Ernst Gideon von Laudon | |
|---|---|
 Portrait,c. 1780 | |
| Born | (1717-02-13)13 February 1717 |
| Died | 14 July 1790(1790-07-14) (aged 73) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Russian Empire Holy Roman Empire (from 1742) |
| Branch | Imperial Army |
| Years of service | 1732–1790 |
| Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Military Order of Maria Theresa, Knight's Cross and Grand Cross Russian Honor Sword from EmpressCatherine the Great (1760) Bust in theWalhalla (memorial) |
Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759Freiherr von Laudon (originallyLaudohn orLoudon; 13 February 1717 – 14 July 1790), was anAustrian military officer ofBaltic German descent and one of the most successful opponents of thePrussian kingFrederick the Great.
Laudon was the son of Otto GerhardRitter von Laudohn (1673–1732), alieutenant-colonel, retired on a meagre pension from theSwedish service and his wife, Sophie Eleonore vonBornemann (1680–1734).[1] The Laudohn family, of mixedGerman andLatgalian origin, had been settled in the estate of Tootzen, nearLaudohn in EasternLivonia (present-dayLatvia) before 1432. He claimed a kinship with theEarls of Loudoun fromScotland, which could not be established. As upon theGreat Northern War Livonia had been ceded toRussia according to the 1721Treaty of Nystad, the boy was sent to theImperial Russian Army as a cadet in 1732. During theWar of the Polish Succession he took part in the 1734Siege of Danzig led byFeldmarschallBurkhard Christoph von Münnich, he marched againstFrench troops up to theRhine in 1735 and back to theDnieper River into theTurkish campaign.[1]
After the 1739Treaty of Belgrade, he returned to the Russian court atSaint Petersburg. Dissatisfied with his prospects and the conditions in the Russian Army, he finally resigned in 1741 and sought military employment elsewhere. He applied first to King Frederick the Great, who however declined his services. AtVienna he had better fortune, being made a captain in theFreikorps ofFranz von der Trenck. During theWar of the Austrian Succession, he took part in its forays and marches, though not in its atrocities, until wounded and taken prisoner inAlsace. He was shortly released by the advance of the main Austrian army.[1]
His next active service, still under Trenck, was in theSilesian mountains in 1745 (during theSecond Silesian War against Prussia), in which campaign he greatly distinguished himself as a leader of light troops. He was present also at theBattle of Soor. He retired shortly afterwards, owing to his distaste for the lawless habits of his comrades in the irregulars, and after long waiting in poverty for a regular commission he was at last made a captain in one of the frontier regiments, spending the next ten years in half-military, half-administrative work in theKarlovac district on theMilitary Frontier. AtBunić, where he was stationed, he built a church and planted an oak forest now called by his name. He had reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel when the outbreak of theSeven Years' War called him again into the field. From this point began his fame as a soldier. At first rejected by GeneralWilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg, he soon was promoted colonel at the behest of ChancellorWenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg and distinguished himself repeatedly. He drew attention at the small but much reported night raid onOstritz on 1 January 1757 and during that year fought inBohemia andSaxony under FeldmarschallMaximilian Ulysses Browne and became aGeneralfeldwachtmeister (equivalent to major-general) of cavalry as well as a knight of the newly foundedMaria Theresa Military Order.[1]
In theThird Silesian War campaign of 1758 came his first opportunity for fighting an action as a commander-in-chief, and he used it so well that Frederick the Great was obliged to give up the siege ofOlomouc and retire into Bohemia (Battle of Domstadtl, 30 June). He was rewarded with the grade of lieutenant-field-marshal and having again shown himself an active and daring commander in the campaign ofHochkirch, he was created aFreiherr in the Austrian nobility by Maria Theresa and in the peerage of the Holy Roman Empire by her husband the emperor Francis. Maria Theresa gave him, further, the grand cross of the order she had founded and an estate nearKutná Hora in Bohemia.[2]
He was placed in command of the Austrian contingent sent to join the Russians on the Oder, and participated inKunersdorf alongsidePyotr Saltykov where a joint Russo-Austrian contingent won a great victory. As a result, Laudon was promotedFeldzeugmeister and made commander-in-chief in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. In 1760 he destroyed a whole corps of Frederick's army underFouqué at theBattle of Landeshut andstormed the important fortress ofGlatz. In 1760 he sustained a severe reverse at Frederick's hands in theBattle of Liegnitz (15 August 1760), which action led to bitter controversy with Daun and Lacy, the commanders of the main army, who, Laudon claimed, had left his corps unsupported. In 1761 he operated, as usual, in Silesia, but he found his Russian allies as timid as they had been after Kunersdorf, and all attempts against Frederick's entrenched camp ofBunzelwitz failed. He brilliantly seized his one fleeting opportunity, however, and stormedSchweidnitz on the night of September 30/October 1, 1761. His tireless activity continued to the end of the war, in conspicuous contrast with the temporizing strategy of CountsLeopold Josef von Daun andFranz Moritz von Lacy. The student of the later campaigns of theSeven Years' War will probably admit that there was need of more aggressiveness than Daun displayed, and of more caution than suited Laudon's genius. But neither recognized this, and the last three years of the war are marked by an ever-increasing friction between the "Fabius" and the "Marcellus," as they were called, of the Austrian army.[3]
After the peace, therefore, when Daun became the virtual commander-in-chief of the army, Laudon fell into the background. Offers were made, by Frederick the Great amongst others, to induce Laudon to transfer his services elsewhere. Laudon did not entertain these proposals, although negotiations went on for some years, and on Lacy succeeding Daun as president of theCouncil of War, Laudon was made inspector-general of infantry. Dissensions, however, continued between Laudon and Lacy, and on the accession ofJoseph II, who was intimate with his rival, Laudon retired to his estateBečváry nearKutná Hora.[3]
Maria Theresa andKaunitz caused him, however, to be made commander-in-chief inBohemia andMoravia in 1769. This post he held for three years, and at the end of this time, contemplating retirement from the service, he settled again on his estate. Maria Theresa once more persuaded him to remain in the army, and, as his estate had diminished in value owing to agrarian troubles in Bohemia, she repurchased it from him, in 1776, on generous terms. Laudon then settled atHadersdorf near Vienna, and shortly afterwards was made a field-marshal. Of thisCarlyle (Frederick the Great) records that when Frederick the Great met Laudon in 1776 he deliberately addressed him in the emperor's presence as "Herr Feldmarschall", but the hint was not taken until February 1778.[3]
In 1778 came theWar of the Bavarian Succession. Joseph and Lacy were now reconciled to Laudon and Laudon and Lacy commanded the two armies in the field. On this occasion, however, Laudon seems to have in a measure fallen below his reputation, while Lacy, who was opposed to Frederick's own army, earned new laurels.[3]
For two years after this Laudon lived quietly at Hadersdorf. Anew war, with Turkey, broke out in 1787. The generals charged with prosecuting this war did badly, and Laudon was called for the last time into the field. Though old and broken in health, he was commander-in-chief in fact as well as in name, and in 1789 he won a last brilliant success bycapturingBelgrade in three weeks.[3] He served the position of military governorship ofHabsburg Serbia from his capture of Belgrade until his death while cooperating with the resistance fighters ofKoča Anđelković.
He died within the year, at Nový Jičín (Neu-Titschein) in Moravia, still on duty. His last appointment was that of commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Austria, which had been created for him by thenew emperor Leopold. Laudon was buried in the grounds of Hadersdorf. Eight years before his death the emperor Joseph had erected a marble bust of Laudon in the chamber of the council of war.[3]
His nephewJohann Ludwig Alexius von Loudon (1762–1822) fought in theRevolutionary andNapoleonic Wars with credit, and rose to the rank ofFeldmarschall-Leutnant.[3]
Loudon was married inBösing to Clara von Hagen, teh daughter of anOfficer serving inCroatia and a relative of the Salviati family. Before their marriage, she has served aslady's maid to Countess Charlotte ofSolms-Sonnewalde (1725–1783), wife of Count Christian August vonSeilern und Aspang (1717–1801),Governor of theArchduchy of Austria. He had to abduct his future wife because the family opposed the match.[4] No children survived from this marriage.[5]
![Coat of arms of the Laudon family [de], in the Baltic Coat of arms book by Carl Arvid von Klingspor in 1882.[6]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLaudon_COA.png)
.jpg)
The first battleship of theErsatz Monarch class of the Austro-Hungarian Navy (officially known asSchiff VIII) was to be namedLaudon. The ship was never completed due to the outbreak of World War I which interrupted all major warship construction in Austria-Hungary.
The phrasefix Laudon is a light curse sometimes used in Austria. It is said that it was first uttered by Maria Theresa upon her hearing of the loss of Silesia to Frederick the Great.[7]
Regarding personal names:Freiherr is a former title (translated as'Baron'). In Germany since 1919, it forms part of family names. The feminine forms areFreifrau andFreiin.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Loudon, Ernst Gideon, Freiherr von".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 26–27.
"Лаудон, Гедеон" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.