Count Claudius Florimund
de Mercy (1666 – 29 June 1734) was an
Imperial field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
, born at
Longwy in
Lorraine, now in
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 ...
. His grandfather was the Bavarian field marshal
Franz Freiherr von Mercy.
Mercy entered the
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n army as a volunteer in 1682. He won his commission at the great
Battle of Vienna in the following year; and during seven years of campaigning in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
rose to the rank of
Rittmeister. A wound sustained at this time permanently injured his sight. For five years more, up to 1697, he was employed in the Italian campaigns, then he was called back to Hungary by
Prince Eugene of Savoy and won on the field of the
Battle of Zenta two grades of promotion.
De Mercy displayed great daring in the first campaigns of the
Spanish Succession War in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, twice fell into the hands of the enemy in rights at close quarters and for his conduct at the surprise of
Cremona
Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...
(31 January 1702) received the thanks of
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...
and the proprietary colonelcy of a newly raised
cuirassier regiment. With this he took part in the Rhine campaign of 1703, and the
Battle of Friedlingen, and his success as an intrepid leader of raids and forays became well known to friend and foe. He was on that account selected early in 1704 to harry the dominions of
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. He was soon afterwards promoted to ''
Generalfeldwachtmeister'', in which rank he was engaged in the
Battle of Schellenberg (2 July 1704).
In the rest of the war he was often distinguished by his fiery courage. He rose to be general of the cavalry in the course of these ten years. His resolute leadership was conspicuous at the
Battle of Peterwardein (1716) and he was soon afterwards made commander of the
Banat
Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
of
Temesvár.
At the great
Battle of Belgrade (1717) he led the second line of left wing cavalry in a brilliant and decisive charge which drove the forces of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
to their trenches. After the peace he resumed the administration of the Banat, which after more than 150 years of Turkish rule needed a capable governor. But before his work was done he was once more called away to a command in the field, this time in southern Italy, where he fought the
Battle of Francavilla (20 June 1719), took
Messina
Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
and besieged
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
. For eleven years more he administered the Banat, reorganizing the country as a prosperous and civilized community.
In 1733 he was made a general field marshal in the army and in the Spring of that year he and the Irish-born Major General Baron
Francis Patrick O'Neillan assembled 50,000 men at
Mantua
Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
in an effort to reclaim all that had been lost the previous year when the Austrians had been driven from Italy by the Franco-Spanish forces.
Mercy was killed on 29 June 1734 at the
Battle of Parma while personally leading his troops. He left no children, and his name passed to Count Argenteau, from whom came the family of Mercy-Argenteau. He was the foster father of
Florimund Count de Mercy d'Argenteau.
On 3 August 2009, a bust of the count was unveiled in Central Park,
Timișoara
Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
.
[ Anca Toma]
''Diplome, apartamente şi hectolitri de bere, de Ziua Timişoarei''
''Renaşterea Bănăţeană''; 4 August 2009.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercy, Florimund
1666 births
1734 deaths
17th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire
People from Longwy
Counts of Austria
Field marshals of Austria
Austrian army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession
Austrian military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession
Generals of the Holy Roman Empire
Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718)
People of the War of the Quadruple Alliance