Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este (25 April 1781 – 5 November 1850) was the third son of

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria-Este (Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus; 1 June 1754 – 24 December 1806) was a son of Holy Roman Emperor Franz I and Maria Theresa of Austria. He was the founder of the House of Austria-Este and ...

and of his wife Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este, last member and heiress of the

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

. For much of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

he was in command of the Austrian army. Ferdinand was born at

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He attended the

Theresian Military Academy The Theresian Military Academy (, TherMilAk) is a military academy in Austria, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. Founded in 1751, the academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. History The Th ...

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; Lower_Austria.html" ;"title=".e. Lower Austria">.e. Lower Austria , ) is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administr ...

before embarking on a military career. In 1805 in the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, First French Empire, France and French client republic, its client states under Napoleon I an ...

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Ferdinand was commander-in-chief of the Austrian forces with General Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich as his quartermaster general. In October his army was surrounded at Ulm. General Mack surrendered, but Ferdinand managed to escape with 2000 cavalry to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. There he took command of the Austrian troops and raised the local militia. With a total of 9,000 men he set out for

Iglau Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihlava is the oldest ...

to distract attention from the Coalition's movements. He succeeded in holding the Bavarian division of Prince

Karl Philipp von Wrede Karl (or Carl) Philipp Josef, Fürst, Prince von Wrede (; 29 April 176712 December 1838) was a Bavarian field marshal. He was an ally of Napoleonic France until he negotiated the Treaty of Ried with Austria in 1813. Thereafter Bavaria joined the c ...

thereby and preventing it from joining the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

. In 1809 in the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Emp ...

against France, Ferdinand commanded an Austrian army of 36,000 men. In April he invaded the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

hoping to encourage a local uprising against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(see

Polish–Austrian War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and allied states). In this war, Polish forces of ...

). But the Poles rallied to Prince

Józef Antoni Poniatowski Józef is a Polish variant of the masculine given name Joseph. Art * Józef Chełmoński (1849-1914), Polish painter * Józef Gosławski (1908-1963), Polish sculptor Clergy * Józef Glemp (1929-2013), Polish cardinal * Józef Kowalski ( ...

. Ferdinand was victorious at the Battle of Raszyn, Which managed to recapture

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In June, however, Ferdinand was compelled to withdraw from Warsaw, and to give up

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and Galicia as well. In 1815 in the

War of the Seventh Coalition The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

against France, Ferdinand commanded two divisions of the Austrian Reserve. The following year he was appointed military commander in Hungary. In 1830 Ferdinand was appointed military and civil governor of Galicia, taking up residence in

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

. After the

Revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

he lived mostly in Italy. Ferdinand never married. In 1850 he died at Schloss Ebenzweier in

Altmünster Altmünster (; In the local dialect: ''Oidmünsta''), also known as Altmünster am Traunsee, is a market town located about 3 kilometres south of Gmunden in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, on the west shore of the Traunsee. Its economic base ...

near

Gmunden Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). Geography Gmunden covers an area of and has a median elevation of . It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on t ...

, Austria.

Honours

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand Karl Joseph Of Austria-Este, Archduke 1781 births 1850 deaths People from Altmünster Nobility from Milan House of Austria-Este Modenese princes Austrian generals Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Austrian princes Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Governors of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Military personnel from Milan Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Theresian Military Academy alumni Burials at the Imperial Crypt Sons of duchesses regnant