Heinrich XV, Prince Reuss of Greiz | |
|---|---|
 Heinrich XV, Prince Reuss of Greiz. Painting by Josef Ziegler. | |
| Born | 22 February 1751 (1751-02-22) |
| Died | 30 August 1825 (1825-08-31) (aged 74) Greiz Castle,Principality of Reuss-Greiz,German Confederation |
| Allegiance |  Austrian Empire |
| Years of service | 1766–1824 |
| Rank | Feldmarschall |
| Battles / wars | Austro-Turkish War (1787–91) French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
| Awards | Knight's CrossMilitary Order of Maria Theresa (1809) Military Order of Max Joseph (1813) Order of Leopold (1814) Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1814) |
| Other work | Inhaber Infantry Regiment # 17 (1801–1825) |
Heinrich XV, Prince Reuss of Greiz (22 February 1751 – 30 August 1825) was the fourth of six sons born into the reigning family of thePrincipality of Reuss. At the age of fifteen he joined the army of theHabsburg monarchy and later fought againstOttoman Turkey. During theFrench Revolutionary Wars he became ageneral officer and saw extensive service. He commanded a corps during theNapoleonic Wars. From 1801 until his death, he wasProprietor (Inhaber) of an Austrian infantry regiment.
Prince Heinrich came to the attention of the Habsburg king in his thirties. After distinguishing himself in battle against the Turks, the emperor promoted him to command an infantry regiment. He served against theFrench First Republic in theFlanders Campaign and was promoted to the rank of general. The year 1796 found him leading Austrian troops against the army ofNapoleon Bonaparte. In the following year he commanded a division.
In 1799 Prince Heinrich fought against France in Germany and Switzerland. He led a division in northern Italy during theWar of the Third Coalition. In theDanube campaign of 1809, he started out leading a division and ended the war in command of a corps. In 1813, he led a successful diplomatic effort to cause theKingdom of Bavaria to change sides and join the Allies against Napoleon. Into his seventies he served Austria in various military and civil positions.
Heinrich XV was born into an ancientHouse of Reuss atGreiz Castle on 22 February 1751. His parents,Count (laterPrince)Heinrich XI Reuss von Ober-Greiz (1722–1800) and his first wife, Countess KonradineReuss zu Köstritz (1719–1770) carried on the family tradition of naming all their male children Heinrich and numbering them consecutively. They duly named their six sons Heinrich XII through Heinrich XVII, while their five daughters were christened Amalie, Frederike, Isabella, Marie, and Ernestine. Belonging to theReuss Elder Line, Heinrich XV was entitled to be called Prince (Fürst), but he was not the reigning prince. That dignity was held by his surviving elder brother Heinrich XIII from 1800 to 1817.[1]
Heinrich XV enlisted in the AustrianMacquire Infantry Regiment # 35 in 1766. He, his father, and brothers became princes in 1778. WhenMaria Theresa died in 1780, andJoseph II of Austria became emperor in fact as well as name, Joseph favored the young prince, promoting him toMajor in 1784. During theAustro-Turkish War (1787–91), the emperor appointed Reuss to his staff. For notable service at the storming ofŠabac in 1788, the emperor promoted the prince toOberst (Colonel) of theWenzel Colloredo Infantry Regiment # 56. Reuss fought at theSiege of Belgrade in the fall of 1789.[2]
In the spring of 1793, Prince Heinrich successfully defended a position against the French and received promotion toGeneral-Major in May. He served on the staff ofPrince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and was present at the Battle ofAvesnes-le-Sec on 12 September.[2] In this action,Prince Johann of Liechtenstein and 2,000 cavalry crushed a force of 7,000 French troops, inflicting 2,000 casualties and capturing 2,000 more.[3] At the beginning of 1796, Reuss commanded an infantry brigade on the upperRhine.[2]
Bonaparte's victories overJohann Peter Beaulieu in April and May 1796 altered the strategic situation. When the Austrian high command transferredDagobert von Wurmser from Germany to Italy, Reuss and heavy reinforcements went with him. During the first relief of theSiege of Mantua, the 45-year-old prince led a brigade inPeter Quasdanovich's column on the west side ofLake Garda.[4] At first, operations went well for the Austrians, but Bonaparte defeated Quasdanovich in the complexBattle of Lonato and forced him to retreat toRiva del Garda. At the height of the battle, on 3 August, Reuss seizedDesenzano del Garda, rescuing some recently captured soldiers belonging toJoseph Ocskay's command. However, the proximity of superior numbers of French troops soon compelled him to retreat toGavardo.[5]
During the second relief of Mantua, Heinrich led a 5,200-man brigade inPaul Davidovich's corps. His area of responsibility stretched from the northern tip ofLake Garda toTrento on the west side of theAdige river.[6] On 3 September a 10,000-man French division led byClaude Belgrand de Vaubois drove his outposts out ofNago–Torbole on the lake. An overconfident army command ordered him to attack the French the next day, but he admitted that this was not possible.[7] In the subsequentBattle of Rovereto on 4 September, he defended the camp ofMori on the west bank, while his colleaguesJosef Vukassovich and Johann Sporck held Marco on the east bank. Bonaparte in greatly superior strength routed Davidovich's corps and drove them north of Trento.[8]
In the fourth relief of Mantua, the new army commanderJózsef Alvinczi assigned Reuss to command the largest column in his army, nearly 7,900 soldiers.[9] Reuss followed the west bank of the Adige, while Vukassovich's column marched on the east bank, and the rest of the army followed roads and trails farther west near Monte Baldo. During theBattle of Rivoli, the troops under Reuss bravely fought their way out of the river bottom to the plateau against tenacious resistance. At this moment, a desperate French counterattack panicked some Austrians from the other columns and drove them to seek refuge in the river valley. Disordered by fleeing troops and attacked from two sides by the French, Reuss' column retreated to the bottom of the gorge where their commander managed to rally them.[10] With Reuss checked, Bonaparte defeated the remaining Austrians on the plateau and won the battle.[10]
Heinrich was promoted toFeldmarschal-Leutnant on 1 March 1797. During the withdrawal from Italy that month, Reuss led a division in the left wing underArchduke Charles, retreating toLjubljana (Laibach).[2]
On 25 and 26 March 1799, Heinrich fought under Archduke Charles at theBattle of Stockach and theBattle of Winterthur in May.[2] He led a division of Archduke Charles' Center at theFirst Battle of Zurich in June. His immediate commander,Olivier, Count of Wallis received a mortal wound during the engagement.[11] Between March and September 1800 he defended theVorarlberg and theTyrol.Emperor Francis II named himProprietor (Inhaber) ofReuss-Plauen Infantry Regiment # 17 in 1801. He remained the proprietor until his death.[2] His brother Heinrich XIII was proprietor ofReuss-Greiz Infantry Regiment # 55 from 1803 to 1809, andReuss-Greiz Infantry Regiment # 18 from 1809 to 1817.[12]
Heinrich served under Archduke Charles in Italy during theWar of the Third Coalition. The original organization of theArmee von Italien called for Reuss to command an eight-battalion division.[13] But at theBattle of Caldiero on 29–31 October 1805, Charles gave him command of the left wing. Reuss played a prominent role in the fighting, commanding Johann Kalnássy's brigade of eight line infantry battalions,Heironymus Colloredo-Mansfeld's brigade of five grenadier battalions, and theArchduke CharlesUhlan Regiment # 3.[14] The fog lifted around 11 am on 30 October and Reuss' troops were immediately assaulted byGuillaume Philibert Duhesme's division. Caldiero village, held by his troops, changed hands several times during the day, as Duhesme attacked and Reuss counterattacked.[15] The day ended with Caldiero in French hands, but the Austrian line intact. On 31 October, Reuss repelled a French probe of the Austrian left flank.[16] The next day, Charles withdrew to the east and no more major actions occurred in the campaign.[17]
TheWar of the Fifth Coalition found Heinrich leading a division in the V Armeekorps underArchduke Louis of Austria. He commanded 12 battalions in the brigades ofFederico Bianchi and Franz Schulz von Rothacker.[18] In the campaign culminating in theBattle of Eckmühl on 22 April, he fought at the battles ofAbensberg andLandshut. He led an attacking column in a successful action atNeumarkt-Sankt Veit on 24 April.[19] He participated in theBattle of Ebersberg on 3 May.[20]
On 15 May, Heinrich received promotion toFeldzeugmeister and was appointed to command V Armeekorps. He missed theBattle of Aspern-Essling because his troops were detailed to watch theNussdorf sector.[21] By the orders of Archduke Charles, his small corps also sat out theBattle of Wagram. Instead, they guarded theDanube river crossings to the west of the battlefield.[22] His 8,958 troops included the brigades of Johann Neustädter, Philipp Pfluger, and Johann Klebelsberg.[23] On 10 July, Reuss held off the pursuing French army in a successful rearguard action atSchöngrabern. The following day, his corps participated in a much larger action atZnaim, where each side lost about 6,000 casualties.[24] In the early hours of 12 July, both sides agreed to a cease fire.[25] For the actions of 10–11 July, Heinrich received the Knight's Cross of theMilitary Order of Maria Theresa.[2]
In 1813, he commanded the Army of the Danube, a corps of observation on theBavarian frontier. On 8 October, he signed theTreaty of Ried withKarl Philipp von Wrede, which resulted in theKingdom of Bavaria switching sides and joining the allies against Napoleon. This act earned him theOrder of Leopold from Austria and theMilitary Order of Max Joseph from Bavaria. Russia honored him with theOrder of St. Alexander Nevsky. He wasGovernor of the Duchy of Milan andViceroy ofLombardy–Venetia in 1814–15, earning the Gold Medal for civilian service and the Order of the Iron Crown. Later he served as Governor ofGalicia. He was promotedFeldmarschall when he retired from the army on 10 September 1824. He died on 30 August 1825 at Greiz Castle, having never married.[2]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by Luigi Cocastelli (vacant 1799–1814) | Governor of the Duchy of Milan 1814–1815 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by Friedrich Wilhelm, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Kirchberg (vacant 1796–1801) | Proprietor (Inhaber) of Infantry Regiment # 17 1801–1825 | Succeeded by Karl Gustav Heinrich Wilhelm, Prinz zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg |
| International | |
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| People | |
