Military Units Formed and Led by the Princes of Schwarzenberg
30 Year's War
By the mid 1630s the Imperial cause was experienceing great
difficulty in pursuing the Habsburg total victory plan in the 30 Year's War. Wallenstein
and Papenheim were dead, the Swedish intervention had blunted what seemed like
a drive to domination of Germany, and the French were fearing a too powerful Austria
and beginning their intervention in favor of the Protestants. In 1636 the newly
appointed Knight of the Golden Fleece Graf George-Louis, General of the Windisch
Grenz on the Croatian borderlands, raised a Croatian regiment of 2,000 arquebusiers
of which he was Obrist (colonel). They served in 1637-38 in the north of Germany
and were present at Hatzfeld. The unit was not retained beyond the end of the
war, but its presence shows the support given the Emperor by his nobles and the
wide ranging resources available to the Empire. We also are able to see the level
of support the Emperor required from those he rewarded. Napoleon noted this at
a later date when he commented on the Legion of Honor that "men die for baubles
such as this".
Napoleonic Wars
With the coming of the French Revolution and the beginning
of 25 years of continuous conflict the traditional kingdoms of Europe were pressed
to raise sufficient troops to meet the challange. As in other traditional countries,
the Austrians relied on a medieval style feudal service army where great nobles
raised and administered units as with feudal levies. The "Inhabers", much like
the British honorary "Colonel of the Regiment", theoretically commanded the regiments
but seldom led them in battle. They did have the right to make regimental-grade
officer appointments (up to the rank of Hauptman), determine and deliver punishment
and control regimental finances.
In 1790 a Uhlan Frei-Corps was raised in Galicia as part of the Austrian military
build up. Uhlans were as fashionable then as hussars were a generation before,
and were a noted Polish type of unit. Ultimately there were three squadrons of
Frei-Corps Uhlans, the first two were absorbed into other cavalry regiments and
the third continued as Uhlans under Prince Charles Philipp Schwarzenberg. The
second commander of this unit was Oberst-Lt. Furst Charles Philipp Schwarzenberg,
the later allied commander at Leipzig and afterwards. Schwarzenberg was the commanding
officer in 1793-94 when the regiment served in the Netherlands. In 1792-93 they
served at Neerwinden-Tirlemont, Famars, Vallenciennes and Bassuyan. They continued
service in the northwest of Germany and in 1794 were at Landrecies, Pont-a-Marque
and Guise; in 1795 at Maynz and Meissenheim; and in 1796 at Amberg and Geissen.
In 1798 the third squadron was taken into the Austrian army as the Galician Uhlan
Regiment No. 2. Originally without an inhaber for the first two years, in 1800
Charles Philipp was appointed inhaber, a title he kept until his death in 1820.
Out of respect for him, and unlike other regiments, the unit bore his name until
the end of the Empire and did not take on the name of later inhabers. The regiment
saw extensive service in the German and Austrian theaters of war until the fall
of Napoleon. In 1799 they were at Ostrach, Stockach, Zurich and Mannheim am Necker;
in 1800 at Lohsdorf, Biberach and Lambach. For service in these years two Maria
Theresa Militar Orders (MTO) were awarded to the regiment, one to Oberst Moritz
Furst von Liechtenstein who commanded the regiment.
With the outbreak of war again in 1805 they were part of the army in Germany under
Archduke Ferdinand and the "unfortunate" General Mack. Most of the regiment was
captured in the surrender of Ulm, but one squadron escaped with Archduke Ferdinand
and fought at Austerlitz on the allied left flank. They once again served in Germany
in the 1809 campaign where they were a part of FM Bellegard's Corp in the opening
Bavarian invasion of Archduke Charles. The bulk of the regiment retreated with
Archduke Charles and fought at Aspern, Wagram and Znaym. The squadron that remained
in Bohemia under Lt. Carl Steindl fought a brilliant holding action against French
probes. For this Lt. Steindl was award the MTO and promoted to major over 19 more
senior officers which, in the rigidly traditional Austrian army, was a greater
honor than the knighthood.
With the beginning of the Befreiungskreig in 1813 to drive Napolen from Germany,
the regiment was attached to the army in Germany. In 1813 they fought at Hanau
and St. Croix where officers of the regiment earned two MTOs and a Leopold Order
for their valor. In the difficult 1814 campaign the regiment was part of the Austrian
5th Corps and fought at Brienne, Nugent, Nangis, Troyes, Bar and Arus-sur-Aube.
With the return of Napoleon from Elba during the "100 days" the regiment was called
up but did not see any action. The regiment was then on garrison duty until the
Revolution of 1848 and the campaigns around the Empire to restore order.
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Stephen Herold
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