Franz Emil Lorenz Heeremann Graf von Wimpffen (2 April 1797 – 26 November 1870) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and Admiral who served as Administrative Head of the Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1851 to 1854.

Military career

Franz von Wimpffen was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

on 2 April 1797, the son of Karl Franz Eduard von Wimpffen (1776–1842), who served as Chief of the

Austro-Hungarian General Staff The Imperial and Royal General Staff (german: k.u.k. Generalstab) of Austria-Hungary was part of the Ministry of War. It was headed by the Chief of the General Staff for the Whole Armed Forces (''Chef des Generalstabes für die gesamte bewaffnete ...

from 1824 to 1830, and Victoria von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg . He was the owner of Kainberg, Reitenau and Eichberg castles and estates in Austria and, as a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, was a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. He was commissioned ''Unterleutnant'' in October 1813 and served as an artillery officer during the last three years of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, in the

German campaign of 1813 The German campaign (german: Befreiungskriege , lit=Wars of Liberation ) was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany ag ...

, the French campaign of 1814, and the

Neapolitan War The Neapolitan War, also known as the Austro-Neapolitan War, was a conflict between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire. It started on 15 March 1815 when King Joachim Murat declared war on Austria and ended on 20 May 1815 ...

in 1815. Promoted ''Generalmajor'' in 1838, he was given command of a brigade in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

. Von Wimpffen was made commander of a division of II Army Corps in Italy in 1846 with the rank of ''Feldmarschall-leutnant'' (Lieutenant-Field-Marshal in the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army). He distinguished himself in the 1848 campaign at

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

and Custoza. Later, in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

he compelled by bombardment the surrender of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

. In October 1849 von Wimpffen was named Civil and Military

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and Governor of the

Küstenland The Austrian Littoral (german: Österreichisches Küstenland, it, Litorale Austriaco, hr, Austrijsko primorje, sl, Avstrijsko primorje, hu, Osztrák Tengermellék) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. ...

(Coastal Lands), the region that included the

Istrian Peninsula Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwee ...

, with the rank of

Feldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...

(General of the Artillery in the Austrian Army). Upon the resignation of Hans Birch Dahlerup in August 1851, von Wimpffen was named his successor as ''Oberkommandant der Marine'' ('High Commander of the Navy' or Provisional Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial and Royal Navy). During his tenure the development of the naval base of

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People * House of Pola, an Italian noble family * Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress * Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer * Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter * Pola Gojawiczyńsk ...

was accelerated and the naval school at Fiume now Rijeka (

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 ...

) was converted into the Austrian Naval Academy. In September 1854, von Wimpffen was dismissed as ''Oberkommandant der Marine'' by Emperor Franz Josef against the advice of his military advisers. Von Wimpffen instead took command of I Army Corps. He was succeeded as Head of the Navy by Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria, the younger brother of Franz Josef. However well he had performed as Administrative Head of the Navy, von Wimpffen was known in military circles as "the General who had never won a battle". In the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

in 1859, after the defeat at

Magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

on 4 June, he seconded the decision of

Gyulai Gyulai may refer to : * A type of Hungarian sausages, Hungarian sausage People * Ignaz Gyulai (1763-1831), Austrian Empire general of the Napoleonic Wars. Father of Ferencz Gyulai. * Ferencz Gyulai (Pest, 1798 - Vienna, 1868), also known as ''Feren ...

, the Austrian commander, to retreat across the

Mincio The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, leaving

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and all of Lombardy to the Sardinians and French. Gyulai was dismissed on 16 June by Franz Josef, who assumed command of the field army with von Wimpffen in command of the Cavalry. At

Solferino Solferino ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a small town and municipality in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately south of Lake Garda. It is best known as being close to the site of the Battle of Solferino on 24 June 1859, par ...

(24 June 1859), von Wimpffen and his men fought valiantly, but the Austrians were defeated. The carnage of the battle was so severe that it was soon followed by an armistice and then peace negotiations. In 1861 von Wimpffen was retired with the rank of

Generalfeldzeugmeister ''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...

(Field Marshal of the ordnance /Field Marshal of artillery in the Austrian Army) and became an Imperial and Royal Advisor to the Emperor of Austria. He died on 26 November 1870 at

Görz Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gorit ...

(now Gorizia), and was buried at the crypt of the Eichberg castle

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, in Austria, together with his wife.

marriage and children

On 5 October 1825 he married Maria Anna (''Marianne'') Cecilia Bernhardine Freiin von Eskeles, who converted from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, in Hietzing, Austria. She was born at the Palais Eskeles, Vienna, Austria, on 2 March 1802, daughter of

Bernhard von Eskeles Bernhard, Knight and Baron von Eskeles (german: Bernhard ''Ritter und Freiherr von Eskeles'') (12 February 1753, Vienna – 7 August 1839, Hietzing (near Vienna, now Vienna)) was an Austrian-Jewish banker/financier and Court Jew. He was born B ...

and wife Caecilie (Zipperche) Itzig, from whom she inherited a fortune in stocks and

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

s, and died in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, on 10 August 1862.
They had : * Heinrich Emil Graf von Wimpffen (1827-1896), succeeded him as head of the comital house. * Franz Alphons von Wimpffen (1828-1866), Colonel, killed at the

Battle of Náchod The Battle of Náchod (''German: Nachod'') on 27 June 1866 was the first major action of the Austro-Prussian War. The advance guard of General Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz's 5th Corps occupied some high ground near Náchod as part of a Prussian ...

. * Viktor Agidius Christian Gustav Maximillian Graf von Wimpffen (

Hietzing Hietzing () is the 13th municipal District of Vienna (german: 13. Bezirk, Hietzing). It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling. Hietzing is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also contains lar ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, 24 July 1834 –

Battaglia Terme Battaglia Terme ( vec, Ła Bataja) is a town and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Italy, in the province of Padua. Battaglia lies at the easternmost edge of the volcanic Euganean Hills, and has been noted for its warm saline springs and natural ...

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 ...

, 22 May 1887), was some time Corvette Captain of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and

Inspector-General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

s in Austria and married in

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

, Switzerland, on 11 January 1860 Anasztázia (Anastasia) Barónin Sina de Hódos et Kizdia (Vienna, 8 October 1838 – Vienna, 24 February 1889), of Hungarian,

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

(

Ghica family The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia a ...

) and

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

(

Dadiani The House of Dadiani ( ka, დადიანი ), later known as the House of Dadiani- Chikovani, was a Georgian family of nobles, dukes and princes, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Mingrelia. The House of Dadiani Th ...

) descent, by whom he had issue. *Maria von Wimpffen (1842-1918), married Friedrich Balduin von Gagern, had issue.Geni.com
/ref>

References

* *

Terminology note

* Regarding personal names, ''

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

'' is a German title, translated as

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, not a first or middle name. The feminine form is '' Grafin''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wimpffen, Franz Graf Von 1797 births 1870 deaths 19th-century Austrian people Austro-Hungarian admirals Counts of Austria Bohemian nobility Military personnel from Prague German Bohemian people Franz Austrian Empire military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Knights of Malta Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Nobility from Prague Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Mayors of Milan

Military career

marriage and children

See also

References

Terminology note