La Bataille de Deutsch Wagram 1809

to restore the memory of the Archduke Karl to its rightful place in the Pantheon of the Heroes of the Age of Revolution and Napoleon.

Caught Up In The Wars Of Revolution

Karl was the fifth issue of thirteen of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and his Spanish Empress, Maria Louisa. He was more or less adopted by his childless aunt, the Archduchess Marie Christine and her husband Albert, Duke of Saxe-Teschen. Karl would inherit this wealthy duchy after his aunt and uncle’s passing, and this would more than provide for his family for generations. Karl was also known as the Duke of Teschen, the namesake of a family preserve which would only disappear in 1918. This third son of an emperor and brother to another emperor was shunted off to the military, despite his shy and reticent nature. He, surprisingly and quickly, developed his military talents; and Karl would soon find himself caught up in the Wars of the Revolution. His older brother, Francis was the last Holy Roman Emperor and first Emperor of Austria. Karl was not close to his brother and they were frequently at odds with each other over both political and military issues. So despite his closeness to the throne, he, more often than not, found himself outside a closed door looking in to the management of the Hapsburg realms. Shunted outside the inner circle, Karl quickly focused his energies on his military talents. He commanded a brigade of Austrian grenadiers at the Austrian defeat at Jemappes in 1792. He commanded the Austrian advanced guard at the Coalition victory at Neerwinden less than a year later. In 1796 he defeated the French General Jourdan at Amburg and Wurzburg; later in the year defeating Moreau at Emmendingen. In 1799, he defeated Massena at First Zurich. His reputation was as the finest Austrian general In addition to his military exploits, Karl was briefly made the governor of the Austrian Netherlands before they were completely absorbed by the French Republic. Despite his incessant quarrels with his brother, the emperor Francis, Karl was able to start the Hapsburg realms in a nation-in-arms recruitment program. While not consistent and not embraced fully by the Austrian leaders, this was the model that eventually led to the large Austrian armies in 1809. His brother, the Archduke John had been defeated at Hohenlinden in 1801 and Karl was called upon to restore some sense of order to the Hapsburg position. Karl was able to negotiate the Armistice of Steyr, which was seen at the time by his countryman as a Nation-in-Arms Recruitment

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