Paul von Radivojevich

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Paul von Radivojevich
Born1759 (1759)
Feldzeugmeister
Battles/wars
Awards
Inhaber
Infantry Regiment Nr. 48
Privy Councillor, 1816

Paul von Radivojevich (1759 – 15 July 1829) was an Austrian

Proprietor (Inhaber)
of an infantry regiment from 1815 until his death in 1829.

Birth to 1809

Radivojevich was born into a family of

Battle of Dürrenstein on 11 November 1805[2] and at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December.[3]

Promoted

General-major on 2 April 1807,[4] he found himself commanding a brigade in Hannibal Sommariva's division of Franz Seraph of Orsini-Rosenberg's IV Corps in the War of the Fifth Coalition. At the Battle of Eckmühl on 22 April 1809 he led his troops which included two battalions of the Walachisch-Illyrian Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 13, eight squadrons of the Stipsicz Hussar Regiment Nr. 10, and a six gun cavalry battery with 6-pound guns.[5] He led troops under the overall command of Michael von Kienmayer in an Austrian victory at the Battle of Gefrees on 8 July 1809.[6]

1809 to 1814

Radivojevich was promoted to

Inhaber of Infantry Regiment Nr. 14 in 1811.[4] During 1812 he directed the Observation Corps in Transylvania.[1] In August 1813, he commanded a division in Johann von Hiller's Army of Inner Austria. Radivojevich directed three brigades under Ignaz Csivich von Rohr, Matthias Rebrovich, and Laval Nugent von Westmeath. Csivich led one battalion each of the Archduke Franz Karl Infantry Regiment Nr. 52, Warasdeiner-Kreutzer Grenz Nr. 5 and St. Georger Grenz Nr. 6. Rebrovich supervised one battalion of the Gradiscaner Grenz Nr. 8 and two battalions of the Archduke Franz Karl Nr. 52. Nugent led four squadrons of the Radetzky Hussar Regiment Nr. 5.[7]

Black and white print of a bald man with his only hair a tuft at each ear. He wears a white military uniform with a high collar. The coat is open at the front, showing a vest underneath.
Johann von Hiller

Radivojevich's 10,000 troops were ordered to invade the

Isonzo
River.

Black and white lithograph of a balding man with wispy gray hair. His arms are crossed and he wears a gray military uniform with several medals.
Heinrich von Bellegarde

In October 1813, Radivojevich was appointed commander of the Left Wing Corps, which he would lead until the end of the 1814 campaign.

Gradisca on 6 October 1813. After hearing that the Kingdom of Bavaria defected to the Coalition on 8 October, Eugène began retreating to the Adige River on the 16th. Hoping to cut Eugène off from Verona, Hiller ordered Radivojevich to apply frontal pressure on the Franco-Italians while he sent three brigades to turn Eugène's left flank in the Tyrol.[13] Rebrovich's advance guard of the Left Wing Corps crossed the Isonzo on 24 October and scouted in the direction of Palmanova which was garrisoned by 4,000 Franco-Italians. At first, Rebrovich pushed hard on Eugène's rear-guards but later slackened his pace when Radivojevich was instructed to distract Eugène while avoiding a major battle. At the Battle of Bassano (1813) on 31 October, the Franco-Italians pushed one of Hiller's flanking columns out of the way.[14] Covered by effective rearguard actions against Radivojevich's oncoming columns, Eugène's army got safely back to the Adige in the first week of November.[15]

Because Radivojevich was forced to detach troops to mask the fortresses of Venice, Palmanova, and Osoppo, his weakened corps was unable to seriously threaten the Adige line. Even so, historian Frederick C. Schneid considered Radivojevich's movements "lethargic".[16] Meanwhile, Trieste surrendered to Nugent on 28 October after a 16-day siege.[17] When Hiller probed the Adige line near Verona, Eugène reacted by launching a counterattack. At 10:00 AM on 15 November, several Franco-Italian divisions assaulted the Austrian positions in the Battle of Caldiero. The Austrians were worsted, losing 1,500 killed and wounded plus 900 men and two cannons captured. The Franco-Italians lost only 500 killed and wounded[18] out of a total of 16,000. Radivojevich was in tactical control of 8,000 soldiers in 10 battalions, 11 squadrons, and nine artillery pieces. In the action, he directed one division led by Franz Mauroy de Merville and three brigades under Anton Gundaker von Starhemberg, Ludwig von Eckhardt, and August von Vécsey.[19]

Unhappy with Hiller's inability to chase Eugène out of Italy, the

Count Heinrich von Bellegarde.[20] When Joachim Murat defected to the Coalition in January 1814, bringing the army of the Kingdom of Naples with him, Eugène abandoned the line of the Adige and fell back to the Mincio River.[21] Hoping to secure a bridgehead across the Mincio, Bellegarde put his army in motion. On the same day, Eugène determined to drive back the Austrian outposts.[22] These actions brought about the Battle of the Mincio River on 8 February 1814. The Franco-Italians won the battle while losing 3,000 killed and wounded and 500 captured out of 34,000 troops engaged. The Austrians suffered losses of 2,800 killed and wounded plus 1,200 men captured.[23] Accompanied by Bellegarde, Radivojevich's right-wing got across the Mincio at Borghetto near Valeggio and began to drive back Eugène's weak left wing under Jean-Antoine Verdier. Meanwhile, Eugène made his main effort on the right with Paul Grenier's reinforced corps. He and Grenier crossed the river and began rolling up the Austrian left wing after heavy fighting near Pozzolo. Though outnumbered three-to-one, Verdier's men proved unexpectedly tenacious and held out most of the day. When Eugène and Grenier approached Valeggio from the south, threatening to cut them off from the east bank, Bellegarde and Radivojevich hastily withdrew their soldiers and conceded defeat. Undaunted, they tried to force a crossing two days later but were repulsed again. Discouraged, Bellegarde never again tried to break the Mincio line during the campaign.[24]

1815 and later

Black and white print of a balding man in a gaudy 19th-century hussar uniform. The front of the jacket consists of horizontal loops of lace and the dolman hangs off the man's left shoulder.
Johann Frimont

During the

Jäger battalions, eight squadrons of Chevau-légers, and a light battery. The other two brigades each had one artillery battery and six battalions split evenly between two line infantry regiments.[27]

Frimont sent Bubna and the Piedmontese army west through the

Mount Cenis Pass confront Suchet. Meanwhile, he and Radivojevich moved north through the Simplon Pass into Switzerland to reach Geneva and turning the French northern flank. Intent on seizing the mountain passes, Suchet moved into Savoy on 14 June 1815. After capturing or chasing away the 3,000 Piedmontese defenders, the French began to encounter Austrian troops. Soon Austrian numerical superiority made itself felt. Both Radivojevich and Bubna were pressing back the French when news of Napoleon's abdication arrived to end the fighting. After negotiating an armistice, Suchet's forces withdrew from Savoy. But the Austrians kept advancing, taking both Grenoble and Lyon before the war officially ended.[28]

After the fighting ended, Radivojevich took command of the Reserve Corps of the Army of Italy from July until October 1815, when he was briefly the acting army commander.

Lombardy-Venetia from March 1829 until his death on 15 July 1829 at Verona.[4] Alois Gollner von Goldenfels became the new Inhaber of Infantry Regiment Nr. 48.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ a b OeBL staff 1982, p. 377.
  2. ^ Smith 1998, p. 213.
  3. ^ Smith 1998, p. 216.
  4. ^ a b c d e Smith & Kudrna 2008, Radivojevich
  5. ^ Bowden & Tarbox 1980, p. 69.
  6. ^ Smith 1998, p. 322.
  7. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 196.
  8. ^ Schneid 2002, pp. 117–119.
  9. ^ Smith 1998, p. 447.
  10. ^ Smith 1998, p. 451-452.
  11. ^ Smith 1998, p. 454-455.
  12. ^ Smith 1998, p. 457.
  13. ^ Schneid 2002, pp. 121–122.
  14. ^ Schneid 2002, pp. 123–124.
  15. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 127.
  16. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 128.
  17. ^ Smith 1998, p. 473.
  18. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 129.
  19. ^ Smith 1998, gives Austrian killed and wounded as 500 (Smith 1998, p. 479).
  20. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 132.
  21. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 134.
  22. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 135.
  23. ^ Smith 1998, p. 493.
  24. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 135-138.
  25. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 157.
  26. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 158.
  27. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 206.
  28. ^ Schneid 2002, p. 158-160.
  29. ^ Hold 1875, pp. 133–134.
  30. ^ Smith & Kudrna 2008b, Simbschen.
  31. ^ Hold 1875, Appendix 37.

References

  • Bowden, Scotty; Tarbox, Charlie (1980). Armies on the Danube 1809. Arlington, Texas: Empire Games Press.
  • Hold, Alexander (1875). Geschichte des k. k. 48. Linien-Infanterie-Regimentes von siener zweiten Errichtung im Jahre 1798 an (in German). Vienna: Buchdruckerei von L. W. Seidel & Sohn. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  • Schneid, Frederick C. (2002). Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805-1815. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers.
    ISBN 0-275-96875-8
    .
  • ISBN 1-85367-276-9
    .
  • Smith, Digby; Kudrna, Leopold (August 2008). "Austrian Generals of 1792-1815: Paul von Radivojevich". napoleon-series.org. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  • Smith, Digby; Kudrna, Leopold (August 2008b). "Austrian Generals of 1792-1815: Joseph Anton von Simbschen". napoleon-series.org. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  • OeBL staff (1982) [1950]. "Radivojevich Paul Frh. von General". Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (in German). Vol. 8 (online ed.). Austrian Academy of Sciences. p. 377.
Military offices
Preceded by
Proprietor (Inhaber)
of Infantry Regiment Nr. 48
1815–1829 		Succeeded by
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