Archduke Charles of Austria

“ But while things were going on successfully in Germany under his command, the French under Bonaparte were everywhere victorious in Italy, and were rapidly advancing toward the heart of Austria; and when Charles was sent there to check their progress, the victorious young general, imitating the words of Cæsar, could say, “Hitherto I have had to combat armies without a commander; now I have to combat a commander without an army.” Charles was compelled to conclude the preliminary treaty of Leoben, April 18, 1797, which was soon followed by the peace of Campo Formio. ”

“ Italy is our own, and so will he Austria ere many days go over.’
Boastfully as all this was spoken, I found it to be not far from truth, and learned, as we walked along, that the Emperor was, at that very moment, on the march to meet the Archduke Charles, who, with a numerous army, was advancing on Ratishon, the little party of soldiers being portion of a force despatched to explore the passes of the ‘Vorarlberg,’ and report on how far they might be practicable for the transmission of troops to act on the left flank and rear of the Austrian army. ”

“ On April the 6th the Archduke Charles issued a proclamation in which the new hopes of reformed Austria found eloquent expression: "The freedom of Europe has sought refuge beneath your banners. Soldiers, your victories will break her chains: your German brothers who are now in the ranks of the enemy wait for their deliverance." ”

“ Five months afterwards, Austria having refused to make peace without the concurrence of England, and the truce being at an end, another famous victory was added to the list of those which were being inscribed upon the annals of France. On the 3d of December the veterans under Moreau met an Austrian army under the Archduke John, on the plain of Hohenlinden, across which ran the small river Iser. ”

“ On the death of Louis the same strenuous competition for the vacant throne was aroused as before his father’s accession, and this time the Archduke Ferdinand, brother of the reigning Emperor, Charles of Austria, was chosen. Ferdinand became also King of Hungary and Archduke of Austria, thus uniting in the person of a common ruler three kingdoms inhabited by different nationalities. This settled the matter as to the succession for a while, for the throne passed from Ferdinand’s son to his grandson Rudolph. Rudolph was eventually deposed in favour of his brother Matthias. ”

“ The possession of the city only caused new and unhappy dissensions between the Christian leaders. The Archduke of Austria unjustifiably hoisted his flag on one of the towers of Acre, which Richard no sooner saw than he tore it down with his own hands, and trampled it under his feet. Philip, though he did not sympathise with the archduke, was piqued at the assumption of Richard, and the breach between the two monarchs became wider than ever. A foolish dispute arose at the same time between Guy of Lusignan and Conrad of Montferrat for the crown of Jerusalem. ”

“ Paget's despatch, Oct. 25; Records: Austria, vol. 75. "The jealousy and misunderstanding among the generals had reached such a pitch that no communication took place between Ferdinand and Mack but in writing. Mack openly attributed his calamities to the ill-will and opposition of the Archduke and the rest of the generals. The Archduke accuses Mack of ignorance, of madness, of cowardice, and of treachery. The consternation which prevails here (Vienna) is at the highest pitch. The pains which are taken to keep the public in the dark naturally increase the alarm. ”

“ I have the greatest satisfaction in transmitting to you the copy of a bulletin, detailing a statement of the important victory gained by the Archduke Charles over Buonaparte on the 21st and 22nd of May. It was delivered to me by his highness Prince William of Orange, who, with two attendants, arrived on board the Victory yesterday from Colberg, on his way to England. There is every reason to hope this victory will have been followed up by other important successes, which will decide the other states in uniting with Austria to extirpate the tyrant of the human race. ”

“ Finally, changes wrought by death in the House of Austria brought the Archduke Charles to the imperial throne. This changed the whole aspect of the Spanish question, for now to place Charles upon the Spanish throne also would be to give him a dangerous preponderance of power, would be, in fact, to reestablish the great monarchy of Charles V. Consequently the Grand Alliance fell to pieces, and the war was ended by the treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastadt (1714) . ”

“ The emancipation of Germany would have been far from assured, if Austria, who had completed her preparations, had not joined hands with Russia and Prussia to overwhelm Napoleon. During the wars of the French Empire, it is the Archduke Charles and the Austrian troops, not the Prussian armies, that can claim the honour of having offered the most stubborn resistance to the great conqueror. ”

“ She then implored the assembly to grant help to protect the empire from its enemies. The people were flattered by this appeal to their patriotism, and hastened to prove that their emperor had not appealed to them in vain.
On the 5th of May 1521 the Archduke Ferdinand concluded his marriage with Princess Anne of Hungary, and Charles conferred the five duchies of Austria, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, and Tyrol upon his brother, to which he added later the German possessions inherited from Maximilian. ”

“ Even in his fatal campaign in Russia—yet to come—a vast part of his army consisted of the troops of these subjugated nations.
On the 9th of April, 1809, the Archduke Charles crossed the Inn, and invaded Bavaria, the ally of France. He issued a manifesto declaring that the cause of Austria was that of the general independence of Germany, and called on those States which had been compelled to bear the yoke of France to throw it off, and stand boldly for the common liberty. The serious discontent of the people of Germany encouraged him to hope that his call would be responded to ”

“ The Archduke Charles had placed himself in a fine strategic position on the hills above Vienna, and waited for the French to cross the river, yet in spite of this the Austrians were smashed to pieces. Their bravery is evinced by the fact that forty thousand dead and wounded were left on the field, but nothing could withstand the genius of the Man of War who had let loose his hounds upon them. The peace of Schönbrunn, signed in October, gave up to the conqueror over forty-three thousand square miles of territory, including the Tyrol, which the Austrians had once again attempted to save. ”

“ Austria proper was left to his eldest son Maximilian, Tirol to the archduke Ferdinand; and Styria with Carinthia and Carniola to the archduke Charles. Under the emperor Maximilian II. (1564-1576) , who was also king of Bohemia and Hungary, a liberal policy preserved peace, but he was unable to free his government from its humiliating position of a tributary to the Turk, and he could do nothing to found religious liberty within his dominions on a permanent basis. The whole of Austria and nearly the whole of Styria were mainly Lutheran ”

“ At the time of the death of the emperor Maximilian in 1519 the Habsburg dominions in eastern Germany included the duchies of Upper and Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the county of Tirol. Maximilian was succeeded as archduke of Austria as well as emperor by Austria under Charles V. and Ferdinand.his grandson Charles of Spain, known in history as the emperor Charles V. To his brother Ferdinand Charles resigned all his Austrian lands, including his claims on Bohemia and Hungary. ”

“ From year to year the Archduke had acquired [8] more and more weight in the governance of the Empire, in proportion as his uncle's will grew weaker beneath the burden of advancing age. Thus he had succeeded in his efforts to provide Austria-Hungary with a new navy, the counterpart, on a more modest scale, of the German fleet, and to reorganize the effective army, here again taking Germany for his model. ”

“ Strange to say, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne, agreed with the Emperor. He considered that the forward movement in the Balkans planned by Aehrenthal was ill-judged. He was aware that Kaiser Wilhelm and the “German” party in Austria desired to open the road to the East. The Archduke, however, took a much clearer view of the political situation than the Kaiser and his advisers. He grasped the very obvious fact that Italy was not a willing member of the Triple Alliance. She was only waiting for an excuse that would sound at all plausible to break loose from her bonds. ”

“ In 1805 he commanded the Austrian army in Italy against Masséna, but his victory at Caldiero (Oct. 29-31) was of little avail, as Napoleon after the surrender of Ulm was rapidly advancing toward Vienna. The hasty retreat of the archduke Ferdinand to Bohemia, and the battle of Austerlitz, compelled Francis to the peace of Presburg (Dec. 25) . Charles was now made generalissimo of all the Austrian armies, and minister of war, with unlimited power, which he used for the reorganization of the forces of the empire and the creation of a strong reserve and militia. ”

“ Although the long series of Austrian disasters had raised a general outcry against Thugut's persistence in the war, the resolute spirit of the Minister never bent; and the ultimate victory of the Archduke Charles more than restored his influence over the Emperor. ”

“ Thus the impassioned appeals of the Archduke Charles to all men of German race to rise against their foreign oppressor, and against their native princes who betrayed the interests of the Fatherland, gained the sanction of a Court hitherto very little inclined to form an alliance with popular agitation. If the chaotic disorder of the Austrian Government had been better understood in Europe, less importance would have been attached to this sudden change in its tone. ”

“ He was always anxious to transform the Austrian Navy into one worthy of a Great Power. In regard to foreign policy, the Archduke was always in favour of a Triple Alliance of the three Emperors. The chief motive of this idea must have been that, in the three then apparently so powerful monarchs at Petersburg, Berlin and Vienna, he saw the strongest support against revolution, and wished thereby to build up a strong barrier against disorganisation. ”

“ They might come of healthier stock than Archdukes and Archduchesses; their blood might be freer from the taint of insanity; and they might be less likely to leap their horses over poor people’s coffins when they were sober and undress to dance in cafés when they were drunk. Nevertheless they were unfit—grossly and impossibly unfit—to be married by Archdukes; and if the Archduke Francis Charles did not take that view of the matter, then he should be an Archduke no longer, but should depart—an imperial castaway—and hide his shame in a foreign land. ”

“ On the side of the Allies, the Archduke Charles commanded in southern Germany; in Lombardy the Austrians were led by Kray, pending the arrival of Suvaroff and his corps; in Switzerland the command was given to Hotze, a Swiss officer who had gained some distinction in foreign service. It was the design of the French to push their centre under Massena through the mountains into the Tyrol, and by a combined attack of the central and the southern army to destroy the Austrians upon the upper Adige, while Jourdan, also in communication with the centre, drove the Archduke down the Danube upon Vienna. ”

“ I cannot say how much we like the Archduke; he is charming, so clever, natural, kind and amiable, so English in his feelings and likings, and so anxious for the best understanding between Austria and England. With the exception of his mouth and chin, he is good-looking; and I think one does not the least care for that, as he is so very kind and clever and pleasant. I wish you really joy, dearest Uncle, at having got such a husband for dear Charlotte, as I am sure he will make her happy, and is quite worthy of her. He may, and will do a great deal for Italy.19... ”

“ Do not his brothers, the archdukes, hate each other? Or do you believe, perhaps, that the Archduke Charles, our generalissimo, loves me, or even wishes me well? I was so unfortunate as to be twice victorious during the present campaign, while he was twice defeated; I beat the French at Sacile and St. Boniface, while he lost the battles of Landshut and Ratisbon. This is a crime which the archduke will never forgive me, and for which he will revenge himself. ”

“ But the shadow of the Holy Empire, immemorially associated with the house of Habsburg, still darkened the counsels of German statesmen. The Austrian archduke John had been appointed regent, pending the election of an emperor; and the political leaders could neither break loose from the tradition of Austrian hegemony, nor reconcile themselves with the idea of a mutilated Germany, till it was too late, and Austria was once more in a position to re-establish the system devised by her diplomacy at the congress of Vienna. ”

“ ALBERT (FRIEDRICH RUDOLF ALBRECHT) , Archduke (1817–1895) , Austrian field-marshal, was the eldest son of the archduke Charles (Karl Friedrich) , and was born on the 3rd of August 1817 at Vienna. After being educated under the careful superintendence of his father, he entered the Austrian (K.K.) army as a colonel of infantry in 1837, and was transferred to the cavalry arm in 1839, becoming a major-general in 1840. A brief period of leave in this year he spent at the great manœuvres in Italy, to learn the art of troop-leading from the first soldier in Europe, Radetzky. ”