Franz Graf von Wimpffen

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Statthalter of the Austrian Littoral
In office 1850–1854
Appointed by	Franz Joseph I
Preceded by	Johann von Grimschitz
Succeeded by	Eduard von Bach
Rector of Milan
In office 3 August 1848 – 6 January 1849
Appointed by	Franz Joseph I
Preceded by	Gabrio Casati
Succeeded by	Antonio Pestalozza
Personal details
Born	(1797-04-02)2 April 1797 Prague, Bohemia, Austria
Died	26 November 1870(1870-11-26) (aged 73) Gorizia, Istria, Austria-Hungary
Spouse	Marianne von Eskeles ​ ​ (m. 1825; died 1862)​
Children	Heinrich Franz Viktor Agidius Maria
Profession	Military officer
Military service
Allegiance	Austrian Empire  Austria-Hungary
Branch/service	Austro-Hungarian Army  Austro-Hungarian Navy
Years of service	1813–1870
Rank	Second lieutenant Major general Field marshal Admiral (navy)
Unit	Trieste Brigade 1st Austrian Army
Battles/wars	Napoleonic Wars First Italian War of Independence Second Italian War of Independence

Franz Emil Lorenz Heeremann Graf von Wimpffen (2 April 1797 – 26 November 1870) was an

from 1851 to 1854.

Military career

Franz von Wimpffen was born in

.

He was commissioned Unterleutnant in October 1813 and served as an artillery officer during the last three years of the Napoleonic Wars, in the German campaign of 1813, the French campaign of 1814, and the Neapolitan War in 1815.

Promoted Generalmajor in 1838, he was given command of a brigade in Trieste. Von Wimpffen was made commander of a division of II Army Corps in Italy in 1846 with the rank of Feldmarschall-leutnant (Lieutenant-Field-Marshal in the Imperial and Royal Austrian Army). He distinguished himself in the 1848 campaign at Vicenza and Custoza. Later, in the Papal States he compelled by bombardment the surrender of Bologna and Ancona.

In October 1849 von Wimpffen was named Civil and Military

(General of the Artillery in the Austrian Army).

Upon the resignation of Hans Birch Dahlerup in August 1851, von Wimpffen was named his successor as Oberkommandant der Marine ('High Commander of the Navy' or Provisional Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial and Royal Navy). During his tenure, the development of the naval base of Pola was accelerated and the naval school at Fiume now Rijeka (Croatia) was converted into the Austrian Naval Academy.

In September 1854, von Wimpffen was dismissed as Oberkommandant der Marine by Emperor Franz Josef against the advice of his military advisers. Von Wimpffen instead took command of I Army Corps. He was succeeded as Head of the Navy by Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria, the younger brother of Franz Josef.

However well he had performed as Administrative Head of the Navy, von Wimpffen was known in military circles as "the General who had never won a battle". In the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859, after the defeat at Magenta on 4 June, he seconded the decision of Gyulai, the Austrian commander, to retreat across the Mincio to Mantua, leaving Milan and all of Lombardy to the Sardinians and French. Gyulai was dismissed on 16 June by Franz Josef, who assumed command of the field army with von Wimpffen in command of the Cavalry.

At Solferino (24 June 1859), von Wimpffen and his men fought valiantly, but the Austrians were defeated. The carnage of the battle was so severe that it was soon followed by an armistice and then peace negotiations.

In 1861 von Wimpffen was retired with the rank of

(Field Marshal of the ordnance /Field Marshal of artillery in the Austrian Army) and became an Imperial and Royal Advisor to the Emperor of Austria.

He died on 26 November 1870 at

, in Austria, together with his wife.

Marriage and children

On 5 October 1825, he married Baroness

, on 10 August 1862.
They had :

• Heinrich Emil Graf von Wimpffen (1827-1896), succeeded him as head of the comital house.
• Franz Alphons von Wimpffen (1828-1866), Colonel, killed at the Battle of Náchod.
• Viktor Agidius Christian Gustav Maximillian Graf von Wimpffen (
  Dadiani) descent, by whom he had issue.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Maria von Wimpffen (1842-1918), married Friedrich Balduin von Gagern, had issue.[1]

• Austro-Hungarian Navy
• Franz Graf von Wimpffen
• VI generation of Dressel

• Haslip, Joan (1971). The Crown of Mexico. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 63, 118–119.
  ISBN 0030865727
  .
• Palmer, Alan (1994). Twilight of the Habsburgs. The Life and Times of Emperor Francis Joseph. New York: Grove Press. pp. 103–113.
  ISBN 0-87113-665-1
  .

Terminology note

• Regarding personal names,
  Grafin
  .

See also:

Wimpffen

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