François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt (; 14 October 1733 – 21 July 1798),His title is also spelled Count of Clairfayt and Count of Clairfait a Walloon, joined the army of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and soon fought in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. Later in his military career, he led Austrian troops in the war against

Ottoman Turkey The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. During the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

he saw extensive fighting and rose to the rank of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Early career

In the

(1756–1763) he distinguished himself, earning rapid promotion, and received the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

decoration. At the conclusion of the peace ( Treaty of Hubertusburg, 15 February 1763), though still under thirty, he had already become an

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

(

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

). During the revolt in the Netherlands in 1787, Clerfayt, as a Walloon by birth, came under great pressure to abandon

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

. But he resisted all overtures, and in the following year went to fight in the Austro-Turkish War with the rank of Feldmarschal-Leutnant (lieutenant field marshal). In an independent command Clerfayt achieved great success, defeating the Turks at Mehadia and

Calafat Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the b ...

. On 10 November 1788, the emperor appointed him to the rank of '' Feldzeugmeister''.

French Revolutionary Wars

In 1792, as one of the most distinguished of the emperor's generals, he received the command of the Austrian contingent in army of the duke of Brunswick, and at La Croix-aux-Bois his corps inflicted a reverse on the troops of the French Revolution. In the Netherlands, he commanded the center at the

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...

on 6 November. He opened the campaign of 1793 with the victory of Aldenhoven and the relief of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

, and on 18 March 1793 proved instrumental in causing the complete defeat of Charles Dumouriez at the Battle of Neerwinden. In October, however, his victorious career suffered a reverse at the

Battle of Wattignies The Battle of Wattignies (15–16 October 1793) saw a French army commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan attack a Coalition army directed by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After two days of combat Jourdan's troops compelled the Habsburg c ...

. He participated in the Flanders Campaign against Charles Pichegru in 1794. Leading a flanking column from the north, he fought at the Battle of Tourcoing on 17–18 May. A French force under Dominique Vandamme slowed his progress until Joseph Souham defeated the Anglo-Austrian army on the southern part of the battlefield. Souham then turned against Clerfayt and compelled him to retreat to the northeast. In the course of the campaign. Clerfayt succeeded Prince Josias of Coburg in the supreme command, but he failed to make headway against the French, and had to recross the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. A

Feldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several List of states in the Holy Roman Empire, German states and the Holy ...

from 22 April 1795, he commanded on the middle Rhine against

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Count Jourdan (; 29 April 1762 – 23 November 1833), was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon I i ...

, and this time the fortunes of war changed. Clerfayt beat Jourdan at Höchst and brilliantly relieved Mainz. But the Austrian Foreign Minister Johann Thugut did not approve Clerfayt's action in concluding an armistice with the French, so the field marshal resigned his command and became a member of the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He died in 1798. Clerfaytgasse in Hernals, Vienna is named after him.

Commentary

A brave and skillful soldier, Clerfayt perhaps achieved more than any other Austrian commander (except the

Archduke Charles of Austria Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...

) in the hopeless struggle of small dynastic armies against a French "nation in arms".

Notes

References

* ;Attribution * cites as a source: **

Early career

French Revolutionary Wars

Commentary

Notes

References

Further reading