Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (link=no|Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Joseph Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain.
Napoleon's Great Adversary: Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army, 1792-1814.
Early in the wars of the First Coalition, he saw victory at Neerwinden in 1793, before being defeated at Wattignies 1793 and Fleurus 1794.
He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Jemappes (1792), and in the campaign of 1793 distinguished himself at the Action of Aldenhoven and the Battle of Neerwinden.
Early in the wars of the First Coalition, he saw victory at Neerwinden in 1793, before being defeated at Wattignies 1793 and Fleurus 1794.
In this year he became Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands, an office he lost with the occupation of the Low Countries by the French revolutionaries in 1794.
In the remainder of the war in the Low Countries he held high commands, and was present at the Battle of Fleurus (1794). In 1795 he served on the Rhine, and in the following year, he was entrusted with chief control of all the Austrian forces on that river.
In 1796, as chief of all Austrian forces on the Rhine, Charles defeated Jean-Baptiste Jourdan at Amberg and Würzburg, and then won a victory at Emmendingen that forced Jean Victor Marie Moreau to withdraw across the Rhine.
His conduct of the operations against Jourdan and Moreau in 1796 marked him out at once as one of the greatest generals in Europe.
He was at the same time capable of forming and executing the most daring offensive strategy, and his tactical skill in the handling of troops, whether in wide turning movements, as at Würzburg and Zürich, or in masses, as at Aspern and Wagram, was certainly equal to that of any leader of his time, with only a few exceptions. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, his campaign of 1796 is considered almost faultless.
The rigidity of his geographical strategy may be gathered from the prescription that "this principle is never to be departed from." Again and again he repeated the advice that nothing should be hazarded unless one's army is completely secure, a rule which he himself neglected with such brilliant results in 1796.
In 1796, Archduke Charles augmented these with his own Observationspunkte, writing of the Chief of Staff: “he is duty bound to consider all possibilities related to operations and not view himself as merely carrying out those instructions”.
He then turned upon Moreau's army, which he defeated and forced out of Germany (Battle of Emmendingen, October). ==Napoleonic Wars== In 1797 he was sent to arrest the victorious march of General Bonaparte in Italy, and he conducted the retreat of the over-matched Austrians with the highest skill.
He also defeated opponents at Zürich, Ostrach, Stockach, and Messkirch in 1799.
In the campaign of 1799 he once more opposed Jourdan, whom he defeated in the battles of Ostrach and Stockach, following up his success by invading Switzerland and defeating Masséna in the First Battle of Zurich, after which he re-entered Germany and drove the French once more over the Rhine. Ill-health, however, forced him to retire to Bohemia, but he was soon recalled to undertake the task of checking Moreau's advance on Vienna.
On 20 March 1801, Feldmarschalleutnant Duka became the world's first peacetime Generalquartiermeister at the head of the staff and the wartime role of the Chief of Staff was now focused on planning and operations to assist the Commander.
Archduke Charles produced a new Dienstvorschrift on 1 September 1805, which divided the staff into three: 1) Political Correspondence; 2) the Operations Directorate, dealing with planning and intelligence; 3) the Service Directorate, dealing with administration, supply and military justice.
With the conclusion of peace he began his active work of army reorganization, which was first tested on the field in 1809. In 1806 Francis II (now Francis I of Austria) named the Archduke Charles, already a field marshal, as Commander in Chief of the Austrian army and Head of the Council of War.
Nevertheless, they cannot but be considered antiquated even in 1806.
At the end of the campaign the archduke gave up all his military offices. In 1808, when Napoleon crowned his brother Joseph king of Spain, Archduke Charles said to his brother, emperor Francis II, "Now we know what Napoleon wants : he wants everything". ==Later life== When Austria joined the ranks of the allies during the War of the Sixth Coalition, Charles was not given a command and the post of commander-in-chief of the allied Grand Army of Bohemia went to the Prince of Schwarzenberg.
In 1809, he entered the War of the Fifth Coalition and inflicted Napoleon's first major setback at Aspern-Essling, before suffering a defeat at the bloody Battle of Wagram.
With the conclusion of peace he began his active work of army reorganization, which was first tested on the field in 1809. In 1806 Francis II (now Francis I of Austria) named the Archduke Charles, already a field marshal, as Commander in Chief of the Austrian army and Head of the Council of War.
That he sustained defeat in 1809 was due in part to the great numerical superiority of the French and their allies, and in part to the condition of his newly reorganized troops.
Strategic points, he says, not the defeat of the enemy's army, decide the fate of one's own country, and must constantly remain the general's main concern, a maxim which was never more remarkably disproved than in the war of 1809.
Charles spent the rest of his life in retirement, except for a short time in 1815 when he was military governor of the Fortress Mainz.
In 1822 he succeeded to the duchy of Saxe-Teschen. On 15 September/17 September 1815 in Weilburg, Charles married Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg (1797–1829).
In 1822 he succeeded to the duchy of Saxe-Teschen. On 15 September/17 September 1815 in Weilburg, Charles married Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg (1797–1829).
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (link=no|Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Joseph Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain.
Anne was in turn the eldest daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach. Charles died at Vienna on 30 April 1847.
His reserve in battle is designed to "cover a retreat." The baneful influence of these antiquated principles was clearly shown in the maintenance of Königgrätz-Josefstadt in 1866 as a strategic point, which was preferred to the defeat of the separated Prussian armies, and in the strange plans produced in Vienna for the campaign of 1859, and in the almost unintelligible Battle of Montebello in the same year.
An equestrian statue was erected to his memory on the Heldenplatz in Vienna in 1860. ==Assessment of his achievements== The caution which the archduke preached so earnestly in his strategic works, he displayed in practice only when the situation seemed to demand it, though his education certainly prejudiced him in favor of the defensive at all costs.
His reserve in battle is designed to "cover a retreat." The baneful influence of these antiquated principles was clearly shown in the maintenance of Königgrätz-Josefstadt in 1866 as a strategic point, which was preferred to the defeat of the separated Prussian armies, and in the strange plans produced in Vienna for the campaign of 1859, and in the almost unintelligible Battle of Montebello in the same year.
Staplehurst: Spellmount, 1995.
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