Karl von Österreich-Teschen

Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen, whose full name was Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Habsburg, was born in Florence on September 5, 1771, and died in Vienna on April 30, 1847. He was an Austrian field marshal, military writer and theorist, prince of the Holy Roman Empire, archduke of Austria and duke of Teschen. One of Austria’s most important commanders between the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, he led troops against France in four wars. He was particularly influential for his comprehensive reform of the Austrian army after the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles came from a prominent Habsburg-Bourbon family. His father was Grand Duke Peter Leopold of Tuscany, who later succeeded to the imperial throne, and his mother was the Spanish infanta Maria Ludovika of Bourbon. His relatives included Emperor Joseph II and Empress Maria Theresa. His two older brothers later became Emperor Francis II and Grand Duke Ferdinand III. Charles grew up at the court of Florence and, despite health problems including epilepsy, showed an early interest in military affairs. When his father assumed the imperial throne in 1790, Charles first moved to Vienna and subsequently to Brussels. There, he was adopted by his childless aunt Maria Christina and her husband, Albert of Saxe-Teschen. He took the name Habsburg-Teschen and later inherited the possessions of his adoptive family. His military career began during the War of the First Coalition. At the Battle of Jemappes he commanded a brigade and was soon promoted to major general. In 1793, serving under the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, he took part in the battles of Aldenhoven and Neerwinden, which contributed to Austria’s reconquest of Belgium. For his achievements he received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa and was appointed governor of the Austrian Netherlands and field marshal lieutenant. In the campaigns that followed, he fought at Famars, Raismes, Wattignies, Courtrai and Tournai, as well as in the sieges of Valenciennes, Le Quesnoy and Landrecies. The years 1794 and 1795 brought alternating successes and setbacks. At Tourcoing and Fleurus, Charles initially deployed his troops effectively, but delayed orders and the intervention of French reinforcements led to defeat on both occasions. After the French advance through Belgium, he withdrew from the front at the end of 1794 for health reasons and devoted himself in Vienna to the intensive study of military science. In 1796 he took command of the Austrian armies on the Lower and Upper Rhine. Against Moreau and Jourdan, he launched a bold counteroffensive: he defeated Jourdan, drove his army back across the Rhine and eventually forced Moreau to retreat as well. His campaigns at Würzburg, Emmendingen and Schliengen established him as one of Austria’s most capable commanders. In 1797 Charles was sent to Italy to halt General Bonaparte’s advance. Although he could not stop the French army, he organized the Austrian withdrawal with great skill. Following fighting at the Tagliamento, Gradisca and Tarvisio, he accepted an armistice that quickly ended the war. He then returned to the Rhine front. After serving for a time as governor-general of Bohemia, Charles again assumed command during the War of the Second Coalition, leading the army assembled in Swabia and Bavaria. In 1799 he defeated Jourdan’s army at Ostrach, Stockach and Liptingen and forced it back to the Rhine. He then turned against Massena, crossed the Rhine, won victories at Frauenfeld and Winterthur, and captured Zurich. After the defeat of the Russian allies, however, he limited himself to defensively securing the Rhine. When Napoleon came to power as First Consul in 1799, Charles advised his brother to accept the French peace proposals. Having experienced Napoleon’s military abilities, he was skeptical of Austria’s chances of victory. The Emperor ignored his advice. Charles was removed from the army and sent to Bohemia; his assessment was later confirmed by Napoleon’s victory at Marengo and Moreau’s success at Hohenlinden. After returning to office, Charles received the rank of field marshal and became president of the Court War Council. He used this position to undertake a far-reaching modernization of the Austrian army. Among other measures, he ended lifelong military service, introduced a fixed term of service, established a military court of appeal, and revised training, service regulations, cavalry and infantry organization, and the procedures of the Court War Council. In 1803 he also became grand master of the Teutonic Order, but relinquished the office in 1804 in favor of his cousin, Archduke Anton. During the War of the Third Coalition, Charles commanded the Austrian forces in Italy against Marshal Massena. Mack’s defeat at Ulm forced him, despite his initial numerical superiority, to retreat through Friuli, Carniola and Carinthia toward Hungary. After the Battle of Austerlitz, his brother appointed him generalissimo. In the following years Charles continued his army reforms, incorporating ideas from the French army, whose superiority he fully recognized. Charles initially opposed another war with Napoleon because he believed Austria was not yet militarily prepared. Nevertheless, in 1809 he received supreme command of the Austrian offensive. In Bavaria, Napoleon’s rapid maneuvers placed his army under severe pressure, and at Eckmühl it faced the danger of encirclement. Charles nevertheless conducted an orderly retreat and evacuated Vienna. At Aspern-Essling he stopped Napoleon’s first attempt to cross the Danube. At Wagram, on July 5 and 6, he was decisively defeated. A few days later he independently concluded the Armistice of Znaim. Emperor Francis then removed him from command, a decision that largely ended Charles’s active military career. During the War of the Sixth Coalition, Charles received no major command. Apart from his appointment as governor of the fortress of Mainz in 1815, he lived in retirement at Weilburg Castle in Baden and devoted himself to military writing. In 1822 he succeeded his adoptive father as regent of the Duchy of Teschen. In 1815 Charles married the Protestant Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg. Despite their different faiths, the marriage was considered happy, and they had seven children. Henriette died of scarlet fever in 1829 at the age of 32. Charles published, among other works, Principles of Strategy and an account of the German and Swiss campaign of 1799. In his writings he emphasized caution, the security of one’s own army and the need to regard the protection of one’s country as the decisive strategic standard. His contemporaries and later historians compared him with the Duke of Wellington because of his prudence and military ability. At the same time, there was a tension between his cautious theory and his practice, in which he repeatedly attempted risky maneuvers. Charles died in Vienna in 1847 and was buried in the Imperial Crypt. In 1860, an equestrian statue was erected in his honor on Vienna’s Heldenplatz.