Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz (1738 – 10 May 1809) was a military officer in the armies 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 ...

. Of Hungarian origin, Ott fought in the wars against the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

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 ...

, and the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

in the last half of the 18th century. 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 rose in rank to

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and twice campaigned against the army of

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 Italy. He played a key role in the Marengo campaign in 1800. He was Proprietor (Inhaber) of an Austrian

Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

regiment from 1801 to 1809.

Early career

Born in

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

(Gran),

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 ...

in 1738, Ott joined ''Andlau'' Infantry Regiment # 57 as a Fähnrich (cadet) in 1757. He was a veteran of 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 ...

, having fought at the battles of

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

and

Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...

, being wounded in the latter action. In 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 ...

he served in the ''Kálnoky'' Hussar Regiment # 2 as a

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 ...

. While still serving with the ''Kálnoky'' Hussars as the Oberst-Leutnant, he led his horsemen in numerous actions during the Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791). After directing the hussars in a successful action at Valje Muliere, he earned promotion 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 ...

(

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 ...

) of the regiment. He was awarded the Military Order of Maria Theresa for an action against the Turks at

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 ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

in modern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In 1791, he was elevated to the noble rank of

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 ...

.Smith-Kudrna, ''Ott''

French Revolutionary Wars

Rhine 1793-1795

In 1793 Ott served on the upper

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 ...

in actions at Offenbach, Schaid and Brumath. On 1 January 1794, he received promotion to '' General-Major''. He continued to serve in the same theater in 1794-1795.

Italy 1796-1797

Ott transferred to the Italian campaign against

in 1796. In the operations that resulted in the

Battle of Lonato The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps-sized Austrian column led by Lieutenant General Peter Quasdanovich. A week of hard-fought actions that began o ...

during the Castiglione campaign, he commanded one of the four brigades under the orders of Peter Quasdanovich. On 29 July he defeated a French brigade near

Salò Salò (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the Governance#Seat of government, seat of government of th ...

and advanced south along the banks of the Chiese River. On 31 July he attacked and seized Lonato del Garda though he was later driven out of the latter place by superior French forces under Hyacinthe Despinoy and Claude Dallemagne. On 3 August, his reinforced brigade repulsed the attacks of Despinoy and Dallemagne near Paitone and Gavardo. Unfortunately for the Austrians, the battle went badly for them at Lonato and Salò, compelling Quasdanovich to order a retreat. After Dagobert von Wurmser's defeat at 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 ...

on 8 September, Ott led the Austrian advance guard with great distinction during Wurmser's dash to

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

. At Cerea, he held off a French intercepting column long enough for Wurmser to arrive and defeat it. The next day, Ott ambushed the 12th Light Demi-Brigade, killing its commander, Brigadier General Charles-François Charton and capturing 400 men. During the battle under the walls of Mantua on 15 September, he commanded the left flank at La Favorita. His force was the last part of the Austrian army to retreat. He led a sortie on 23 September which suffered heavy losses at Governolo. In February 1797, he surrendered with the garrison at the unsuccessful conclusion of the Siege of Mantua. On 1 March 1797, Emperor Francis II appointed Ott Feldmarschal-Leutnant.

Italy 1799

Ott served under Pál Kray and the Russian

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

during the 1799 liberation of Italy from the French. During this period, he commanded a division at the capture of Brescia on 21 April, the Battle of Cassano on 27 April, and the Battle of the Trebbia on 17–20 June. He led his division at the decisive Battle of Novi on 15 August.

Italy 1800

After the Austrian army of

Michael von Melas Michael Friedrich Benedikt Baron von Melas (12 May 1729 – 31 May 1806) was a Transylvanian-born field marshal of Greek descent for the Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Radeln, Transylvania, Ottoman Empire (nowadays R ...

invested a French army in Genoa during April 1800, Ott was given command of the siege operations. Ordered to raise the Siege of Genoa on 2 June, he disobeyed orders and remained in position. As he hoped, a few hours later,

André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...

asked for terms and formally surrendered to Ott on 4 June. In the bitterly fought Battle of Montebello on 9 June, a French force led by Jean Lannes defeated Ott's corps. He had fought the battle against orders. When the Austrian chief of staff begged him to withdraw at the beginning of the action, Ott replied, "My outposts are attacked. I march to succor them." At the Battle of Marengo on 14 June, Ott commanded the Austrian left wing. Because of congestion in the bridgehead, it took a long time for the left wing to deploy. However, once his attack at mid-day got underway, it broke the French right flank and helped convince them to retreat from Marengo. Later in the battle, when French reinforcements defeated the Austrian main body, Ott withdrew in good order and brought his command off in safety. This was his last active command.

Retirement

In 1801, he became the proprietor of the ''Ott'' Hussar Regiment # 5. He retired from the army in 1805. The ''Ott'' Hussars served in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and Hungary during the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

in 1809.Bowden, p 107 Ott died 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 ...

on 10 May of that year.

References

* Arnold, James R. ''Marengo & Hohenlinden.'' Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword, 2005. * 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. ''Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars.'' New York: Macmillan, 1979. * Clausewitz, Carl von (2018). ''Napoleon's 1796 Italian Campaign.'' Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. * Clausewitz, Carl von (2020). ''Napoleon Absent, Coalition Ascendant: The 1799 Campaign in Italy and Switzerland, Volume 1.'' Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. * Clausewitz, Carl von (2021). ''The Coalition Crumbles, Napoleon Returns: The 1799 Campaign in Italy and Switzerland, Volume 2.'' Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. * Pivka, Otto von. ''Armies of the Napoleonic Era''. New York: Taplinger Publishing, 1979. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.

External links

''Peter Ott'' by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ott von Batorkez, Peter Karl Austrian military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Hungarian generals 1738 births 1809 deaths Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Austrian Empire military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Austrian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Austrian military personnel of the War of the Bavarian Succession