“ In the brief and uneventful War of the Bavarian Succession, Lacy and Loudon were the chief Austrian commanders against the king of Prussia, and when Joseph II. at Maria Theresa’s death, became the sovereign of the Austrian dominions as well as emperor, Lacy remained his most trusted friend. More serious than the War of the Bavarian Succession was the Turkish war which presently broke out. Lacy was now old and worn out, and his tenure of command therein was not marked by any greater measure of success than in the case of the other Austrian generals. ”

“ After the peace of Hubertusburg a new sphere of activity was opened, in which Lacy’s special gifts had the greatest scope. Maria Theresa having placed her son, the emperor Joseph II., at the head of Austrian military affairs, Lacy was made a field-marshal, and given the task of reforming and administering the army (1766) . He framed new regulations for each arm, a new code of military law, a good supply system. As the result of his work the Austrian army was more numerous, far better equipped, and cheaper than it had ever been before. ”

“ His active career was at an end, although he continued his effective interest in the affairs of the state and the army throughout the reign of Joseph’s successor, Leopold I. His last years were spent in retirement at his castle of Neuwaldegg near Vienna. He died at Vienna on the 24th of November 1801. ”