Martin von Dedovich (1756 – 9 October 1822) was a Field Marshal in the Austrian Imperial-Royal Army.

Biography

An officer's son born in

Hrtkovci Hrtkovci ( sr-Cyrl, Хртковци) is a village located in the municipality of Ruma, Serbia. As of 2011 census, it has a population of 3,036 inhabitants. Name In Serbo-Croatian, the village is known as ''Hrtkovci'' (Хртковци), and in ...

, Srem (then

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, now Serbia), Martin Dedovich received his training in the Engineering Academy of the Austrian Imperial-Royal Army, which he entered as a cadet at the age of 20. In the Austro-Turkish War of 1788, which came in the wake of Koča's rebellion, Dedovich was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and in the same year, during the siege of Bosanski Novi, he was put in charge of the opening of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd parallel, the latter only 4 steps away from the covered road. As Field Marshal Loudon wanted to be completely convinced of the effectiveness of the breaching battery, Dedovich dared to walk 100 paces into the covered path and ditch in broad daylight and discovered that behind the

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

s on the parapet, some distance from the ''Contreescarpe''—the outer wall of the trench—there were two rows of large filled battery baskets whereupon Loudon immediately had 4 mine chambers built, which cleared these obstacles out of the way, whereby the breaching battery was able to work efficiently and successfully. It was there that he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. At the siege of Berbir in 1789 he was among the first to penetrate behind enemy lines. When the Turks left Berbir on 9 July 1789, Dedovich entered the fortress with the Reuss infantry from the trenches over the fortress. Dedovich received the

Knight's Cross Knight's Cross (German language ''Ritterkreuz'') refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that often denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield. Most frequently the term Knight's Cross is used to refer to the Knight's Cr ...

of the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his excellent performance at Novi and elsewhere. In the course of this campaign, he participated during the siege of Belgrade and Smederevo. In the French Revolutionary Wars of 1793, he participated in the siege of Valenciennes, le Quesnoy and the establishment of

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical nl, Mabuse or nl, Malbode; pcd, Maubeuche) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and about from the Belgian border ...

. Prince Coburg praised him for his excellent service. In the enemy cannonade on this side of the post at

Pont-sur-Sambre Pont-sur-Sambre (, literally ''Bridge on Sambre'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the Fren ...

(3 November), Dedovich distinguished himself again and was then drawn to the

Battle of Tournay The Battle of Tournay or Battle of Tournai or Battle of Pont-à-Chin (22 May 1794) saw Republican French forces led by Jean-Charles Pichegru attack Coalition forces under Emperor Francis II and Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After a ...

, the

blockade of Luxembourg A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are l ...

, and in 1796 received the recognition of genius in the defense of Frankfurt and as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the campaign at the Main river in Germany and during the siege of Kehl. In 1797 Dedovich was in charge of the buildings in Ulm and the defense of the fortress, and in 1798 he was used by the Imperial Contingent Army and promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. Dedovich gave telling evidence of skill and reliability in the construction business. In addition to the buildings in Ulm, there are also several other permanent places and entrenchments for which he worked the designs. In the Turkish war, he participated at Battle of Semlin, Battle of Schabacz, and the capture of Smederevo. As major general, Martin von Dedovich led the 4th column during the Battle of Aspern-Essling. He was in charge of the fortifications of Komáron in 1809, attended the

siege of Hüningen A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

in 1814, and was awarded the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

. When the war was over, Dedovich was promoted to Field Marshal Lieutenant and died as Fortifications District Director in Petrovaradin at the age of 66.

Sources

* Hirtenfeld (J. Dr.), The Mar. Theresien-Orden and its members. According to authentic sources (Vienna 1857, Staatsdruckerei, Lex. 8 °.) II. Vol. P. 262. - Oestr. Military Conversation Lexicon. Edited by Hirtenfeld and Dr. Meynert (Vienna 1851) II. Vol. P. 24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:von Dedovich, Martin 1756 births 1822 deaths Field marshals of Austria People from Śrem Austrian Empire military personnel