Christian August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (german: Christian August Prinz zu Waldeck; 6 December 1744,

Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, ''Bad'' being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and t ...

– 24 September 1798, Palácio Nacional de Sintra,

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...

, near

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

) was a general in the Austrian service, and last commander and Field Marshal of the Portuguese land army.

Life

Christian August was the son of Prince Karl August of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife

Countess Palatine Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Christiane Henriette of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (16 November 1725, Ribeauvillé – 11 February 1816, Arolsen) was a Countess of Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld by birth and by marriage a Princess of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Life Chri ...

. He was a friend of the arts, and how his parents he was inspired by antiquity. Therefore, his

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

brought him to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he was one of the temporary companions of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

on his Italian Journey. Goethe spoke approvingly of a common trip to

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα� ...

and "the company of such a perfect and well educated prince". Waldeck suggested to Goethe to travel together to

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Goethe declined: "If one looks out into the world and enters the world enters, then one should be wary, so one is isn't carried away or perhaps even goes crazy". Christian August later contributed significantly to the large collection of antiques in the Waldecker

Arolsen Castle Arolsen Castle (german: Residenzschloss Arolsen) is a baroque-style ''schloss'' in Bad Arolsen, Hesse, Germany. The castle is now a museum, and is still inhabited by Wittekind, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his family. As a result, it contin ...

. Like his father, the last commander of the Dutch army in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

, Christian August also entered into the military service. In 1770 he was made a lieutenant colonel in the Austrian Dragoon Regiment No. 39 ''Karl August, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld''. A year later he became commander of that unit. He fought as a volunteer on the Russian side in the

Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

against the Ottoman Empire. In 1773 he returned with the rank 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 ...

back to his Austrian regiment, and the Emperor appointed him to be its keeper. Henceforth it was called Dragoon Regiment No. 39 ''Prince Waldeck''. In 1781, he published his ("Small corrections to an attempt to describe the history of the Bavarian War of Succession"). In the

Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

, he served under Field Marshal

Ernst Gideon von Laudon Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759 Freiherr von Laudon (originally Laudohn or Loudon; 13 February 171714 July 1790), was a Baltic German-born Austrian generalisimo and one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the Great ...

. He won some battles and was promoted to

lieutenant field marshal 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 ...

. As such, Christian August of Waldeck commanded a division against the French troops at the beginning of the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...

in 1792. He was wounded while exploring the fortress

Thionville Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...

and lost his left arm. He was summoned to Vienna and was commissioned by Emperor Francis II to write a plan of operations for the joint Austro-Prussian army in the Rhineland, which was however not accepted by Prussia. After painstaking negotiations, he succeeded to persuade the Prussian king to start an offensive in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. Christian August of Waldeck was in command of an Austrian corps, part of an army commanded by General

Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser Dagobert Sigismund, Count von Wurmser (7 May 1724 – 22 August 1797) was an Habsburg monarchy, Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years' War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mount ...

. At the conquest of

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is situated on the li ...

, he commanded the first column to attack. With his troops he crossed the Rhine at

Selz The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and a left hand tributary of the Rhine. It flows through the largest German wine region, Rheinhessen (Rhenish Hesse). It rises near the village of Orbis in the county of Donnersbergkreis ...

on 13 October 1793 and attacked the French defenders in the back while general Wurmser opened frontal attack on the enemy at Wissembourg. Waldeck thus contributed to the decisive victory at Wissembourg. He also distinguished himself in subsequent battles. When general Wurmser retired in 1794, Christian August took command of the Austrian Army on the Rhine, until he had to hand over command to Imperial Count

Johann Georg von Browne Count Johann Georg von Browne (or Johann Georg von Browne-Camus; 20 September 1767 – January 1827) was an officer in the Russian army, and settled in Vienna where he was a patron of Ludwig van Beethoven during the composer's early career. Life Vo ...

. He was awarded the Commander's Cross of the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (german: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden; hu, Katonai Mária Terézia-rend; cs, Vojenský řád Marie Terezie; pl, Wojskowy Order Marii Teresy; sl, Vojaški red Marije Terezije; hr, Vojni Red Marije Te ...

for his achievements at Wissembourg and promoted to general of cavalry. In 1794, he succeeded

Karl Mack von Leiberich Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich (25 August 1752 – 22 December 1828) was an Austrian soldier. He is best remembered as the commander of the Austrian forces that capitulated to Napoleon's ''Grande Armée'' in the Battle of Ulm in 1805. Early ...

as quartermaster general of the Austrian army in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

under

Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (german: Friedrich Josias von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld) (26 December 1737 – 26 February 1815) was an Austrian nobleman and military general. Biography Born at Schloß Ehrenburg in Coburg, he wa ...

. A short time later he became a member of the

War Council A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

in Vienna. In 1796, he received in 1796 the general command over

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. In 1797 he was asked to take over command of the Land Army of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. With the consent of the Emperor, he took on this job. However, he was unable to reorganize the army, because some influential personalities opposed his plan. He died soon afterwards on 24 September 1798 of "dropsy of the chest". Christian August von Waldeck-Pyrmont was buried in the British Cemetery in

on 28 September 1798.Aberdeen Press and Journal - Monday 22 October 1798, p. 2 The king of Portugal himself donated a tomb monument in the form of a marble pyramid.

Ancestry

References and sources

* Louis Curtze: ''Geschichte und Beschreibung des Fürstentums Waldeck''. Arolsen, 1850 p. 620 ff
Digitized
*

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1744 births 1798 deaths People from Bad Arolsen People from the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont House of Waldeck Princes of Waldeck and Pyrmont Field marshals of Portugal Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa