Rudolf Ritter von Otto (1735 – 7 August 1811) began his military career in the army of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charle ...

, transferred to the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

army and had a distinguished combat record during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

and the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

Early career

Born in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle. History Perhaps the fir ...

in the

in 1735, Otto joined the Saxon army in 1753 as a cavalryman. In the

he fought at the battles of Kolín and the Breslau in 1757. He was also present at several sieges and skirmishes. He joined an Austrian

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...

raised by his brother Wilhelm and participated in several successful ambushes and raids in 1760-1762.

Austrian service

At the end of the war he formally entered the Austrian army, joining the Hesse-Darmstadt Dragoon Regiment # 19 as an ''Oberleutnant''. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1769 and

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

in 1777, he transferred to the Graeven Hussar Regiment # 34. Because he improved his new regiment's efficiency, he was rapidly promoted, first to ''Oberstleutnant'' in 1783 and ''Oberst'' in 1784. In the Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791), he led his regiment in action at

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the u ...

and Cornia. Promoted to ''General-major'' in 1788, he continued to distinguish himself against the Turks. In 1793 during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

, Otto joined the Austrian army in Flanders, serving at the siege of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

. At the battle of Caesar's Camp on August 7, he commanded an infantry-cavalry brigade in the Count of Clerfayt's column. On September 12, he participated in the cavalry action at

Avesnes-le-Sec Avesnes-le-Sec () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also * Chemin de fer du Cambrésis *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of ...

in which a French force was cut to pieces. On October 30, he led his troops in battle at Marchiennes. He was promoted to ''Feldmarschal-Leutnant'' on January 1, 1794 and also became proprietor (''inhaber'') of the Hussar Regiment # 32. On April 24, while leading two Austrian and two British cavalry squadrons on a reconnaissance toward

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the ...

, Otto encountered a force of French cavalry. At this time, he discovered that

Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

was nearby with his retinue. Fearing that his sovereign was about to be captured, he resolved to attack the enemy. In the ensuing

Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies In the Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies, fought on 24 April 1794, a small Anglo-Austrian cavalry force routed a vastly more numerous French division during the Flanders Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. Villers-en-Cauchies is 15 km ...

, Otto's troopers smashed a 7,000-man French division, inflicting 1,200 casualties. Two days later, Otto led the main attack in the Duke of York's victory at

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, rolling up the French flank and capturing the French commander René Chapuis.Smith, p. 75. At the

Battle of Tourcoing The Battle of Tourcoing (17–18 May 1794) saw a Republican French army directed by General of Division Joseph Souham defend against an attack by a Coalition army led by Emperor Francis II and Austrian Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. ...

, he led one of York's three columns. Though the Anglo-Austrian army went down to defeat, Otto performed well.

Later career

In 1796, Otto declined a command in Italy due to ill-health. He became a member of the

Aulic Council The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...

and was promoted to full general upon retirement in 1803. He died at his estate near Königgrätz on August 7, 1811.

References

* Chandler, David. ''Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars.'' New York: Macmillan, 1979. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.

Footnotes

External links

Otto by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Rudolf Ritter von 1735 births 1811 deaths Austrian Empire military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian generals Austrian knights Austrian soldiers Military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa