Julius Caesar of Strassoldo

Julius Caesar Count von Strassoldo-Graffemberg (* 1791 in Gorizia , † September 20, 1855 in Palmanova ) was an Imperial Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal . Strassoldo is a place near Cervignano in northern Italy, which was part of imperial Austria until 1918 in the political district of Monfalcone .

Life

origin

He came from the first line of the Strassoldo-Graffemberg family and was a son of Count Leopold Graf Strassoldo (* August 9, 1739 - August 17, 1809) and Franziska Xaveria, née Auersperg (* October 9, 1759; † November 24 1811). His brother was Michael von Strassoldo-Graffemberg (* 1798, † 1873), kk Real Privy Councilor and honorary citizen of Graz . His sister Franziska (born January 3, 1781; † January 12, 1854) married Field Marshal Radetzky on April 5, 1798 , who became a close friend of the family.

Early military career

He joined the Hoch- und Deutschmeister No. 4 infantry regiment in 1808 as a cadet and was deployed as an ensign in the 5th Jäger Battalion after the outbreak of war in February 1809 . On April 22, 1809 he was wounded near Regensburg (April 22, 1809). During the campaign in 1812, Strassoldo moved into Volhynia with the 5th Jäger Battalion as part of the Austrian Auxiliary Corps under General of the Cavalry Prince Schwarzenberg and took part in the Battle of Gorodetschno (August 12). In August 1813, he was promoted to captain , attended the Battle of Leipzig and was part of the defenses of Dresden with the 5th Jäger Battalion . During the campaign of 1814 he fought first with the light division of the FML Bubna , later with the Brigade Scheither within the division of the FML Lederer . On March 11, 1814, he was wounded in battle near Mâcon . Transferred to the 3rd Jäger Battalion in the 1815 campaign, he fought in General Paumgartten's brigade, which in turn was part of the reserve corps under Archduke Ferdinand d'Este .

During the uprising in Naples in 1821, Captain Strassoldo was with the intervention army under Frimont , he distinguished himself in the association of the division of the FML Bianchi and received the Bourbon Order of San Giorgio della Riunione.

On May 27, 1833 he was promoted to major in the Kaiserjägerregiment and on March 26, 1836 to lieutenant colonel. On July 2, 1838 he became colonel and commandant of the 26th Infantry Regiment. In 1841 he was given command of the 10th Jäger Battalion and was promoted to major general on March 27, 1846 (with rank of April 6). He was then appointed brigade leader with the I Army Corps stationed in Italy.

In the Italian campaign of 1848/49

Until the revolutionary year of 1848 he was in command of the fortress brigade in Verona . On April 9, 1848 his brigade (10th Jäger Battalion and Infantry Regiment No. 17) opposed the Piedmontese vanguard at Monzambano , had to leave the opposite bank of the Mincio and retreat with 2,300 men to the heights of Prentina and the Rideau in front of St. Lucia . On May 6, at the beginning of the Battle of Santa Lucia, he was attacked by a five-fold superiority led by the King of Sardinia . His brigade held out in St. Lucia for three full hours until a flank attack by the brigade under Clam-Gallas led to the defeat of the enemy. On May 29, his troops fought during the battle at Curtatone near Montanara and advanced the following day across the road from Gazzoldo to Goito , where they had to withdraw. On July 23, his reserve brigade intervened in the battle of Sommacampagna in support of the hard-pressed Suplikatz and Wohlgemuth brigades .

After the victory at Custozza , Strassoldo excelled in the advance battles against Milan . On August 4, his brigade reached Casa Rogaredo, stormed Gambaloita and established contact with the II Army Corps. For this he received the Commander's Cross of the Leopold Order .

Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order

When the war reopened the following year, 1849, on March 21st, Major General Count Strassoldo led the avant-garde , which distinguished itself in the 1st Corps in the battles of San Siro and Gambolo. Then his troops advanced to Mortara, where the Strassoldo brigade met the enemy at Borgo St. Siro.

On April 9, 1849, he was promoted to field marshal lieutenant by Emperor Franz Joseph I and appointed holder of infantry regiment No. 61. On July 29, 1849 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Maria Theresa Order .

Last division commander in Milan , he retired on June 3, 1853 after 45 years of service. He retired to the Strassoldo family castle in Friuli , then Austria . In September 1855 he fell victim to the cholera that occurred in Palmanova .

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Strassoldo, Julius Caesar Graf . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 39th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1879, p. 282 ( digitized version ).