Albrecht von Österreich-Teschen

Archduke Albert of Austria-Teschen, whose full name was Albrecht Friedrich Rudolph, was born in Vienna on August 3, 1817, and died in the Tyrolean town of Arco on February 18, 1895. He was Duke of Teschen, an Austrian field marshal, and one of the most important commanders of the Habsburg Monarchy. He became particularly famous for his victory over the Italian forces in the Second Battle of Custozza in 1866. Albert belonged to the imperial family and was the nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph. His father was Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen, who had been the first commander to defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Aspern in 1809. His mother was Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg, who died in 1829. Albert was the couple’s eldest son. His siblings included Maria Theresa, the future queen of Naples and Sicily; Archduke Charles Ferdinand; Archduke William; and Archduchess Maria Caroline, who married an Austrian archduke. After his mother’s early death, his father took charge of his education. It was primarily military in character. Albert received only a limited general education, but studied strategy and tactics intensively, using teaching materials prepared by his father. In 1830, at the age of thirteen, he was already appointed colonel and became the honorary proprietor of a regiment. His practical military career began only in 1837, when he took command of the first battalion of an infantry regiment. He later continued his training with the cavalry and artillery. He was promoted to major general in 1840 and to lieutenant field marshal in 1843. In 1845, he became military commander-in-chief in Lower and Upper Austria and Salzburg. In 1844, Albert married Princess Hildegard of Bavaria, a daughter of King Ludwig I. The marriage produced two daughters and a son, who died before reaching his first birthday. Their elder daughter, Maria Theresa, later married a prince of Württemberg. Their younger daughter, Mathilde, died in 1867 at the age of eighteen in a tragic accident when her dress caught fire during a celebration at Hetzendorf Palace. Hildegard herself died in 1864 after contracting pleurisy. Since Albert had no surviving male heir, he adopted the sons of his deceased brother Charles Ferdinand in 1874: Archdukes Friedrich, Karl Stephan, and Eugen. After his father’s death in 1847, Albert inherited the Duchy of Teschen. The extensive estate included properties in Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia, and Hungary, as well as valuable real estate in Vienna and Pressburg. He also inherited the Vienna palace complex containing the important Albertina art collection. This made Albert one of the richest men in the empire and a significant figure in Austrian economic life. During the Revolution of 1848, Albert found himself at the center of events in Vienna. As the highest-ranking commander present, he was ordered to disperse a crowd demonstrating outside the building of the Lower Austrian provincial assembly. When troops arrived, they opened fire even though Albert himself was among the crowd. Suspected of having ordered the shooting, he resigned his post and volunteered for Field Marshal Radetzky’s army in Italy. He distinguished himself personally at the Battle of Santa Lucia. In 1849, Albert became a divisional commander and fought successfully against Italian insurgents at Gravellona and Mortara. At Novara, his division held off numerically superior forces until Austrian reinforcements arrived. For these achievements, he received the Commander’s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He subsequently held several senior military positions and, in 1851, became military and civil governor of the Kingdom of Hungary. A committed supporter of absolutism, centralism, and the conservative order, he carried out directives from Vienna. At the same time, he opposed forced Germanization and favored reconciliation with the Hungarian nobility. He was unable to reconcile the conflicting expectations placed on him by Vienna and Hungary, however, and resigned his office in 1859. That same year, Albert was sent to Berlin to win Prussia as an ally of Austria in the approaching war against Sardinia-Piedmont. The mission failed. After Austria’s defeat at Solferino, Albert received further military assignments and later served as commanding general of the VIII Corps in Vicenza. He was promoted to field marshal in 1863. In the war between Prussia, Austria, and Italy in 1866, Albert assumed command of the Austrian South Army. On June 24, he won a decisive victory over the Italian forces at Custozza and prevented them from conquering Venetia. In recognition of this success, Emperor Franz Joseph awarded him the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Although Austria achieved victories at Custozza and later at sea off Lissa, the Austrian army suffered a severe defeat at Königgrätz at the hands of Prussia. Albert then led much of his army north and established defensive positions north of Vienna, preventing the Prussian forces from occupying the capital. After the war, Albert was entrusted with reorganizing the Austrian army, which became the Austro-Hungarian army from 1867 onward. Although the office of supreme army commander was soon abolished, he remained inspector general of the Imperial and Royal Army. In this role, he headed the reorganization commission, inspected the troops, and introduced numerous improvements in organization, training, and equipment. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he successfully warned against entering a war with Russia, which he considered unwinnable. Until his death, he remained an influential figure in military policy. Albert also wrote several military works on army organization, responsibility in war, military spirit, and the defensive capabilities of the Monarchy. He was promoted to general field marshal in 1888. After his death, he was buried in the Capuchin Crypt in Vienna. His adopted son Friedrich inherited the title of Duke of Teschen and the extensive estates. Albert’s memory was preserved, among other things, by an equestrian statue in Vienna, a barracks named after him, an infantry regiment, and a march.