Franz Freiherr von John (20 November 1815 – 25 May 1876) was an Austrian ''

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 ...

'',

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

, and

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Biography

Franz Freiherr von John was born in

Bruck an der Leitha Bruck an der Leitha (; "Bridge on the Leitha") is a town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria on the border of Burgenland, marked by the Leitha river. In 2018 it had a population of around 8,000. History In and around Bruck parts of Neolithi ...

as the fourth child of an Austrian officer. He was schooled at the military academy in Wiener Neustadt and joined the ''Archduke Franz Karl'' Infantry Regiment Nr. 52 in 1835 as a lieutenant. In 1845 he served as a Lieutenant on the General Quartermaster staff. In 1848 he served under

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 ...

as a captain during the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...

where he distinguished himself at Goito. In 1857 he was promoted to colonel, ennobled as a Baron, and became a regimental commander. In 1859 he was chief of staff of the VI Army Corps in South Tyrol. In 1861 he was promoted to major general and became the head of the General Staff of the Italian army commanded by Benedek. When the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

started John remained chief of staff of the South Army in Italy under the command of Archduke Albrecht. During the campaign he distinguished himself at the Battle of Custozza (24 June 1866) and was promoted ''Feldmarshall-Leutnant'' on the battlefield. After the defeat of Benedek's North Armt at Königgrätz, he accompanied the Archduke to the northern theater of war. In September 1866 he became Chief of Staff of the Austrian Army (September 1866-March 1869) and in November 1866 he also became Minister of War (Nov. 1866 - Jan. 1868). The same year he was appointed a lifelong member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. As war minister, John served in the governments led by Count Belcredi, Count Beust and Prince Auersperg. During his time as war minister he carried out an army reform based on general conscription. In December 1868 he became ''

Inhaber ''Inhaber'', or Proprietor, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a weal ...

'' of Infanterie Regiment Nr. 76. In March 1869 he resigned as chief of the general staff and became commanding general in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. In 1873 John was promoted to ''Feldzeugmeister''. In 1874 he again became Chief of the General Staff of the army, a post he held until his death in

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. ...

on 25 May 1876.

Bibliography

Geoffrey Wawro Geoffrey Wawro (born 1960) is an American professor of military history at the University of North Texas, and director of the UNT Military History Center. His focus is modern and contemporary military history, from the French Revolution to the pres ...

, ''The Austro-Prussian War. Austria's war with Prussia and Italy in 1866'' (New York 2007), * Aus dem Nachlass, ''Franz Freiherr von John; Karton B/138:1-127'' (in drei Kartons verwahrt: 1--68;69–120=Fasz/Teil 1; 121–123,127=Teil2; Kriegsarchiv Wien) * Werner Hahlweg, ''Eine Denkshrift des Feldzeugmeisters Franz Freiherrn von John aus dem Jahre 1859 über Adjustierung und Ausrüstung des Infanteristen''. In: ''Zeitschrift für Heeres- und Uniformkunde'' 67/69 (1934), S. 85–92. * Johannes Held
''Franz Freiherr von John. „Soldat Diplomat Staatsmann“''
(PDF; 831 kB). Diplomarbeit, Universität Wien, Mai 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Franz Freiherr von 1815 births 1876 deaths People from Bruck an der Leitha Austrian Empire military personnel Austro-Hungarian generals People of the Austro-Prussian War Members of the House of Lords (Austria) Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Theresian Military Academy alumni