Paul Freiherr Vay de Vaya (also spelled Dévay) was born 4 August 1735 in Gyöngyös

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and died 24 December 1800. He served in the Habsburg military, as a Major General, from 11 June 1794 – 19 April 1794, and was promoted to Feldmarschall-leutnant in February 1799. He retired in 1799, and died a year later. He fought in the Rhine Campaign of 1796, and participated at the

Battle of Schliengen At the Battle of Schliengen (24 October 1796), the French Army of the Rhine and Moselle under the command of Jean-Victor Moreau and the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles of Austria both claimed victories. The village of Schlie ...

and 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 ...

Life

Little is known of his background, although

Constant von Wurzbach Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an Austrian biographer, lexicographer and author. Biography He was born in Laibach, Carniola (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia).He later went on to complete a co ...

suggests he was the son of Adam Vay and his first wife Christine, Baroness Pongratz. As a young man, he joined a

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 and served 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� ...

as a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in the Töröl Hussars, and during this period, which tested his courage and leadership, was promoted to ''Rittmeister'', or captain of Hussars. At the outbreak of the French Wars in 1790, he was colonel of the Esterhazy Hussars N. 3, and on 26 July 1792, he led two of the regiments at Longwy against the advanced guard of the French, including General Lafayette, and pushed them back to Luxembourg. In the following year, he participated in the Battle of Neerwinden, then at Maubeuge. He received command of the forward post in Luxemburg.

''Biographisches lexikon des kaiserthums Oesterreich''
K. K. Hof- und staatsdruckerie, 1884. vol. 49-50. pp. 32–33. At

Saint-Saulve Saint-Saulve () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. The town is named after Saint Salvius of Amiens (died ), a bishop of Amiens. Population Heraldry See ...

and

Saultain Saultain () 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 French Republic. The communes cooperate in ...

, he led three companies of Serbian Freicorps into the suburbs of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

during the

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

; at

Abscon Abscon () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes coo ...

on 20 October the French returned with 10,000 men against his commander, General Otto. He attacked the enemy column with six squadrons of his hussars, light cannon and four companies of infantry. His troops inflicted 600 casualties and brought back with them 60 prisoners, plus ten officers. In 1794, he was raised to the rank of major general, and awarded the Knight's Cross. He received a new charge, a brigade, and fought by Muhlen on 4 October 1794, also at Gundelfingen on 8 August 1796. He served in the Rhine Campaign of 1796. In 1799, during the lull in fighting the French, the Habsburgs sent him to Hungary to suppress a rebellion there.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vay de Vaya, Paul, Freiherr 1735 births 1800 deaths Hungarian generals Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars People from Gyöngyös