Count Ferenc Gyulay de Marosnémethi et Nádaska (, 1 September 1799 – 1 September 1868), also known as Ferencz Gyulai, Ferencz Gyulaj, or Franz Gyulai, was a Hungarian nobleman who served as Austrian Governor of Lombardy-Venetia and commanded the losing Austrian army at the

Battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 near the town of Magenta in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, during the Second Italian War of Independence. It resulted in a French-Sardinian victory under ...

Biography

Gyulay was born on 1 September 1799 in Pest,

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 ...

Ignác Gyulay Count Ignác Gyulay de Marosnémeti et Nádaska, Ignácz Gyulay, Ignaz Gyulai (11 September 1763 – 11 November 1831) was a Hungarian military officer, joined the army of the Habsburg monarchy, fought against Ottoman Turkey, and became a genera ...

von Maros-Németh und Nádaska and Maria Freiin von Edelsheim. At the age of seventeen in 1816 he served as a

leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

in the 60th "Ignác Gyulay" infantry battalion. In 1820 he was transferred to the

Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and a sovereign member of the German Confederation, which consisted of the lordship of Homburg at the foot of the Taunus, which was then known as ''Die Höhe'' ("the Heights"). The reigning princ ...

hussar brigade as an

oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

and just a year after he was promoted to

hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

of the Imperial

uhlans Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Poland, France, Russia, Prussia, ...

. In 1826 he was appointed the head of the

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

hussar brigade and soon after in 1829 he became the

oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

of the Hesse-Homburg infantry. In 1831 he was promoted to the rank of

oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

and in 1838 to

generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

. In 1846 he was already the

generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

of the 33rd infantry battalion. In 1847 he was the abteilungsführer and military captain of the vicinity of Triest. Gyulay's first war-time assignment came in 1848 when the

Revolutions 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 ...

broke out. First he had to face the

Italian states Italy, up until its unification in 1861, was a conglomeration of city-states, republics, and other independent entities. The following is a list of the various Italian states during that period. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

' menace at Pola. He had to defend the imperial fleet stationed in Pola of being seized by its insurgent crew. He immediately relieved the Italian-born sailors of their duties and warned the ships already in sail to do the same. He put the cities of Triest and Pola on defense, armed the ships and filled up their missing Italian crew with people from the local commercial ships. He organized an ad hoc boat squadron as well. Gyulay regrouped the troops retreating from

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

at Isonzo. His efforts prevented a joint Napolitan- Sardinian fleet from ambushing the key ports in the

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

. The Battle of Custoza eased the pressure on the Adriatic coast and Gyulay's precautionary measures secured the area. In 1849 Gyulay had been promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

(''Feldmarschallleutnant'') and that summer was named Austrian Minister of Defense by Emperor

Franz Joseph Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

and thus he was involved in

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

on the Habsburg side. He was at the siege of Raab on 28 June followed by the Battle of Komárom, which he left in the early stages due at least in part to the tendency of the emperor and his adjutant general Grünne to bypass his ministry when making military decisions.Rothenburg, G. ''The Army of Francis Joseph''. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1976. p 40. He was moved to

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 ...

to take charge of the 5th army division. In 1857, following the resignation of

Joseph Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz (2 November 1766 – 5 January 1858) was a Czech nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in the Habsburg monarchy during the later period of ...

, Gyulay was named Governor of Lombardy-Venetia, residing at

. In early 1859, the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

/Piedmont, having allied with

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 ...

, began mobilizing its army, possibly in preparation for an invasion of Italian territories controlled by Austria. On 23 April, Austria issued an ultimatum to the Sardinians, demanding they demobilize. When the Sardinians refused, the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

began. As commander of Austrian forces in Northern Italy, Count Gyulay, now with the rank of

feldzeugmeister General of the Artillery () was a historical military rank in some German and Austro-Hungarian armies, specifically in artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and survived until the beginning of the 20th century in some Euro ...

, was ordered to cross the

Ticino River The river Ticino ( , ; ; French and ; ) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows. It is one of the four major rivers taking their source in t ...

on 29 April, the border between Austrian and Sardinian territory. In response, French forces under Patrice MacMahon were dispatched to defend their Sardinian allies. On 20 May, an Austrian force under Count Stadion was defeated at the Battle of Montebello, after which Gyulay retreated back into Austrian territory. He then suffered another defeat at the

Battle of Palestro The Battle of Palestro was fought on 30–31 May 1859 between the Austrian Empire and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and Second French Empire, France. The Franco-Piedmontese forces were victorious. It was fought just sout ...

. The French army then crossed the Ticino into Austrian territory and captured the village of

Boffalora sopra Ticino Boffalora sopra Ticino (Milanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about west of Milan. Boffalora sopra Ticino borders the following municipalities: Marcallo con Casone, ...

after a small battle. Finally, on 4 June, the main Austrian and French armies met at the

. The Austrians under Gyulay were defeated, leading to his recall to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Emperor Franz Josef took personal command of the Austrian army in Lombardy-Venetia, and would go on to lose the subsequent

Battle of Solferino The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied Second French Empire, French army under Napoleon III and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, Piedmont- ...

. In one of his last military engagements he was reduced to a Regimentskommandeur and was sent to defend

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 ...

from the Piedmontese invasion. Unsuccessful in doing so he surrendered the city in 1866 eventually leading to its annexation to the newly formed Italy. Gyulay died on his birthday in

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 ...

References

Sources

*Deak, Istvan. ''Beyond Nationalism: A Social & Political History of the Habsburg Officer Corps 1848–1918''. Oxford University Press, 1990. . *Morris, Charles
''One Hundred Years of Conflict Between the Nations of Europe: The Causes and Issues of the Great War''
The John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, PA, 1914. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyulay, Ferenc Austrian Empire military personnel People from Austria-Hungary Military personnel from Budapest Nobility from Budapest Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) 1799 births 1868 deaths

Ferenc Ferenc () is a given name of Hungarian origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank and Franz. People with the name include: * Ferenc Batthyány (1497–1566), Hungarian magnate and general * Ferenc Bene (1944–20 ...

People of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 People of the First Italian War of Independence People of the Second Italian War of Independence