Ignaz Franz Graf zu Hardegg auf Glatz und im Marchlande (Vienna, 30 July 1772 - Vienna, 17 February 1848) was an Austrian

General of the cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers o ...

. He was an important commander during the Napoleonic Wars and from 1831 to 1848 President of the Hofkriegsrat.

Biography

Ignaz Graf zu Hardegg came from the ancient Lower Austrian noble Hardegg family. His two younger brothers Johann Anton (1773-1825) and Johann Heinrich (1778-1854) also reached high positions in the Austrian military. He had his first war experiences at the age of 16, under Laudon in the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791). Promoted to Rittmeister in 1792, he took part in the

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...

during the First Coalition War in the same year. In 1795 he fought with distinction in the Battle of Handschuchsheim and received 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 services. In 1796 he served in Germany and in 1800 was able to repulse an attack from

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway b ...

. For this act he was commended by

Archduke Karl 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 ...

in the general staff and promoted to major. Hardegg, who had now been promoted to colonel and commander of the Schwarzenberg regiment, was unable to participate in the Campaign of 1805 due to illness. 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 II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis ...

in 1809 as major general, he again excelled in the

Battle of Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrians under Archduke Charles. It was the first time Napoleon ...

. In the following

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 Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

he defended his position near Baumersdorf with great perseverance and received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his bravery. In 1813 he took part in the campaign in Bohemia and the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

and was promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal in the same year. In the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

he led the vanguard of the left wing, but received a serious head injury at Dölitz. Recovered, he was able to take part in the fighting in France in 1814. He stormed the city of Moret-sur-Loing, stubbornly defended by General Montbrun, and later fought with the southern army against

Marshal Augereau Charles Pierre François Augereau, 1st Duke of Castiglione (21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. After serving in ...

After the War

Hardegg took part in the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

in 1815, where he was added to the Russian Tsar Alexander I, a position that he later retained at the congresses in Troppau,

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 ...

and Laibach. In 1829 Hardegg was appointed military commander of Linz and a year later he was appointed commander of Transylvania. In 1831, as General of the Cavalry, he became President of the Hofkriegsrat, an office that he held until his death. On 28 October 1841 he was awarded the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

, the highest distinction of the Kingdom of Prussia.
In 1836 he was accepted into the Austrian

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. Ignaz Graf zu Hardegg died on 17 February 1848, at the age of 75 in Vienna.

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardegg, Ignaz, Count 1772 births 1848 deaths Military personnel from Vienna Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Austrian military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian generals Austrian soldiers Counts of Austria Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria