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Joseph Radetzky von Radetz | |
|---|---|
_-_Heeresgeschichtliches_Museum.jpg) Portrait byGeorg Decker | |
| Governor-General ofLombardy–Venetia | |
| In office 1848–1857 | |
| Monarch | Franz Joseph I |
| Preceded by | Rainer Joseph of Austria (Viceroy) |
| Succeeded by | Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria (Viceroy) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1766-11-02)2 November 1766 |
| Died | 5 January 1858(1858-01-05) (aged 91) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Habsburg monarchy Austria |
| Branch/service | Austrian Army during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Imperial Austrian Army of 1806–1867 |
| Years of service | 1785–1858 |
| Rank | Field Marshal |
| Battles/wars | |
Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz (2 November 1766 – 5 January 1858) was aCzech nobleman andAustrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in theHabsburg monarchy during the later period of theNapoleonic Wars and proved instrumental in the allied victory as one of the primary architects of theTrachenberg Plan and the Leipzig Campaign which led to theBattle of Leipzig. Afterwards, he embarked on military reforms of the Austrian army. His reputation was one of discipline and fairness; he was revered by his troops among whom he was known asVater ('Father') Radetzky. He is best known for the victories at the Battles ofCustoza (24–25 July 1848) andNovara (23 March 1849) during theFirst Italian War of Independence.Johann Strauss I'sRadetzky March was commissioned to commemorate Radetzky's victory at theBattle of Custoza.[1]
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Radetzky, a titledGraf ('Count'), was born into a nobleBohemian military family ofCzech origin at Chateau Třebnice (German:Trebnitz) nearSedlčany inBohemia (now part of the town).[2] His father, Count Peter Eusebius Radetzky von Radetz (1732-1766) died shortly after his birth, while his mother, Baroness Marie Venantia Anna Barbara JosephaBechinie von Lažan [de] (1738-1772), died while he was still a child.[3] Orphaned at an early age Radetzky was educated by his grandfather, and after the latter's death, he continued at theTheresa Academy inVienna. The academy was dissolved during his first year's residence in 1785, and Radetzky became a cadet in theAustrian Army. The following year he became an officer, and in 1787 was promoted to first lieutenant in acuirassier regiment. He served as an adjutant to bothCount von Lacy andField Marshal von Laudon during theAustro-Turkish War of 1787–1791 where he was present at theSiege of Belgrade, and in theAustrian Netherlands from 1792 to 1795.[4]
In 1798, he married CountessFranziska von Strassoldo-Grafenberg fromTržič,Carniola (now inSlovenia). On her mother's side, she was a descendant of the AustrianHouse of Auersperg, which ruled one of the hereditary Habsburg duchies in what is now Slovenia. They had five sons and three daughters, only two of whom outlived their father. Radetzky also had a longstanding romantic relationship with his Italian mistress, Giuditta Meregalli of Sesto San Giovanni. She was 40 years his junior and bore him four children, all of whom took his name and were recognized by Radetzky. Meregalli received extensive letters from him, written during his battles.[5] He was a devout lifelongRoman Catholic.[6]
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In 1795 Radetzky fought on theRhine. The following year he served withJohann Beaulieu againstNapoleon in Italy, but disliked the indecisive "cordon" system of warfare whichCount von Lacy had instituted and other Austrian generals imitated.[7] His personal courage was conspicuous. At theBattle of Fleurus (1794) he led a party of cavalry through the French lines to discover the fate ofCharleroi, at theBattle of Voltri he was in the thick of the action and roused the troops to victory and atValeggio sul Mincio in 1796, with a few hussars, he rescued Beaulieu from the enemy.[8][4] Promoted to major, Radetzky was made head of the pioneer corps, a unit responsible for road and bridge building which he transformed into one of the most elite units in the army. He took part inDagobert Wurmser'sSiege of Mantua campaign, which ended in the fall of that fortress. During the four and a half month siege, Radetzky impressed everyone with his determination and defensive tactics, leading sorties and erecting defensive fortifications at San Giorgio and in front of the Tore Ceresa. As lieutenant-colonel and colonel, his unit was expanded and he displayed bravery and skill[citation needed] in the battles ofTrebbia andNovi (1799),[9] winning praise from his superiors for his inspiring leadership and quick thinking when leading decisive attacks. At theBattle of Marengo, as colonel on the staff ofMelas, he was hit by five bullets, after endeavouring on the previous evening to bring about modifications in the plan suggested by the "scientific"Anton von Zach.[4] He was then transferred to take command of a regiment in Germany where he distinguished himself at theBattle of Hohenlinden. In 1801 Radetzky was made a Knight of theMilitary Order of Maria Theresa.[citation needed]
In 1805, on the march toUlm, he received news of his promotion to major-general and his assignment to a command inItaly under theArchduke Charles of Austria. He thus took part in the failedBattle of Caldiero[4] and was highly critical of the way in which the campaign had been conducted (1805). Peace provided a short respite, which he spent in studying and teaching the art of war. In 1809 he distinguished himself in rearguard actions at Abensberg and led a brigade in V Corps during theBattle of Eckmühl.[10] Promotedlieutenant field marshal, he commanded a division in IV Corps at theBattle of Wagram.[11] In 1810 he was created a Commander of the Order of Maria Theresa and becameInhaber of the 5thRadetzky Hussars.[6] From 1809 to 1812, as chief of the general staff, he was active in reorganizing the army and its tactical system, but, unable to carry out the reforms he desired owing to the opposition of the Treasury, he resigned his position. In 1813 he wasSchwarzenberg's chief of staff and had considerable influence on the councils of the Allied sovereigns and generals.Langenau, the quartermaster-general of the Grand Army, found him an indispensable assistant. He was involved in directing the operations that led to the crushing defeat of an entire French corps at theBattle of Kulm and had a considerable share in planning theLeipzig campaign. He won praise for his tactical skills in the battles ofBrienne,La Rothière,Arcis-sur-Aube andFère-Champenoise. He enteredParis with the allied sovereigns in March 1814, and returned with them to theCongress of Vienna, where he appears to have acted as an intermediary betweenMetternich and TsarAlexander I of Russia, when the two were not on speaking terms.[12]
During the succeeding years of peace he disappeared from public view. He resumed his functions as chief of staff, but his ardent ideas for reforming the army came to nothing in the face of the generalwar-weariness and desire to "let well enough alone." His zeal added to the number of his enemies, and in 1829, after twenty years as lieutenant field marshal, it was proposed to place him on the retired list. The emperor, unwilling to go as far as that, promoted him general of cavalry and shelved him by making him governor of a fortress. But very soon afterwards, the Restoration settlement of Europe was shaken by fresh upheavals, and Radetzky was brought back into the field of war again. He took part underFrimont in the campaign against the Papal States insurgents, and succeeded that general in the chief command of the Austrian army in Italy in 1834.[13]
In 1836, Radetzky was promoted to fullfield marshal. He was then seventy, but still displayed the vigor and zeal of his youth in the training and discipline of the army he commanded. But there too he was in advance of his time, and the government not only disregarded his suggestions and warnings but also refused the military the money that would have enabled the finest army it possessed to take the field at a moment's notice. Thus the events of 1848 inItaly, which gave the old field marshal his place in history among the great commanders, found him, in the beginning, not unprepared but seriously handicapped in the struggle withCharles Albert's army, and the insurgents inMilan and elsewhere. By falling back to theQuadrilatero and there, rebuffing one opponent after another, he was able to buy time until reinforcements arrived, and thenceforward up to the final triumph at theBattle of Novara on 23 March 1849, he and his army carried all before them.[13] He also commanded the Austrian troops who reconqueredVenice after theyear-long siege of the rebellious city in May 1848 – August 1849. He became a Knight of theOrder of the Golden Fleece in 1848.[citation needed]
His well-disciplined sense of duty towards officers of higher rank had become more intense in the long years of peace, and, after keeping his army loyal midst the confusion of 1848, he made no attempt to play the part ofWallenstein or even to assumeWellington's role of "family adviser to the nation". While as a patriot he dreamed a little of a united Germany, he remained to the end simply the commander of one of the emperor's armies.[13]
After his triumph inItaly, he was madeViceroy ofLombardy–Venetia from 1848 to 1857 – being the only one not of royal Habsburg blood.
Repression inLombardy–Venetia was severe: the Austrians could act with impunity and little denunciation from the exiled patriots in the rest of Italy,[14] and masking their action as "repression of banditry," there was little danger of it acquiring international resonance. From 1849, Radetzky introducedpublic caning[15] as a form of punishment, thedeath penalty for armed uprising and life sentences for plotting revolutionary activities.[16] TheBelfiore martyrs,Luigi Dottesio andAmatore Sciesa were among the many who were executed for treason.
Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky of Radetz died from pneumonia on 5 January 1858 inMilan.[17] The Emperor wished him to be buried in the Capuchin crypt (theImperial Crypt in Vienna); however, Radetzky had bequeathed his earthly remains, and the right to bury him, toJoseph Gottfried Pargfrieder, an army supplies merchant and land owner, who decades earlier had settled his debts.
On 19 January 1858, Radetzky was buried at theHeldenberg Memorial site(Gedenkstätte Heldenberg) in Lower Austria, an open-air pantheon with warrior statues celebrating the heroes of Austrian military history from Middle Ages to the 19th century (Heldenberg literally translates as "Heroes Mountain"). Radetzky lies buried in a crypt under a monumental obelisk in the central part of the pantheon, together with Field MarshalMaximilian von Wimpffen and Pargfrieder himself.[citation needed]
In military history Radetzky is highly regarded as a brilliant field marshal, while some social historians consider his role as a viceroy as the point of no return in the troubled relationship between Austria and the Italian population.[18] Radetzky was the namesake of several Austrian andAustro-Hungarian Navy warships, including the screw frigateSMSRadetzky, which fought Italy in theThird Italian War of Independence, and theSMSRadetzky, the lead ship of theRadetzky-class of pre-dreadnought battleships.
TheRadetzky March (German:Radetzkymarsch) is a military march composed byJohann Strauss (senior) that was first performed on August 31, 1848, to celebrate the victory of the Austrian Empire under Field Marshal Radetzky von Radetz over Italian forces at theBattle of Custoza.
He received the following orders and decorations:[19]
Austria:[20]
Russia:
Baden:Grand Cross of the Zähringer Lion,1815[25]
Bavaria:
Hanover:[28]
Parma:
Sardinia:
Prussia:
Denmark:Knight of the Elephant,28 October 1849[32]
Two Sicilies:Grand Cross of St. Ferdinand and Merit,1849[33]
Hesse-Darmstadt: Grand Cross of theLudwig Order,11 May 1851[34]
Saxony:Knight of the Rue Crown,1851[35]
Württemberg:[36]
France: Grand Cross of theMilitary Order of St. Louis
Greece:Grand Cross of the Redeemer
Holy See:
Modena:Grand Cross of the Eagle of Este
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These are Radetzky's letters to his daughter Friederike Radetzky von Radetz, Gräfin Wenckheim, published to celebrate the unveiling of the Radetzky monument in Vienna.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Radetzky, Josef".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 783–784.
