Paul von Wernhardt

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Paul Freiherr von Wernhardt 1840

Baron Paul von Wernhardt (born January 25, 1776 in Pösing , Pressburg County , † September 13, 1846 in Vienna ) was an Austrian officer and Knight of Theresa . He was a Magnate of Hungary and a Privy Councilor , Imperial General of the Cavalry and owner of the Chevaux-Legers Regiment No. 3.

Origin and family

Paul came from a family that, in the person of Stefan Wernhardt , received a letter of arms from Hofpfalzgrafen Florian Drosdowsky von Drostowitz on February 15, 1621 as thanks for his brave efforts in the Turkish wars . His sons were raised to knightly nobility on September 25, 1646 .

The officer was the great-grandson of the nobleman Stefan and his wife Walburga Kapitz. He had been married to Maria Anna (born June 27, 1784), daughter of the future Lieutenant Field Marshal Baron Joseph Ignaz Cerrini de Monte Varchi , since May 6, 1804 , and was raised to the hereditary-Austrian and Hungarian barons in 1818. In addition to three daughters, he had two sons, the older one, Stefan (1806–1969) and his grandson Paul Vinzenz (1851–1923) also achieving high military dignities.

The sex is extinct in the male line.

biography

The early years

Battle of Tourcoing 1794
Storming of the bridge near Landshut in 1809

After private tuition, Wernhardt joined the Zeschwitz No. 10 cuirassier regiment on May 16, 1793 out of inclination to pursue a military career as a cadet ex propriis. Very soon the opportunity arose to test his worth as a soldier in practice. From the very beginning he was characterized by tireless zeal, determination and correct military judgment, so as a second lieutenant, meanwhile in the cuirassier regiment of Archduke Franz, on April 26, 1794 at the great cavalry battle of Le Cateau-Cambrésis . The soldier also fought in the battles of Tourcoing , Tournai , Charleroi and Fleurus that year ; he also attended the siege of Landrecy . In the following years he also took part in the war.

In the battle of Stockach on March 23, 1799, he and a division of his cuirassiers led the far superior enemy to give way and thereby contributed to the successful outcome of the battle. In the relation of this day, he was prominently mentioned, in addition to his rank tour, he was promoted to first lieutenant in the regiment and was used by field marshal lieutenant Prince von Hohenlohe in the same campaign as a general staff officer. Set up as such on November 3, 1799 to observe the enemy near Bietigheim, he attacked a French column marching on Bietigheim at his own risk and put the enemy cavalry to flight. The military leadership publicly recognized that this daring attack by Hohenlohe's corps had had a beneficial effect on the course of the campaign.

In 1804, at the request of the commanding general in Moravia, Maximilian Baillet von Latour , Wernhardt was transferred to his own Chevaulegers regiment, but remained with Field Marshal Lieutenant Johann Siegmund von Riesch , whom he also joined the army at the beginning of the war operations in 1805 Germany accompanied. Here on October 19th of that year, having just advanced to the second Rittmeister , he shared the sad fate of all the imperial and royal troops trapped in Ulm and was taken prisoner of war, from which he was soon released "on parole" . After the brief period of peace, in October 1808 he was promoted by Field Marshal Lieutenant Riesch to First Rittmeister in his Dragoons Regiment, where he soon moved in and led the squadron command until February 1809, but then on the 25th of the month he was appointed to the Quartermaster General in Vienna, with the Provision to be translated to Archduke Charles's headquarters . In this capacity Wernhardt was in the meetings at Landshut on April 16th and at Hausen on April 19th and the battle of Regensburg from April 20th to 23rd of that year. From the battlefield of Aspern , where he was slightly wounded, he was sent to the Emperor staying in Woltersdorf with the report of the victory , and Archduke Karl made him major and adjutant at the same time apart from the tour . He also fought with honor at Baumersdorf on July 5th, Wagram on July 6th, Korneuburg on July 7th and Znaim on July 10th of that year.

In a responsible position

The battle on the bridge at Arcis-sur-Aube
Battle of Pantin 1814

In 1813, when Wernhardt was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Hohenzollern cuirassiers in Germany , Wernhardt soon found himself assigned as adjutant to Grand Duke Constantin of Russia , who had been appointed holder of this regiment, and he quickly gained his trust. During the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig his well-founded advice was appreciated, so he was promoted to colonel in the regiment with leave to his position and decorated with the Imperial Russian Order of St. Anne, second class, in diamonds. On January 29, 1814, he fought in the Battle of Brienne . He gained particular fame in the battle of Arcis-sur-Aube on March 21st and 22nd of that year, when he forced victory in it through skillful dispositions and bold execution. The events played out as follows: The reserves under the orders of Grand Duke Constantine were not intended to participate in the attack on Arcis according to the operational plan drawn up by the commander-in-chief. Wernhardt, however, asked his boss for permission to go to the 4th Army Corps, commanded by the Crown Prince of Württemberg , in order to be able to attend the battle. After the pushed back enemy still stubbornly asserted the city of Arcis, Wernhardt offered to convince himself of the situation. He found that the city was difficult to take over the bridge and that the 1st Battalion fighting there under Captain Binder was in great difficulty. So he intervened, redirected the soldiers and successfully attacked the castle with the 1st Division. There he then had two cannons set up and an emergency bridge built, whereupon the enemy used all his firepower. Nonetheless, Wernhardt continued to lead the transition personally in the heavy rain of bullets in order to excite the team with his example. His advance was so successful that the enemy fled across the bridge in great confusion, leaving many prisoners and all wounded behind, and Wernhardt's cannons causing him considerable damage. The fire directed against Wernhardt's department was so devastating that everyone around him was either killed or wounded. His hat and coat were also riddled with bullets. Incidentally, Wernhardt wanted to penetrate the island at nightfall in order to prepare a transition point there for the following day. But he received the express order from the Crown Prince to refrain from doing so.

At the Battle of Fère-Champenoise on March 25, 1814, he persuaded the Grand Duke to launch a successful attack in the rear of the enemy, who therefore had to retreat. In the battle of Paris on March 30th, he enforced the claim of the village of Pantin , which clearly favored the quicker capture of Paris, and by the example of his bravery he fired the courage of the troops on. For these further services the officer received the Russian military st. Georgs Order of Fourth Class, the Prussian Military Order of Merit and the Knight's Cross of the Bavarian Max Joseph Order.

Sibiu, fortifications

For the act of Arcis-sur-Aube, voluntarily carried out with just as much bravery as insight and perseverance, accompanied by the brilliant result, Wernhardt was awarded the Knight's Cross by Emperor Franz I in August 1816 at the request of the Maria Theresa Order Chapter of the Maria Theresa Order awarded. As a result, the emperor awarded him the hereditary-Austrian baron and the Hungarian baronate on July 7, 1818 (diploma from November 6 of that year). He was honored with the Hungarian magnate on August 2, 1819. After Napoleon Bonaparte's return from Elba in 1815, Paul was appointed adjutant general to Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg and, as such, performed no less important services in the military department of the Court War Council. After Schwarzenberg's death he was appointed regimental commander of the Klenau-Chevauxlegers on January 1, 1821, at the vacant post.

The officer was promoted to major general and brigadier in Pest on April 20, 1826 (rank of July 18, 1821) , where he carefully settled a street tumult that had broken out during the cholera of 1831. In 1832 he was transferred to Salzburg as brigadier and fortress commander and was promoted to field marshal lieutenant and divisional officer in Galicia on September 12 of the same year .

On June 8, 1834, he was appointed commanding general in Sibiu and was awarded the privilege of being a privy councilor. In 1836 him the emperor chose to owner of Chevauxlegers Regiment. 3. In the position of military governor he remained for twelve years until his retirement, which he passes all this time not only the duties of his high office of Militäradministiration in Transylvania with Exercised dignity and justice, but was always ready to give consolation and help to the unfortunate and needy, recognizing the diligence and worth of the citizen and supporting him with friendly benevolence, so that all classes of the inhabitants of this city gave him respect and veneration, his high Merits recognized throughout Transylvania. Therefore, in 1838 the Landtag voluntarily elected him to the Indigenous of Transylvania. To celebrate his 50th anniversary in service in 1843, his troops presented him with a sword of honor, and in early 1846 he was elected royal commissioner for the Transylvanian state parliament.

Wernhardt, who had participated in twelve campaigns, three sieges, 19 battles and 36 skirmishes, was honored with the title of general of the cavalry on June 24, 1846 and retired at his own request. The general later died only a few months of ascites . He has a grave of honor in the Vienna Central Cemetery .

Coat of arms of the Barons von Wernhardt 1818

Awards (selection)

coat of arms

1818: Squared with a central shield showing a crowned golden lion in black on a three-hill, wielding a sword in his right paw and a tartsche in his left. In the first, red field a shining sun; in the second and third silver fields a burning bomb: in the fourth, red field a crescent moon. The baron's crown rests on the shield.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Otto Titan Hefner: "Stammbuch des blooming and dead nobility in Germany", Volume 4, published by Georg Joseph Manz, Regensburg 1866, p. 183
  2. ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of baronial houses for the year 1865, Volume 15, Verlag Justus Perthes, Gotha 1865, p. 1000
  3. ^ A b Ernst Heinrich Kneschke: "German count houses of the present: in heraldic, historical and genealogical relationship", 3rd volume, AZ, Verlag TO Weigel, Leipzig 1854, p. 61
  4. ↑ a b c Joh. Baptist Schels (Red.): "Austrian military magazine", 5th issue, printed by Anton Strauss's Sel. Witwe, Vienna 1847, p. 119 ff.
  5. ↑ a b Constantin von Wurzbach : Wernhardt, Paul Freiherr . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 55th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1887, pp. 101–103 ( digitized version ).
  6. ↑ http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/mmto6.htm
  7. ^ Johann Georg Megerle von Mühlfeld: "Österreichisches Adelslexikon des eighteenth u. Nineteenth century containing all from 1701 to 1820 ”, Verlag Mörschner and Kasper, Vienna 1822, p. 113
  8. ↑ Gothaisches genealogical pocket book of the baronial houses on the year, Volume 21, Verlag Justus Perthes, Gotha 1871, p. 780 f.
  9. ^ A b Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: Imperial and Imperial Generals (1618-1815), Austrian State Archives / A. Schmidt-Brentano 2007, p. 201
  10. ^ The Transylvanian Messenger No. 61, July 9, 1846, title page
  11. ↑ http://www.viennatouristguide.at/Friedhoefe/Zentralfriedhof/Index_00_%20Bild/00_wernhardt_33.htm
  12. ^ Society for the History of Protestantism in Austria: "Yearbook of the Society for the History of Protestantism in Austria", Volumes 3–4, Vienna 1882, p. 41
personal data
SURNAME Wernhardt, Paul von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian officer and Knight of Theresa
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1776
PLACE OF BIRTH Pösing , Pressburg county
DATE OF DEATH September 13, 1846
Place of death Vienna