Joseph Nikolaus de Vins

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Joseph Nikolaus Freiherr de Vins

Joseph Nikolaus Freiherr de Vins also Joseph Freiherr von Vins, Joseph de Wins (* 1732 in Mantua ; † September 26, 1798 in Vienna ) was an Imperial Privy Councilor , officer ( Feldzeugmeister ), bearer of the Grand Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order , Owner of Infantry Regiment No. 37 and Inspector General of the Military Frontier .

biography

Seven Years War

Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order

The son of General Hector Franz de Vins, who died on June 16, 1746 in the battle of Piacenza , also opted for a military career. In 1748 he joined the Leopold Pálffy infantry regiment as an ensign , in which he went through all degrees up to colonel. Appointed sub lieutenant in 1750, he was promoted to captain in 1755.

Siege map for Schweidnitz 1761

He fought against the Prussians in the Seven Years War . The grenadier captain of the Leopold von Palffy Infantry Regiment No. 19 distinguished himself during the Seven Years' War during the first sieges of Schweidnitz for his courage and bravery: he sneaked up to the palisades with the grenadiers during the night and managed to get into the stockade with twelve men Penetrate ravelin. The enemy, surprised in this way, withdrew into the casemates. So the handover of this fortress was mainly a consequence of this enterprise. For this, de Vins was promoted to the rank of major on September 8, 1757 and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order on December 4, 1758.

After his impeccable service in the battle near Landshut on July 16, 1760, he moved up to lieutenant colonel and excelled at the third siege of Schweidnitz , namely by storming Fort Galgen (September 30 to October 1, 1761). He was then honored to deliver the news of victory to the Viennese court and was also promoted to colonel and commander of infantry regiment No. 16 on October 13, 1761 .

On May 1, 1773 (rank of April 28, 1765) he was promoted to major general and honored with the title of a Privy Councilor, de Vins took over infantry regiment No. 51 in the General Staff of Oradea in what was then Hungary .

Bavarian War of Succession and 8th Austrian Turkish War

Zettin Castle (Cetin) , liberated after a long battle on July 20, 1790

The Bavarian War of Succession offered him another opportunity to distinguish himself. He commanded an independent department within the army of Field Marshal Baron Gideon Ernst von Laudon . On his last retreat during the night in the battle of Hirschberg , however, he lost many of his soldiers and was himself briefly imprisoned.

With rank of March 31, 1783 he was appointed field marshal lieutenant and on February 7, 1784 owner of Infantry Regiment No. 37. He was commanding general at the military border (April 1, 1783-1 December 1791), then inspector general of the military border . He held this office until his death.

A few years later, on November 10, 1788 (rank of October 28, 1788), the baron was promoted to Feldzeugmeister. As such he attended the campaigns against the Turks in 1788 and 1789, then in 1790 he commanded the K. uk Croatian Army Corps, which on July 20th of that year, after a long battle , took Cetin Castle and became on December 17th Decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa in 1790. In 1791 he became general commander of the military border in Croatia and in December he exchanged this position for that of general border inspector.

Coalition wars

After King Victor Amadeus III, who fought against the French in the coalition wars . of Sardinia had to accept great territorial losses for his Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and he was dissatisfied with the administration of his officers, he asked for an Austrian commander to be sent to the united Austro-Sardinian army . Therefore, on December 21, 1792, the emperor appointed the baron chief general. But he failed in this and the following campaigns in various undertakings, fell ill and had to leave the army for some time. In April 1795 he took over the command of new ones. Two months later he began the offensive against Genoa and advanced on the Riviera. He commanded 34 Austrian battalions and 14 squadrons, which the King of Sardinia had put at his side, a total of 42,000 men. But as a result of his own insecurity and the constant reinforcement of the French contingent, he could not win the campaign. Disappointed and already badly affected by his illness (scurvy), he handed over command of the army to Feldzeugmeister Oliver Remigius, Count of Wallis, on November 22nd of that year.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/mmto1.htm
  2. ↑ a b http://www.histoire-empire.org/persos/de_vins/de_vins.htm
  3. ↑ Grete Klingenstein, Eva Faber (ed.): "European Enlightenment between Vienna and Trieste - The Diaries of Governor Karl Graf Zinzendorf", Verlag Böhlau, Vienna 2009, p. 150
  4. ↑ Edmund Finke: “History of the kuk Hungarian Infantry Regiment No. 37 Archduke Joseph”, Volume 1, Verlag D. St. Norbertus, Vienna 1896, p. 506 f.
  5. ^ Digby Smith: The Napoleonic Wars Data Book , Greenhill Books, London 1998
  6. ^ Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: Imperial and Imperial Generals (1618-1815), Austrian State Archives / A. Schmidt-Brentano 2006, p. 106
  7. ↑ Dr. J. Hirtenfeld: "The Military Maria Theresa Order and its Members, edited from authentic sources", Volume 2, Imperial Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1857, p. 1734
  8. ↑ Karl Reichard: "Modern biographies, or brief messages about the life and deeds of the most famous people", Leipzig, 1811
  9. ↑ Karl Reichard: "Modern biographies, or brief messages about the life and deeds of the most famous people", Leipzig, 1811
personal data
SURNAME Vins, Joseph Nikolaus de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES de Wins, Joseph; Vins, Joseph Nikolaus Freiherr von; Joseph Nikolaus Freiherr de Vins (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian officer
DATE OF BIRTH 1732
PLACE OF BIRTH Mantua
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1798
Place of death Vienna