Karl Philipp Sebottendorf
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Karl Philipp Sebottendorf van der Rose (17 July 1740 – 11 April 1818) enrolled in the
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
army at the age of 18, became a
general officer 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 O ...
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 ...
, and commanded a division against
Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...
in several notable battles during the Italian campaign of 1796.


Early career

Sebottendorf was born in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
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 ...
on 17 July 1740 of parents
Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
(
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 ...
) Johann Moritz Sebottendorf van der Rose (d. 1760) and Maria Anna Bodek von Ellgau (d. 1791). After military studies at the Wiener-Neustadt Academy, he joined the Austrian '' Waldeck'' Infantry Regiment # 35 in 1758. By the time of 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 ...
he had risen in rank to
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 ...
. In 1779 an inquiry acquitted him after he was accused of cowardice. He earned promotion to
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 1784, Oberst-Leutnant in March 1787, and Oberst in October 1787.Boycott-Brown, historydata.com, "Sebottendorf"


French Revolutionary Wars


General officer

In early 1793, Sebottendorf became a
General-Major Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
and led a brigade in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. On 2 September 1794, he distinguished himself in a minor action near Öttringen.


Montenotte

On 4 March 1796, Sebottendorf received promotion to
Feldmarschall-Leutnant 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 ...
in the Austrian army defending the
Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
.
Johann Peter Beaulieu Johann Peter de Beaulieu, also Jean Pierre de Beaulieu (26 October 1725, in Lathuy, Brabant, Belgium – 22 December 1819), was a Walloon military officer. He joined the Habsburg army and fought against the Prussians during the Seven Years' War. ...
appointed him commander of the left wing, including the brigades of Wilhelm Kerpen, Anton Schübirz von Chobinin, Franz Nicoletti, and
Gerhard Rosselmini Gerhard Ritter von Rosselmini or Gerhard Rosselmini or Gerhard Roselmini (c. 1742 – 19 November 1796) became a general officer in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars and fought in several actions against Napoleon Bonaparte's ...
. In early April, Beaulieu initiated the Montenotte Campaign by sending two columns to attack Voltri, now a suburb of
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
. Sebottendorf led one column of 3,200 troops south across the Turchino Pass, while Philipp Pittoni von Dannenfeld took 4,000 soldiers over the Bochetta Pass farther east. The campaign ended with
Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...
's
French Army of Italy The Army of Italy (french: Armée d'Italie) was a field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best kno ...
forcing Piedmont to sue for peace. The Austrian army fell back to defend the
Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...
.


Lodi

In early May, Bonaparte turned Beaulieu's southern flank and won the
Battle of Fombio The Battle of Fombio was fought between the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian army under ''Feldzeugmeister'' Johann Peter Beaulieu between 7 and 9 May 1796. It was the decisive strategic point of the campaign, as B ...
. This forced a major part of the Austrian army to retreat east across the
Adda River The Adda (Latin ''Abdua'', or ''Addua''; in Lombard ''Ada'' or, again, ''Adda'' in local dialects where the double consonants are marked) is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland ...
at Lodi. Beaulieu left Sebottendorf and 10,000 men in the vicinity of Lodi to cover his withdrawal. After the French advance guard under
Claude Dallemagne Claude Dallemagne (8 November 1754, Peyrieu, Ain – 12 June 1813) started his career in the French army under the Bourbons, fought in the American Revolutionary War, rose in rank to become a general officer during the French Revolutionary W ...
drove the Austrian rear guard through Lodi, Sebottendorf prepared to defend the bridge that spanned the Adda on the east side of the town. The French artillery bombarded the Austrian position for several hours, as Bonaparte waited for
André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...
's division to arrive. In the ensuing
Battle of Lodi The Battle of Lodi was fought on 10 May 1796 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy. The rear guard was defeated, but the main body of Johann Peter Beaulie ...
on 10 May, the French defeated the outnumbered Austrians. Sebottendorf managed to carry out an orderly withdrawal, though his force lost 14 cannons and 2,036 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing.


Borghetto

During the
Battle of Borghetto The Battle of Borghetto, near Valeggio sul Mincio in the Veneto of northern Italy, took place during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. On 30 May 1796, a French army led by General Napoleon Bonaparte force ...
on 30 May, Sebottendorf commanded the Austrian left-center. Beaulieu's illness on the previous day threw the
Austrian high command The ''Hofkriegsrat'' (or Aulic War Council, sometimes Imperial War Council) established in 1556 was the central military administrative authority of the Habsburg monarchy until 1848 and the predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of War. The ...
into disarray. With no overall coordination, each subordinate looked to his own sector. Sebottendorf focused upon a feint attack while the main French effort seized
Valeggio sul Mincio Valeggio sul Mincio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southwest of Verona. It is crossed by the Mincio river. The economy is mostly based on agriculture ...
. Later in the day, he tried to retake Valeggio but was unable to evict the French. His division remained intact and rejoined the rest of the army in the upper
Adige River The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the prov ...
valley.


Castiglione

During Dagobert von Wurmser's first relief of the Siege of Mantua, Sebottendorf led a sub-unit of
Michael von Melas Michael Friedrich Benedikt Baron von Melas (12 May 1729 – 31 May 1806) was a Transylvanian-born field marshal for the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Bunești, Brașov, Radeln, Transylvania (nowada ...
' Right-Center Column consisting of the brigades of Nicoletti and Pittoni. On 29 July, Sebottendorf captured French positions at Madonna della Corona and
Brentino Belluno Brentino Belluno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about northwest of Verona. The municipality of Brentino Belluno contains the ''frazioni'' (subdivisions, ma ...
. This success allowed him to link up with
Paul Davidovich Baron Paul Davidovich or Pavle Davidović ( sr-cyr, Павле Давидовић) (1737, Buda – 18 February 1814, Komárom) became a general of the Austrian Empire and a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He played a major ro ...
and the Left-Center Column from the Adige valley. On 5 August, he fought in the
Battle of Castiglione The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by ''Feldmarschall'' Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated ...
.


Bassano

In the second relief of Mantua, Sebottendorf led a 4,086-man division down the
Brenta River The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region, in the north-east of Italy. During the Roman era, it was called Medoacus (Ancient Greek: ''Mediochos'', ''Μηδ ...
valley. 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 ...
, after which his division "was reduced to only one and a third battalions, four and a half companies, and two squadrons." He subsequently joined Wurmser in a dash for Mantua. The bulk of the Austrians reached the fortress intact, but Sebottendorf and his soldiers were cooped up in Mantua for the duration of the long siege, during which many of the men died.


Later career

Sebottendorf served as assistant to the commanding generals in Inner Austria and the
Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
during the period 1801 to 1806. He was deputy to the President of the Military Appellate Court from 1813 to 1818. He died in
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 11 April 1818 with the noble title of
Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
.


Family

Two younger Sebottendorf brothers, Franz Ludwig (1741–1822) and Ignaz Anton (1749–1821) also served in the Austrian army and achieved general officer rank. Franz commanded a brigade at the Battle of Stockach in 1799. At the beginning of the 1809 campaign, Ignaz led the
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...
infantry. Ignaz also commanded a brigade at the
Battle of the Piave The Second Battle of the Piave River, fought between 15 and 23 June 1918, was a decisive victory for the Italian Army against the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. Though the battle proved to be a decisive blow to the Austro-Hungaria ...
on 7–8 May 1809 and at the
Battle of Raab The Battle of Raab or Battle of Győr ( Hungarian: ''győri csata'') was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Habsburg forces. The battle was fought near Győr (Raab), Kingdom of Hungary, and en ...
on 14 June.Bowden & Tarbox, p 122


References


Books

* Bowden, Scotty & Tarbox, Charlie. ''Armies on the Danube 1809''. Arlington, Texas: Empire Games Press, 1980. * Boycott-Brown, Martin. ''The Road to Rivoli.'' London: Cassell & Co., 2001. * Chandler, David. ''The Campaigns of Napoleon.'' New York: Macmillan, 1966. * * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.


External links


Karl Sebottendorf by Martin Boycott-Brown


* ttp://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/Austria/AustrianGenerals/c_AustrianGeneralsS1.html#S57 Ignaz Sebottendorf by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna
Karl Sebottendorf by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebottendorf, Karl Philipp Austrian soldiers Austrian generals Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars 1740 births 1818 deaths