Karl Philipp Sebottendorf

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Karl Philipp Sebottendorf van der Rose (17 July 1740 – 11 April 1818) enrolled in the

Napoleon Bonaparte
in several notable battles during the Italian campaign of 1796.

Early career

Sebottendorf was born in

Captain. In 1779 an inquiry acquitted him after he was accused of cowardice. He earned promotion to Major in 1784, Oberst-Leutnant in March 1787, and Oberst in October 1787.[2]

French Revolutionary Wars

General officer

In early 1793, Sebottendorf became a General-Major and led a brigade in Luxembourg. On 2 September 1794, he distinguished himself in a minor action near Öttringen.[2]

Montenotte

On 4 March 1796, Sebottendorf received promotion to

Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy forcing Piedmont to sue for peace. The Austrian army fell back to defend the Duchy of Milan
.

Lodi

In early May, Bonaparte turned Beaulieu's southern flank and won the

Adda River at Lodi. Beaulieu left Sebottendorf and 10,000 men in the vicinity of Lodi to cover his withdrawal.[5] After the French advance guard under Claude Dallemagne drove the Austrian rear guard through Lodi, Sebottendorf prepared to defend the bridge that spanned the Adda on the east side of the town. The French artillery bombarded the Austrian position for several hours, as Bonaparte waited for André Masséna's division to arrive. In the ensuing Battle of Lodi on 10 May, the French defeated the outnumbered Austrians. Sebottendorf managed to carry out an orderly withdrawal, though his force lost 14 cannons and 2,036 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing.[6]

Borghetto

During the

Adige River
valley.

Castiglione

During

Siege of Mantua, Sebottendorf led a sub-unit of Michael von Melas' Right-Center Column consisting of the brigades of Nicoletti and Pittoni. On 29 July, Sebottendorf captured French positions at Madonna della Corona and Brentino Belluno. This success allowed him to link up with Paul Davidovich and the Left-Center Column from the Adige valley. On 5 August, he fought in the Battle of Castiglione
.

Bassano

In the second relief of Mantua, Sebottendorf led a 4,086-man division down the

Brenta River valley. He participated in the Battle of Bassano, after which his division "was reduced to only one and a third battalions, four and a half companies, and two squadrons."[7]
He subsequently joined Wurmser in a dash for Mantua. The bulk of the Austrians reached the fortress intact, but Sebottendorf and his soldiers were cooped up in Mantua for the duration of the long siege, during which many of the men died.

Later career

Sebottendorf served as assistant to the commanding generals in Inner Austria and the Tyrol during the period 1801 to 1806. He was deputy to the President of the Military Appellate Court from 1813 to 1818. He died in Vienna on 11 April 1818 with the noble title of Freiherr.

Family

Two younger Sebottendorf brothers, Franz Ludwig (1741–1822)

Battle of Raab on 14 June.[12]

References

Books

External links

Footnotes

  1. ^ Smith-Kudrna, "Karl Sebottendorf"
  2. ^ a b Boycott-Brown, historydata.com, "Sebottendorf"
  3. ^ Fiebeger, p 8. Boycott-Brown lists a different order of battle.
  4. ^ Boycott-Brown, p 194
  5. ^ Chandler, p 81
  6. ^ Boycott-Brown, p 314-315
  7. ^ Boycott-Brown, p 433
  8. ^ Smith-Kudrna, "Franz Sebottendorf". Part of this source's narrative for Karl appears to be incorrectly listed under Franz. The Sebottendorf at Lodi held the rank of FML. The only brother of that rank in 1796 was Karl.
  9. ^ Smith-Kudrna, "Ignaz Sebottendorf"
  10. ^ Bowden & Tarbox, p 108, 115
  11. ^ Smith, p 300
  12. ^ Bowden & Tarbox, p 122