August, Graf von Vécsey or August Vécsey de Hernádvécse et Hajnácskeő (; 22 August 1775 – 15 January 1857) was an Imperial Austrian general of Hungarian descent who fought in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He won a notable award in 1806 and became a

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 1809. That year, he commanded a brigade at

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city limits, about 15 km (9 mi) north ...

during 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 I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

. His brigade was defeated by superior numbers at Feistritz in September 1813. He led his troops during the subsequent Italian campaign in 1813 and 1814. He was promoted to higher rank in 1820 and 1840.

Family

August Vécsey de Hernádvécse et Hajnácskeő was born of parents Oberst (colonel) Siegbert Vécsey de Hernádvécse et Hajnácskeő (1739–1802) and Sophie von Révay (1743–1791) on 22 August 1775 in Leshniv in the Austrian province of Galicia. Leshniv is now located in Ukraine.Smith & Kudrna (2008), ''August de Vécsey'' His father was promoted to

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

in 1790.Smith & Kudrna (2008), ''Siegbert Vécsey'' August was the great-grandnephew of General-major Stephan Vécsey de Hernádvécse et Hajnácskeő (1719–1802).Smith & Kudrna (2008), ''Stephan Vécsey'' Vécsey married Amalie Karolina Colson (1786–1826) in 1801. They had thirteen children, including

Károly Károly () is a common Hungarian male given name. It is also sometimes found as a Hungarian surname. Károly is considered the equivalent of English Karl or Charles (because the Latin Carolus is very close to Károly).Fercsik Erzsébet – Raátz ...

, a Hungarian general and one of

the 13 Martyrs of Arad The Thirteen Martyrs of Arad () were the thirteen Hungarian rebel generals who were executed by the Austrian Empire on 6 October 1849 in the city of Arad, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary (now in Romania), after the Hungarian Revolution ( ...

Military career

He was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 26 January 1801 at the end of the

War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting French Revolution, revolutionary French First Republic, France by many European monarchies, led by Kingdom of Great Britain, Britai ...

and to

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

on 25 November 1805 during the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, First French Empire, France and French client republic, its client states under Napoleon I an ...

. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

on 28 May 1806. He assumed the rank of

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

on 31 July 1808 and was named General-major on 24 May 1809. By this time, the

was raging. At the

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor of the French, Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian Empire, Austrian arm ...

on 5–6 July 1809, Vécsey commanded a small brigade of light infantry in Karl von Vincent's division of

Johann von Klenau Johann Josef Cajetan Graf von Klenau, Freiherr von Janowitz (; 13 April 1758 – 6 October 1819) was a field marshal in the Hapsburg Monarchy, Habsburg army. Klenau, the son of a Bohemian nobility, Bohemian noble, joined the House of Habsbur ...

's VI Armeekorps. The unit consisted of 178 men of the ''Broder''

Grenz Infantry Grenz infantry or Grenzers or Granichary (from " border guard" or "frontiersman"; Serbo-Croatian: graničari, krajišnici, Hungarian: granicsár, sr-cyr, граничари, крајишници, Russian Cyrillic: граничары) were co ...

Regiment Nr. 7, one 515-man battalion of the ''Warasdiner St. George'' Grenz Infantry Regiment, and a brigade battery made up of six 3-pound cannons.Bowden & Tarbox (1980), 166

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vecsey, August Von 1775 births 1857 deaths Counts of Austria Hungarian nobility Agoston Austrian military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Austrian generals Hungarian generals 18th-century Hungarian people 18th-century Austrian people 19th-century Hungarian people 19th-century Austrian people