Peter Vitus Freiherr von Quosdanovich ( Croatian: Petar Vid Gvozdanović; 12 June 1738 – 13 August 1802) was a nobleman and general of the

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 ...

of Croatian descent. He achieved the rank of Feldmarschall-Lieutenant and 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 ...

. He played a major role in several battles against the French Army of Italy led by

Napoleon 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

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 ...

Early years

Petar Vid Gvozdanović was born in

Žumberak, Croatia Žumberak is a village and a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb County. According to the 2011 Croatian census, 2011 census, there are 883 inhabitants, 98% of which are Croats. Žumberak municipality covers an area of . The municipal centre is l ...

, and joined the ''

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

'' Grenz

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

Regiment # 41 in 1752. He fought in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. He distinguished himself in the

War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian bra ...

of 1778–9. He was promoted to colonel of the Slavonian Hussar regiment and decorated with the Knight's Cross of the

. He fought during the Austro–Turkish War (1787–1791), becoming a General-Major and taking over the command of Alt Gradisca. He was a relative of

Karl Paul von Quosdanovich Karl Paul von Quosdanovich ( hr, Karlo Pavao Gvozdanović, in some sources also ''Quasdanovich'' or ''Guosdanovich''; 1763 – 5 February 1817) was a Croatian nobleman and general in the Habsburg monarchy imperial army service.was a Habsburg no ...

Wars with France

During 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 ...

Quosdanovich first commanded a brigade, then a division. At the crucial defeat at

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

he commanded the second column. On 24 September 1795, while leading a division, he scored an impressive victory over two French divisions at the

Battle of Handschuhsheim The Battle of Handschuhsheim or Battle of Heidelberg (24 September 1795) saw an 8,000-man force from Austrian monarchy, Habsburg Austria under Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich face 12,000 men from the First French Republic, Republican French army led ...

(now a district of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

). In July 1796 he transferred to Italy, where he led a corps under

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 ...

and

József Alvinczi Freiherr Joseph Alvinczi von Borberek a.k.a. Baron József Alvinczi de Borberek (german: Joseph Alvinczy, Freiherr von Berberek; 1 February 1735 – 25 September 1810) was a soldier in the Habsburg Army and a field marshal of the Austrian Empi ...

in four attempts to break the French Siege of Mantua. In the first, he lost the

Battle of Lonato The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps-sized Austrian column led by Lieutenant General Peter Quasdanovich. A week of hard-fought actions that began on ...

after a complicated series of maneuvers between 29 July and 4 August 1796. During the second relief, he participated in the

Battle of Bassano The Battle of Bassano was fought on 8 September 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, in the territory of the Republic of Venice, between a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces led by Count Dagobert von Wurmser. The ...

on 8 September, but avoided being trapped in Mantua with Wurmser. In the third relief of Mantua he led the Friaul Corps 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 ...

and 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 ...

. He led two brigades at the crucial

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 ...

.Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich
at historydata.com
/ref> He retired from the army in 1797 and died at

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 13 August 1802.Smith-Kudrna, ''Peter Quosdanovich''

Footnotes

References

Books

* Boycott-Brown, Martin. ''The Road to Rivoli.'' London: Cassell & Co., 2001.

External sources