Richard d'Alton

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Richard d'Alton (* 1732 in Rathconrath ( Ireland ); † February 16, 1790 in Trier ) was an imperial general and Feldzeugmeister in the service of the Austrian Habsburgs.

Life

Richard d'Alton was born in Lachond, Ireland, in 1732. His brother was Eduard d'Alton , who later also played an important role in the imperial military. He worked in the Austrian military at an early age, when he was 18 years old he was first lieutenant in the Salm regiment (1769: No. 14). In 1754 he was promoted to captain and worked in this rank in the Seven Years' War . He excelled at Saalfeld on March 26, 1759 , at Aisch on May 8, and at Kollin and Görlitz . At the battle of Kunersdorf on August 12, 1759, he was appointed lieutenant colonel and was responsible for the victory at Landshut on June 23, 1760. After he had reported it to Empress Maria Theresia , she promoted him to colonel.

He then fought on July 21, 1762 near Leutmannsdorf , for which he received the Military Maria Theresa Order . In 1771 he rose to major general and two years later became the owner of Infantry Regiment No. 19 and on December 28, 1777 finally Lieutenant Field Marshal. In 1772 he led the military occupation of Malopolska south of the Vistula . He further fought courageously near Arnau on August 16, 1778 as part of the last Prussian war. For this he received the Commander's Cross of the Theresia Order and was appointed Count . The regiment No. 26 was assigned to him in 1786. For this he donated a library.

The reforms of Emperor Joseph II in the Austrian Netherlands sparked protests. At first the emperor showed himself to be yielding to the people, but this did not lead to peace. Finally he had the newly appointed governor Trauttmannsdorff carry out the controversial reforms. He was very mild. Others, however, tried to introduce the reforms more strictly, among them d'Alton. This made for a mess. In Brussels , d'Alton requested a ten-day armistice in November 1789, but could not prevent the uprising from breaking out on December 11th. So he capitulated and went to Luxembourg . Shortly afterwards they wanted d'Alton to justify himself and invited him to Vienna . To avoid this, he committed suicide on February 16, 1790 on the way to Trier suicide .

D'Alton was considered very determined.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michał Dziewulski: POSTAWA MICHAŁA WALEWSKIEGO, MARSZAŁKA KONFEDERACJI BARSKIEJ ZIEMI KRAKOWSKIEJ, WOBEC ZABIEGÓW POLITYCZNO-WOJSKOWYCH WOKÓŁ FORTECY TECIECKIEJ 1772 . 2014 (Polish, online [PDF]).

literature

personal data
SURNAME Alton, Richard d '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian general and Feldzeugmeister
DATE OF BIRTH 1732
PLACE OF BIRTH Laughond
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1790
Place of death trier