribes are guaranteed the inviolability of their nationality and language".
In May 1848 Jelačić founded the "Bansko vijeće" (Banal Council). This council had various departments that were de facto ministries: the department for internal affairs, the justice sector, the school and education sector, the department for religious questions, the finance department and the military sector.
Reactions
This approach of the Banus was seriously suspected from one side and Jelačić was called to the imperial court camp in Innsbruck to justify it . On his arrival in Innsbruck, where he was not graciously received, he was also informed that the border battalions of the Italian army should urgently return to the fatherland out of concern about the dangers threatening Croatia, but the Italian army without the Croatian ones and Slavonian nuclear troops to raise the most reasonable concerns. In this situation, the Ban wrote the appeal to the border troops in the Italian army, which calmed them down and ensured that they would remain there.
The Viennese government wavered in its attitude towards Croatia and Hungary and initially rejected a separation of Croatia from Hungary. After Jelačić had started the return journey to Agram, where his presence was urgently needed, he learned from newspapers during the trip to the Lienz station that the imperial manifesto of June 10th deprived him of all honors and dignities. The court, especially the mother of the future Emperor Franz Joseph , Archduchess Sophie of Austria , kept in contact with him. After the first horror, which particularly affected the entourage of the ban, the same commanded: "Go to our posts and die in the faithful service of the emperor or help him with God's help" . In Agram, the ban found a jubilant reception, but at the same time the order was given to Vienna, where Archduke Johann was to mediate with the Hungarians.
The ban hurried to Vienna. During the mediation attempts between the Ban and Count Ludwig Batthyány , the former declared: "His law is a pragmatic sanction , a Hungarian separate ministry seems to him to be identical with the breaking free of Hungary from the monarchy and this breaking free he calls rebellion " . When Count Batthyány confronted the Ban with the dangers of civil war , which he would conjure up if he persisted, the Ban replied in conclusion: "A civil war would be the most terrible of all evils, but he does not fear it if it concerns indignation" . The Viennese court was fully privy to the content of the talks.
The attempts to mediate had failed, the Ban had only convinced himself with his own eyes of the mood in Vienna, the irritability of which increased every day, and returned to Croatia. There, however, Magyar troops and contingents had gathered on the borders of the country, hurled violent proclamations against the country and the Ban, who continued to try to maintain the good courage of his own and to paralyze the seduction attempts of the opponents.
For Croatia and against separatism
The Ban issued a manifesto to the Croats, in which he discussed his political views, firmly rejected all suspicions raised against him - “whatever they may be called: retrogression or pan-Slavism ” - “as a man of the people, of freedom and as a Man of Austria, loyal to his constitutional emperors and kings, wants a unified, powerful, free Austria ” and as an indispensable condition for this the centralization of the ministries of war, finance and foreign affairs. “There” , the Ban concludes his manifesto, “the Hungarian ministry believes it cannot go in because it persists in its separatist tendencies, i. H. wants to bring about the decay of the beautiful monarchy, the duty and honor requires to dare the utmost and to take up arms and we want to stand up with property, blood and life for our good rights and the holy cause. ” (This manifesto appeared in print with Karl Gerold in Vienna.)
Another call to obey had a powerful effect. Although most of the border battalions were already in full and were mostly with the Italian army, an average of 4-5,000 volunteers in each regimental district were also available for arms service. Since the turmoil in the individual crown lands increased with each passing day, Jelačić operated his withdrawal and crossed the Drau with 45,000 men on September 11, 1848 at Varaždin and a second column of 10,000 men of the Slavonian contingent under the command of General Roth crossed the lower Drava. Jelačić declared Međimurje , which is predominantly Croatian, to be "liberated" from Hungarian rule .
Both corps were hastily and poorly equipped. The food had to be provided almost exclusively through requisitions and was hardly possible because the inhabitants of the villages fled from the advancing army and the Hungarian authorities did everything possible to thwart or make more difficult the advance of the Banus.
Message from the emperor
At Hodošan a division of the Chevaulegers regiment Graf Wrbna, another of the Chevaulegers regiment Baron Kreß and at Marcali (Marczaly) the whole cuirassier regiment Graf Hardegg joined the ban. In the marching station Sis-Fok the Ban received the handwriting of the Emperor Ferdinand , with which the dishonorable manifesto of June 10th was declared invalid and the full confidence of his Emperor was expressed in him. He was appointed commander-in-chief of the Hungarian troops and also learned that breakaway Hungarian troops were advancing on Vienna to support the revolution there.
In the meantime, Jelačić learned from the archduke governor and palatine Stephan from Veszprém (Veszprim) of the king's resolution to entrust Count Batthyány with the formation of a new ministry. This would end the illegal situation in Hungary and restore order, so the ban should stop his march and go to the Palatine for a conference .
The ban declared that he would not be able to stop his train, but would be there for a meeting in and around Szennes on Lake Balaton the following day. But this meeting did not take place either. The ban was supposed to get on board the ship on which the archduke was. Everything was already ready for departure when the concern arose in the Banu's entourage that on the ship that was carrying the Palatine the Archduke's Hungarian entourage, composed by the revolutionary government, was planning an attack on the Ban without his knowledge; the surroundings of the ban urged him not to leave, and so the conversation was thwarted at the crucial moment.
The Ban now advanced with his army to Székesfehérvár (Stuhlweissenburg), and from there on in the direction of Ofen . Jelačić learned of the murder of the imperial envoy Count Lamberg on the Chain Bridge . A written request to Field Marshal Lieutenant Móga to break away from the rebellion was unsuccessful. The Ban continued to advance until he encountered the insurgents again at Pákozd (southwest of Budapest ).
In the battle of Pákozd ( Velence ), which lasted several hours , on September 29, the Hungarian insurgents fought south-west of Ofen, which ended with the conclusion of a three-day armistice, to which the Ban was urged by the news of the armistice from the Corps division Colonel Johann Roth should bring him. He also convinced himself that he was dealing with an enemy far superior in numbers and equipment, while his troops were tired from the requisitions and the march, poorly equipped, and unsuitable for a decisive battle. Meanwhile the news from the imperial capital was increasingly gloomy and threatening, and aside from a fight against the Hungarians, Jelačić decided to march to Vienna first.
Assassination of Latour
If Jelačić had been able to doubt his decision for a moment, the last doubt had to disappear when he learned of Baillet-Latour's murder in Altenburg . So he accepted the armistice and immediately moved to Vienna to connect with the troops outside the city. He placed a division of his corps, 14,000 strong, under the command of Field Marshal Lieutenant Theodorović and sent them back along the Styrian border to protect Croatia. On October 10th the outposts of the Banus were on the Laaer Berge near Vienna, on the 12th they were united with the troops of Field Marshal Lieutenant Count Auersperg , and the Karger Brigade from Pozsony (Pressburg), the Count Wallmoden cuirassier regiment , joined forces and Archduke Franz Joseph-Dragoons to the troops of the Banus.
On October 15, Prince Windisch-Graetz was appointed field marshal and supreme commandant of all troops on this side of the Isonzo , which were constantly being supplemented by new army detachments drawn from Bohemia . The ban now received all further orders from Prince Windischgrätz. On October 22nd, the closer zoning of Vienna was completed and the 1st Army Corps under the Banus was set up from Kaiser-Ebersdorf to Himberg , on the one hand to repel the attacks of the Hungarian insurgents, on the other hand to effect the closure of the St. Marx line . On October 24th, 25th and 26th, stubborn fighting took place in the Augarten and Prater . On the 28th the general attack on Vienna took place. The ban had to take it out to the suburbs of Landstrasse , Erdberg and Weißgerber . In the fight, which lasted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the division of Field Marshal Lieutenant Hartlieb von Wallthor took the terrain from the Viennese fighting in desperate resistance step by step and stormed 11 barricades until they reached the mint, the veterinary school, the Schwarzenberg's Palais and the Heumarkt barracks could penetrate.
Fight near Vienna
In the meantime the army of the Hungarian insurgents ( Vienna October Uprising ) had passed the Leitha on the 28th , the Fischa on the 29th , and on the 30th, after having advanced closer to the position of the Banus near Schwechat , opened the fight with heavy artillery fire Lasted through the day. Only towards evening could the Ban take the offensive, whereupon General Zeisberg threw the enemy back with his attack and drove them to flight.
On October 31st the struggle against Vienna and the inner city was continued and ended. The three-week armistice after the capture of Vienna was used to equip and organize the army. On December 16, the campaign against the Hungarians began: the Ban and his corps crossed the Hungarian border at two points, drove them from their position near Parndorf and forced them to retreat towards the marshes of Lake Neusiedl . Chasing the enemy, the army advanced on December 17th towards Sommerein , whereupon the Ban himself, at the head of 6 squadrons and a cavalry battery, carried out a reconnaissance against Altenburg and Wieselburg and found both cities hostile. The latter, fearing an evasion by the Banus's corps, withdrew quickly, opening a violent gunfire, and the Banus's troops occupied both cities. The operations that had already started on the 25th ended on the 27th with the capture of Raab , from which a deputation brought the keys to the city to Field Marshal Windischgrätz.
Meanwhile, the Ban sent the retreating enemy, who withdrew against the capital to protect the capital, with the Ottinger cavalry brigade, which on the morning of the 28th at half past six o'clock in an attack near Bábolna, the 7 battalions and an additional rear guard battery were completely defeated taught; 1 flag, 70 officers and 700 men along with ammunition fell into the hands of those who were loyal to the Kaiser. While the bulk of the army was marching on Ofen-Pest , the Ban, who had learned that the revolutionary general Moritz Perczel was standing at Mór with a corps of 8,000 men, 6,800 horsemen and 24 guns , was at the head of the vanguard against Mór, met enemy outposts in Sárkány am Bakonywald , which slowly retreated as the attack began, whereupon the Ban, awaiting the following Brigades Ottinger and Hartlieb, after their arrival in the main attack, inflicted another defeat on the enemy.
The battlefield was covered with dead, and 6 artillery pieces, 23 officers and 2,000 men fell into the hands of troops loyal to the emperor. Another clash on January 3, 1849 near Tetény also ended with the withdrawal of the insurgents. The next day the whole army was huddled together in a small room, two hours before an oven; On January 5th the advance against the capital began as well as the invasion of Pest-Ofen, Field Marshal Windischgrätz and him at the side of the Ban at the head of the 1st Army Corps.
Suppression of the uprising
After the capture of the capital, there was a long standstill in the operations of the army. The insurgents had withdrawn in two directions towards Waitzen and Szolnok . After the Battle of Kapolna on February 26th and 27th, the Ban received orders to march to Fenszaru with the 1st Army Corps under his command. His corps had previously been deployed in Szolnok, Nagy-Kőrös, Abony, Czegled and Pest. On this march, the Rastić brigade, which formed the rearguard of the ban, was attacked on three sides by General Georg Klapka on March 4th . The bayonet attack by the Otočans decided victory for the troops loyal to the emperor; 10 guns, 20 officers and 123 men plus ammunition fell into their hands.
This struggle resulted in a change in the previous dispositions; Instead of going to Fenszaru, the Ban was supposed to march against Gödöllő and arrived in Isaszég with his corps on April 6th. After a rest of a few hours, the Ban was attacked by two Hungarian corps under Klapka and Damianich in the battle of Isaszeg . The attackers were far superior to the Ban in strength, but this put up stubborn resistance and finally had to retreat to the mountain heights behind the Rakos Stream.
Further action against the insurgents
Meanwhile, Field Marshal Windischgrätz had advanced with the main corps, supported the Ban, and a murderous battle ensued in which the town of Isaszég went up in flames. The result of this struggle was a retreat of the Austrians, who positioned themselves on the 7th behind the Kakosbach in front of Pest. An army order called Prince Windischgrätz, whose general talent had meanwhile been questioned, to the imperial court camp, and in the second half of April Field Marshal Lieutenant Ludwig von Welden took over the command. Ban, who in the meantime had been promoted to Feldzeugmeister, immediately received supreme command of the Southern Army, which was formed from the 1st Army Corps and the individual corps operating on the lower Danube . It numbered 15,800 men, 5,100 horsemen and 74 artillery pieces and, according to a previously agreed plan of operations, had moved along the Danube to Osijek (Essegg) on April 24th .
On this march, the Ban’s next task was to hold down the storm that was rising everywhere; to Pécs (Fünfkirchen), where the rebels developed the greatest activity, he sent a strong detachment under General Ottinger and had the guilty sentenced. The news from Croatia, meanwhile, made his presence in Zagreb (Agram) necessary, which, however, was short-lived. The aim was to preserve the former enthusiasm for the imperial cause and to revive trust on all sides, which, incited by the enormous efforts of the insurgents and countless emissaries, threatened to change.
In the meantime Welden had been removed from command and Julius von Haynau had been transferred. Due to the previous mistakes by the Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian Army, there was no longer any question of operating jointly with the Southern Army, which for the time being could only keep itself on the defensive.
In the south of the empire
In the second half of May the Ban moved from Osijek to Wukowar , Illok , Karlowitz , Towarnik and Ireg and moved into headquarters in Ruma . His army, however, suffered from a lack of clothing, weapons and the consequences of cholera .
The Serbs under Thodorović were by no means quick-witted; In addition, the enemy gained more and more advantages, he strengthened the fortress Peterwardein , drew support from all sides and found plenty of food in the insurgent country, whose population was either secretly or openly to him. The banu was now forced to stay on the defensive. A successful attack on a redoubt in front of Peterwardein, two repulsed attacks by the enemy on the plateau of Titl on the west bank of the Tisza and a defeat from the fortress Peterwardein together with the sluggishly accomplished crossing of the troops at Slankamund were the only notable undertakings of his corps until the beginning June.
Since the exhausted regions of Slavonia and Syrmia could no longer provide food, the Ban began on June 5 to advance along the Franzenskanals and to occupy the line from Zombor to Bácsföldvár in order to establish contact with the main army. The next day the left wing was at Kaacs , the center (cavalry and gun reserves) behind the Kaacser forest and the extreme right wing at Josefsdorf . A detachment was sent against Kovil , and Knićanin stayed behind to secure the Titl plateau. The enemy, informed of this, planned to attack the corps in the front, on the flank and rear at the same time. On the night of June 6th to 7th, he advanced from Novi Sad (Neusatz) towards Kaacs, pushed back the corps' advance troops and launched a violent attack on the right wing. Columns of Austrian horsemen broke out of their hiding place in the Kaacs forest and chased the enemy into flight.
On the night of the 11th to the 12th, the Ban attacked the entrenchments in front of Novi Sad, took them after a fierce battle and forced the crew to retreat to the bridgehead as quickly as possible. Novi Sad itself was turned into a heap of ruins in this battle. When the Ban received news that an enemy corps was standing at Óbecse and was protecting the entrenchments and batteries on both banks of the Tisza at the ship bridge there , the Ban decided to attack this corps and began the night of June 24th to 25th near Szenttamas the transition over the Franzens Canal. On the morning of the 25th at half past eight the ban, who led the main column, encountered the enemy, forced him to retreat, advanced further and drove the enemy at Bečej (Hungarian Óbecse or O-Becse ) over the bridges, both of which were from the troops loyal to the emperor were immediately occupied.
Union of the South Army and the Main Army
In the middle of July the next battle took place at Hegyes, where the enemy, advancing important detachments on their wings on the Danube and Tisza, had gathered in considerable strength. The Ban took up his line-up at Kisbér, determined to attack the far superior opponent. At the beginning of the fight on July 14th, the first meeting of his line-up was already shaken. Now the Hungarians swayed two more battalions on the Banu's right wing. Then the Ban personally took the lead, spoke to them in their mother tongue, stood firm and recently led them towards the enemy, whom he threw back to Lovčenac (German: Sekitsch , Hungarian Szeghegy ) on this point . Since, however, the insurgents became increasingly stronger and resistance to their growing masses became impossible, the ban was anxious to secure the line of retreat and also carried out the retreat in the best order. That day, from 3 a.m. to noon, 7,000 men with 73 artillery pieces on the side of the Banus offered the most stubborn resistance to an opponent of well over 15,000 men with 100 artillery pieces. This fight at Hegyes closes the series of events in which the Ban had actively participated with the previously existing Southern Army.
After Haynau's victory in the Battle of Temesvár (August 9th), he tried to unite with the main army; Running back a division of his corps to the defection of Petrovaradins (Peterwardein), he began his march against Temesvár with the remains . At the end of August, immediately after the armistice at Világos , the ban was appointed to the imperial court camp in Vienna and consulted about the reorganization of Croatia, Slavonia and the military border, about which countries he had precise knowledge and was able to have a decisive say.
Restored Peace
After peace was restored, Jelačić returned to his fatherland, which celebrated his son as the savior of the entire fatherland on all occasions. The emperor rewarded him with the commander's cross of the Maria Theresa Order , which was awarded to him in the 153rd doctorate (from July 29, 1849), with the military merit cross, the grand cross of the Leopold order , with the elevation to the count status (24 April 1854), which after his death passed to his two younger brothers Anton and Georg by imperial grace , by conferring the secret councilor, chamberlain and proprietor dignity, the latter for 3 regiments and additionally for infantry regiment No. 46 and 2 Banat regiments (the 10th and 11th). The tsar of Russia , the kings of Hanover and Saxony, and the duke of Parma had added their decorations to the awards listed so far . In the course of the reorganization of the imperial state after the civil war, the Ban returned to Zagreb (Agram) as governor and commanding general in Croatia , Slavonia and Dalmatia and governor of Rijeka (Fiume) , where he - from time to time - went to the appointed to the imperial court - remained until his death.
Thanks to Jelačić's loyalty to the emperor, the revolution in Austria failed and the country fell back into neo-absolutism .
The Ban had married Sophie, née Countess Stockau, at Schloss Napajedl on July 23, 1850, but no descendants from this marriage survived their childhood. After the war, the Ban arranged his previously written poems, which appeared in Vienna in 1851 under the simple title: "Gedichte" (Vienna 1851, Braumüller, with 5 steel engravings and imprinted woodcuts, large 8 °.). There was general mourning in the country when the Ban died after a prolonged mental disturbance, the increasingly violent attacks of which had to be fatal. One day after his death, on May 21, his body was embalmed and buried in a pewter and wooden coffin in the chapel at Novi dvori (near Zaprešić ) according to his own wishes . The theater in Zagreb was closed until the funeral.
Jelačić remained Banus of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia until his death in 1859. The Croatian parts of the country remained separated from the Kingdom of Hungary until 1867. Through the balance of the Habsburgs with Hungary's interests in Croatia but have been sacrificed. Croatia and Slavonia became Hungarian again.
On the characteristics of the Banus Josip Jelačić
His portrait (in words) was designed by a pen at the time of his appearance in 1848 as follows: “Jelačić is of medium stature, strong and stocky; the parting already very bare, only with a wreath, provided with otherwise very beautiful black hair. High forehead, strong eyebrows, curved nose, fine mouth, secure and tightly closed, but flexible and always ready to speak. The stamp of the whole face has something southern about it, without its passion, the expression is that of cheerful, delicate mildness, of self-established security. The voice is soft in ordinary conversation, and becomes sharp only in affect. He speaks German like his mother tongue with the usual Austrian accent, but in such a mild way, as one notices now often among the educated Austrians.
His education is entirely German, he loves the language and literature like no other. German is the language in which he expresses himself most confidently, in which he thinks and writes, in which he first looks for the expression when he wants to say something unusual in his own language. But if you hear him speak Croatian or Hungarian , yes Italian , then you take each of these languages to be the one he speaks best. "
- A former roommate who served with him for seven years in a regiment adds: “Jelačić (then 44 years old) is witty, energetic, a soldier through and through and a man through and through. Raised at the Theresianum in Vienna, he was actually trained for a civilian career and is a lawyer. Croatian by birth, descendant of a family that is very revered in the border countries, serving in the border for years, he is well acquainted with the needs, sympathies and antipathies of the people there and therefore the man the country needs and is looking for. Jelačić is by no means a "warrior" as he has been called, but rather a spirit and knowledge-gushing partner and at the same time the most hard-working, most knowledgeable official, a scientifically strategically trained officer and brave soldier, which he has proven. He is a poet and writer and has as much about the statesman as the general about himself and speaks German, French, Italian, Greek, Latin, Hungarian and Slavic. He combines genius, knowledge, upbringing and education, and if something is to be reproached for his otherwise firm, energetic character, it is almost too soft a kind-heartedness ”.
- The Banu's political creed should emerge most clearly from his own words: “Windischgrätz”, he remarked soon after taking Vienna, “is an aristocrat; he hates all revolutions out of deep conviction as well as out of professional considerations. He's already disgraced the Frankfurters in Prague and he didn't bother with schoolmaster Welcker either. He is extremely angry with the repentant revolutionaries. A very inveterate revolutionary devil would find mercy with him; the extremes touch.
In addition to an aristocrat, he is also a military pedant. . . …… It's different with me: I love freedom; her credo is mine. I had offered my friendship to the Viennese assembly, but they shamefully rejected it; no real man will tolerate that. Croatia tore apart the treaties of the twelfth century that bound it with Hungary with the same rights as Germany the old federal act. The Viennese took no notice of this and did not want to include the Croatian MPs in the so-called “Constituante”. I know well that they did it because they feared the Slavic preponderance in the assembly and, besides, because they see the Magyars as better allies of Germany than the Slavic Croats, who are, or should be, closer to the Russians. As a Croat, that's none of my business. I say that the emperor is just as good as King of Croatia, as Archduke of Austria, or King of Illyria. In the Austrian Association of Nations, everyone must have the same rights. If it is then more natural that the Slavs have the right to protect the whole than the Germans, it must be done. I must not sacrifice the rights of my people and my tribe to please the German calculations. The ministers knew that ...... quite well, so they secretly supported the hostility of the assembly against me so that I would be compelled to go along with their plan. I saw through the double game, but in the interests of “my country I had to submit to making common cause with the enemies of my enemies.
Nothing was to be hoped for from the Vienna assembly, especially after the events of October 6th. Latour was my friend, d. H. my political friend. I could only revenge him at the same time, get satisfaction for gross insults and rob the Magyars of a main base. I would have betrayed my cause, the Croatian cause and myself if I hadn't moved to Vienna. The black-red-gold flag had to be thrown back in Vienna because a Slavic Austria, to which Hungary must also belong, is a necessary consequence of the current state of affairs. The Kremsians will probably accept the Croatian MPs; we have now made personal acquaintance.
We care little what the Frankfurters decide or don't decide ... I am not denying that a great Germany is one of the possibilities, but I deny that there really is such a thing now. We cannot and do not want to wait for it; therefore we shall create a mighty Slavic Austria before hand! But we don't want to disturb the Frankfurt Speech Practice Club in its daily conversations ”.
From all of Jelačić's utterances shone the greatest contempt for the revolutionaries in Germany, Hungary, Frankfurt, etc. He spoke with respect of his most resolute enemies. "You are an aristocrat or a democrat, he concluded his speech, an enemy or a friend, but for God's sake you are completely what you are or want to be."
- But a train from his soldier life characterizes him at the same time as a soldier and a person. When the levies for war in Italy began, his regiment was ready for drafting in Karlstadt. It was biting February cold and the crew waited in line for two hours in front of the general's apartment for the review to be carried out, with Colonel Jelačić at the head. The general, however, sat quietly and comfortably in the well-heated room and left the crew waiting and freezing uselessly. Finally the Colonel lost patience and ordered the regiment to move in. Now the general appeared, ruled the colonel, and invoked his duty to hold the muster. “Your Excellency, cried Jelačić, I too have my duties and I cannot admit that this poor people is freezing for nothing and nothing in the open air. If your Excellency really wants to hold the muster, I will immediately let the regiment begin ”.
Motto
His motto , which is also reflected in his coat of arms , was:
"Što Bog dade i sreća junačka (What God gives and the happiness of heroes)"
Jelačić himself explained his motto with the words:
“Sto Bog dade i sreca janucka!
Whoever thinks right, tries and tests
with God's help his good sword,
Even if the outcome is not documented:
The will has honored the man! "
Assessment and hero worship
For many Croatians, Ban Josip Jelačić is still a symbol of the desire for national unity, independence and the preservation of national identity.
In Austria one remembers the suppression of the March Revolution . He became a notorious figure, especially for the Liberals and Democrats of the following decades. In the early years of Franz Joseph's reign there was a joke that in proclamations with "We, Franz Joseph" this "we" was actually called WJR and was an abbreviation for " Windischgrätz , Jellačić, Radetzky " - the three generals who were involved in the suppression of the revolution 1848 were most essential.
On May 1, 1854, the Mayor of Zagreb , Janko Kaumauf, proposed to erect a monument to Ban Jelačić in the city center. The city council agreed to this proposal and as early as February 1855 a start was made to collect donations for the monument from citizens from all over Croatia. In 1864 the monument was finally completed in Anton Dominik Fernkorn's foundry in Vienna and inaugurated on December 17, 1866.
It was set in the center of Zagreb in the direction of Hungary, and the square was named Trg Bana Josipa Jelačića ( Ban Jelačić Square ). After the Second World War , the monument was removed by the Yugoslav Titoists in 1947 and the square was renamed. After the democratic upheaval, the monument was rebuilt on October 16, 1990 at its original location and the square was renamed. As a gesture of reconciliation with Hungary, the monument was now oriented towards the south .
The image of Banus Josip Jelačić is on the 20 kuna banknote.
reception
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Through the imperial resolution of Franz Joseph I on February 28, 1863, Joseph Jelačić von Bužim was included in the list of the “most famous warlords and generals of Austria worthy of perpetual emulation” , in whose honor and memory there is also a life-size statue in the general hall of at that time newly established kk Hofwaffenmuseums (today: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien) was built. The statue was created in 1869 by the sculptor Miklós Vay (1828–1886) from Carrara marble and was dedicated by Emperor Franz Joseph himself.
literature
- KA: Jellacic de Buzim, Josef Graf . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 756-759.
- Jelačić (Jellačić) from Bužim, Josef Graf. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 3, Publishing House of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1965, p. 99 f. (Direct links on p. 99 , p. 100 ).
- Joseph Baron von Jellačić: Poems . Vienna 1851 ( google.de [accessed on October 14, 2013]).
- Ernest Bauer: Count Joseph Jellachich de Buzim: Banus of Croatia: Fate and legend of the Croatian hero from 1848 . Herold, Vienna / Munich 1975, ISBN 3-7008-0121-1 .
- Stjepan Krčmar: Josip Jelačić: 1801–1859: Banus of Croatia [Croatian cultural association of Switzerland on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the death of the popular Croatian statesman Josip Jelačić] . Ed .: Croatian Cultural Association of Switzerland. Zurich 1989.
- Walter Görlitz : Jelačić: Symbol for Croatia: The biography . Almathea, Vienna / Munich 1992, ISBN 3-85002-319-2 .
- Jaromir Hirtenfeld : Ban Jelačić. Biographical sketch. With the portrait of the Banus. M. Auer, Vienna 1861
Web links
- Literature by and about Joseph Jelačić von Bužim in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dr. Philipp Charwath: "The fall of a mediocre power that wanted to be a great power", p. 86 ff
- ↑ Wreath of honor to celebrate the 90th birthday and 73rd year of service of the kk FM father Radetzky on Nov. 2, 1856 . Printed by the club printing house of I. Aufschlager, Innsbruck 1856, p. 15 .
- ^ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna: The museum and its representation rooms . Kiesel Verlag, Salzburg 1981, ISBN 3-7023-0113-5 , p. 38 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jelačić from Bužim, Joseph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jelačić Bužimski, Josip (Croatian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian general and Ban of Croatia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 16, 1801 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Peterwardein |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 19, 1859 |
| Place of death | Zagreb |