Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

Joseph Alvinczi von Borberek a.k.a. Baron József Alvinczi de Borberek (; 1 February 1735 – 25 September 1810) was a soldier in the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Army and a

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 ...

of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. He is remembered for handing

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

his first two defeats, at the battles of Bassano and Caldiero, both in 1796 and just days apart. Napoleon would later remark that Alvinczi was the best general he had fought thus far.

Early career

An ethnic Magyar, he was born in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

in a place called Alvinc (German: ''Alwintz''), and spent his boyhood in the household of ''

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

'' Franz Gyulai before joining his regiment as a '' Fähnrich'' aged 14. By 1753 he had risen to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

''. During 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 ...

, Alvinczi distinguished himself leading a

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

company in the battles of Torgau and Teplitz, where his courageous leadership won him a promotion to second

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. At the end of the war he worked extensively on the implementation of

Franz Moritz von Lacy Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy (; ; , tr. ; 21 October 1725 – 24 November 1801) was an Austrian military leader of Baltic German and Irish origins. He was the son of Count Peter von Lacy, and was a famous Austrian field marshal. Lacy serve ...

's new regulations throughout the army.

War of Succession, Turkish War, and the Netherlands campaign

Promoted to ''

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 ...

'' commanding the 19th Infantry Regiment 19 in 1774, he led his men during 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 Electorate of Saxony, Saxony and Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria ...

, where he took the ''Böhmertor'', city of Habelschwerdt and captured the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Commander Prince Hessen-Philippstal, a feat which won Alvinczy promotion to major general and award of the '' Militär-Maria Theresien-Orden'' (MTO). Alvinczi fought under Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon in the Ottoman War of 1787, but did not accomplish his mission of capturing

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. After a short period instructing the future Emperor, Archduke Francis, he returned to command his regiment. After being promoted to '' Feldmarschalleutnant'', he was transferred to the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

in 1790 to suppress the

United States of Belgium The United Belgian States ( or '; ; ), also known as the United States of Belgium, was a short-lived confederation, confederal republic in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) established under the Brabant Revolution. It existed from Jan ...

, until a fall from his horse forced him to retire.

Neerwinden, Fleurus, Charleroi

Upon the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1792, Alvinczy commanded a division, steadying his demoralised men at a key stage of the victorious battle of Neerwinden in 1793, leading his men forward to capture the village; for this exploit he was awarded the Commanders Cross of the MTO. He took command of an Auxiliary army which supported the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

under the

Duke of York and Albany Duke of York and Albany was a title of nobility in the Peerage of Great Britain. The title was created three times during the 18th century and was usually given to the second son of Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs. The predeces ...

, fighting at Landrecy and in the Battle of Fleurus, before being wounded at Mariolles. On his recovery and promotion to '' Feldzeugmeister'', Alvinczy advised the William VI of Orange in the successful relief of

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

in June 1793, losing two horses under him in the process, and earning the reward of the Grand cross of the MTO. Briefly commander of the Army of the

Upper Rhine Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge, Basel, Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine P ...

, he was recalled to

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. ...

to serve on the Hofkriegsrat in 1795.

Italian campaign and later assignments

In late 1796 he took over command of the army that was fighting

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in the north of the Italian Peninsula. After organising the

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

ean militia to face the threat of the French advance in 1796, he was tasked with the third relief of the Siege of Mantua. Alvinczy's army was largely composed of new recruits with few experienced officers. He defeated Bonaparte at Bassano on 6 November and Caldiero on 12 November. Ultimately, Bonaparte won a hard-fought victory over Alvinczi at the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole on 15–17 November 1796. After at first withdrawing toward

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) 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 Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, the Austrians gamely reoccupied the field of battle on 22 November. But when he found that troops under his lieutenant Paul Davidovich had begun their own retreat, he admitted defeat and fell back to Bassano.Smith, p. 128 Despite deteriorating health, he regrouped and tried again. He suffered a severe defeat in the

Battle of Rivoli The Battle of Rivoli (14 January 1797) was a key military engagement during the War of the First Coalition near the village of Rivoli Veronese, Rivoli, then part of the Republic of Venice. In the climax of the Italian Campaign of 1796-1797, It ...

on 14 January 1797. Mantua surrendered soon afterward. He was then given the position of military governor of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

, and promoted to

in 1808. He died two years later in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

Sources

* * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998. * Wurzbach, Constantin von. ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, 1856–91'', vol I, p. 22

References

External links

Joseph Alvinczy biodata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvinczi, Jozsef 1735 births 1810 deaths Field marshals of Austria Austrian barons Hungarian nobility Austrian military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People from Alba County Hungarian generals 18th-century Hungarian people 18th-century Austrian military personnel 19th-century Hungarian people 19th-century Austrian military personnel Generals of the Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire) Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa