Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló | |
|---|---|
 Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló | |
| Born | 1737 (1737) |
| Died | 17 November 1801 (1801-11-18) (aged 63) Csomaköz, Hungary |
| Allegiance |  Habsburg monarchy |
| Branch | Cavalry |
| Rank | Feldmarschall-Leutnant |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Military Order of Maria Theresa, KC (1793) Military Order of Maria Theresa, CC (1796) |
Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló (1737 – 17 November 1801) joined theHabsburg army in 1756 and fought thePrussians,Ottoman Turks, andFrench during a long military career. During theFrench Revolutionary Wars, he fought in several campaigns. He commanded a division in theItalian campaign of 1796–1797 against the army ofNapoleon Bonaparte. He wasProprietor (Inhaber) of an AustrianUhlan regiment from 1792 to 1797 and aHussar regiment from 1797 to 1801.
A Hungarian, Mészáros was born inKunhegyes in 1737. He entered the Habsburg military service in 1756 as aCornet in theDesewffy Hussar Regiment # 30. He fought in theSeven Years' War and became aMajor on 10 January 1774. He was promoted toOberst-Leutnant on 1 November 1778 during theWar of the Bavarian Succession. On 1 May 1784, he was appointedOberst (Colonel) of theKaiser Joseph II Hussar Regiment # 2. During theAustro-Turkish War (1787-1791), he was promotedGeneral-Major as a reward for leading a successful cavalry charge at theBattle of Focsani and other exploits.[1]
In 1792, he became proprietor of theMészáros Uhlan Regiment (this became # 1 in 1798) and held this dignity until 1797. The mounted lancer unit was formed by combining two uhlan squadrons each from theKaiser,Karaczay,Levenehr, andLobkowitz Chevauxleger Regiments.[1] On 13 October 1793, he led the 4th column underDagobert von Wurmser in theFirst Battle of Wissembourg.[2] He was awarded the Knight's Cross of theMilitary Order of Maria Theresa on 25 October 1793 for his distinguished service. In 1794, he served inFriedrich Freiherr von Hotze's corps. Promotion toFeldmarschall-Leutnant came on 4 March 1796 after more service with the Army of the Upper Rhine under Wurmser andMaximilian Baillet de Latour. He received the Commander's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa on 11 May.[1] On 5 July 1796, Mészáros andKarl Aloys zu Fürstenberg led the Austrian rear guard in action atRastatt.[3]
Immediately after Ettlingen, Mészáros went to Italy, where Wurmser had replacedJohann Beaulieu as commander-in-chief. During the first relief of theSiege of Mantua, the army commander assigned Mészáros to lead IV Column. This force moved down theBrenta River valley toBassano del Grappa at the end of July. From there, he approachedMantua from the northeast viaVicenza.[4] Unfortunately, this left the IV Column remote from the action during a critical phase of operations.[5] When Mészáros' troops finally arrived near Mantua, Wurmser ordered him to observe the French division that had just raised the siege of that fortress. But Pascal Fiorella's division got off to an early start on 5 August and Mészáros was unable to intercept it. Fiorella's attack against the left rear of the Habsburg army helped Bonaparte win theBattle of Castiglione.[6]
At the beginning of the second relief of Mantua, Mészáros lay west of Bassano with a division of 10,673 soldiers.[7] Unexpectedly, Bonaparte defeated Austrian forces at theBattle of Rovereto in theTyrol. Then the main French army moved east and south down the Brenta valley to defeat Wurmser at theBattle of Bassano on 8 September. Instead of retreating to the east, Wurmser moved southwest to unite with Mészáros and marched hard for Mantua.[8] The Austrians evaded Bonaparte's pursuit and reached the fortress, though the French forced them to fight a costly battle atLa Favorita Palace on 15 September.[9] After this, Mészáros and his soldiers suffered through the long Siege of Mantua before Wurmser surrendered to Bonaparte on 2 February 1797.
In 1797, he became proprietor ofMészáros Hussar Regiment # 35 (it was renumbered # 10 in 1798) and commander of the Hungarian Insurrections, a nationalmilitia. Soon after Mantua, he retired from active military service. He died in 1801 at Csomaköz inHungary.[10]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New regiment | Proprietor (Inhaber) of Uhlan Regiment # 1 1792–1797 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Vincenz von Barco | Proprietor (Inhaber) of Hussar Regiment # 10 Pre-1798: Hussar Regiment # 35 1797–1801 | Succeeded by Joseph von Stipsics zu Ternowa |
| International | |
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| People | |
