Anton Ferdinand Count Mittrowsky von Mittrowitz und Nemyšl, or Anton Mittrovsky, (1745 – 30 September 1809) served in the Habsburg army for many years. He was promoted to

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

in the spring of 1796, just in time to lead a brigade against

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the 1796-1797 Italian Campaign of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. He played a pivotal role in the

Battle of Arcole The Battle of Arcole or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) was fought between French and Austrian forces southeast of Verona during the War of the First Coalition, a part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle saw a bold maneuver b ...

, nearly defeating Bonaparte. He fought in Italy again in 1805 during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and became the

Proprietor (Inhaber) A Proprietor, or Inhaber, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealth ...

of an Austrian infantry regiment from 1806 until his death three years later.

War of the First Coalition

Born into a military family around 1745, Mittrowsky joined the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

army and, much later in his career, served as

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

(

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

) of the ''Callenberg'' Infantry Regiment # 54. He received his promotion to the rank of

General-Major Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 30 April 1796.Smith-Kudrna, ''Anton Mittrowsky'' During the first relief of the Siege of Mantua, he led a brigade in

Paul Davidovich Baron Paul Davidovich or Pavle Davidović ( sr-cyr, Павле Давидовић) (1737, Buda – 18 February 1814, Komárom) became a general of the Austrian Empire and a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He played a major ro ...

's III Column. Detached from his parent column, he occupied the Chiusa fort and scouted toward

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

. At the

Battle of Castiglione The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by ''Feldmarschall'' Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated ...

on 5 August, he defended the right flank against

André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...

's attacks. During the third relief of Mantua, Mittrowsky's 3,000-man brigade held the upper

Brenta River The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region, in the north-east of Italy. During the Roman era, it was called Medoacus (Ancient Greek: ''Mediochos'', ''Μηδ� ...

valley as a link between the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Corps and the Friaul Corps. After Jozsef Alvinczi reached the Brenta with the Friaul Corps, Mittrowsky joined it and participated in the

Second Battle of Bassano The Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, saw a Habsburg army commanded by József Alvinczi fight Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy. The Austrians repulsed persistent French attacks in a struggle in which both sides suffered ...

on 6 November 1796. When Bonaparte suddenly crossed the Adige River on the morning of 15 November, Mittrowsky lay nearby with three battalions. He played a prominent role during all three days of the

. By early afternoon on the first day, his troops reinforced the village of

Arcole Arcole (pronounced ), historically also known as Arcola, is a ''comune'' with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole. History Between 15–17 November 1796, the Battle of Arcole ...

. By virtue of seniority, Mittrowsky assumed command over the soldiers of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Wenzel Brigido as well as his own. His troops stubbornly held the village all day, but the French forced his troops out of Arcole late that evening. He reoccupied the place when Bonaparte withdrew the isolated French force. On the second day, Alvinczi entrusted him with 14 battalions and gave him instructions to drive the French into the Adige. The order proved impossible to carry out because the French were too numerous, but Mittrowsky's capable defense of Arcole on the 16th kept Bonaparte's troops at bay. On 17 November he came close to defeating Bonaparte. The French finally drove the Austrians from the village at 5 pm on the third day, but only after drawing troops from the other wing of their army.Boycott-Brown, p 474-475 Mittrowsky missed the

Battle of Rivoli The Battle of Rivoli (14–15 January 1797) was a key victory in the French campaign in Italy against Austria. Napoleon Bonaparte's 23,000 Frenchmen defeated an attack of 28,000 Austrians under General of the Artillery Jozsef Alvinczi, en ...

in January 1797, being employed in guarding the Brenta valley with a 3,500-man brigade.

Later career

The outbreak of the

War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...

found Mittrowsky serving in the army of Italy under

Pál Kray Baron Paul Kray of Krajova and Topolya (german: Paul Freiherr Kray von Krajova und Topola; hu, Krajovai és Topolyai báró Kray Pál; 5 February 1735 – 19 January 1804), was a soldier, and general in Habsburg service during the Seven Y ...

. He fought at the drawn Battle of Verona on 26 March 1799. A little over a week later, he led a brigade in Karl Mercandin's column at the

Battle of Magnano In the Battle of Magnano on 5 April 1799, an Austrian army commanded by Pál Kray defeated a French army led by Barthélemy Schérer. In subsequent battles, the Austrians and their Russian allies drove the French out of nearly all of Italy. Th ...

. During the

Battle of Novi The Battle of Novi (15 August 1799) saw a combined army of the Habsburg monarchy and Russian Empire, Imperial Russians under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov attack a First French Republic, Republican French army under General Barthélemy Cather ...

in August 1799, his brigade fought with the left wing under the overall supervision of

Michael von Melas Michael Friedrich Benedikt Baron von Melas (12 May 1729 – 31 May 1806) was a Transylvanian-born field marshal for the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Bunești, Brașov, Radeln, Transylvania (nowada ...

. Mittrowsky was elevated in rank to

Feldmarschall-Leutnant Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...

in October 1799. Mittrowsky led a division in the army of

Archduke Charles Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

at the Battle of Caldiero in late October 1805.Smith, p 209-210 During the period 1806-1809, he was deputy to the commanding general in Upper and Lower Austria and Salzburg.

Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of Austria, Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of ...

appointed him proprietor of the ''Anton Mittrowsky'' Infantry Regiment # 10 in 1806. (A relative, Joseph Anton Franz Mittrowsky was proprietor of Infantry Regiment # 40 from 1786 to 1808.) Anton Mittrowsky remained proprietor through the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis ...

until his death in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on 30 September 1809.

Footnotes

References

Printed materials

* Boycott-Brown, Martin. ''The Road to Rivoli.'' London: Cassell & Co., 2001. * Chandler, David. ''The Campaigns of Napoleon.'' New York: Macmillan, 1966. * * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.

External links

napoleon-series.org ''Battle of Verona'' by Enrico Acerbi

historydata.org ''Mittrovsky'' biography by Martin Boycott-Brown

* [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/Austria/AustrianGenerals/c_AustrianGeneralsM.html#M56 napoleon-series.org ''Austrian Generals: Mittrowsky'' by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna] {{DEFAULTSORT:Mittrowsky, Anton Ferdinand 1745 births 1809 deaths 18th-century Austrian people Austrian soldiers Austrian generals Austrian people of Czech descent Bohemian nobility Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars