Ignaz Franz Graf zu Hardegg auf Glatz und im Marchlande (Vienna, 30 July 1772 – Vienna, 17 February 1848) was an Austrian

General of the cavalry General of the Cavalry () was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers of equivalent rank were called ...

. He was an important commander during the Napoleonic Wars and from 1831 to 1848 President of the

Hofkriegsrat The ''Hofkriegsrat'' (or Aulic War Council, sometimes Imperial War Council) established in 1556 was the central military administrative authority of the Habsburg monarchy until 1848 and the predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of War. Th ...

Biography

Ignaz Graf zu Hardegg came from the ancient Lower Austrian noble Hardegg family. His two younger brothers Johann Anton (1773–1825) and Johann Heinrich (1778–1854) also reached high positions in the Austrian military. He had his first war experiences at the age of 16, under Laudon in the

Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) The Austro-Turkish War, also known as the Habsburg–Ottoman War, was fought from 1788 to 1791, between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. During the conflict, Habsburg armies succeeded in taking Belgrade (1789) and liberating much o ...

. Promoted to

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

in 1792, he took part in the

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major off ...

during the First Coalition War in the same year. In 1795 he fought with distinction in the Battle of Handschuchsheim and received the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

for his services. In 1796 he served in Germany and in 1800 was able to repulse an attack from

Breisach Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...

. For this act he was commended by

Archduke Karl Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the younger brother of Fr ...

in the general staff and promoted to major. Hardegg, who had now been promoted to colonel and commander of the Schwarzenberg regiment, was unable to participate in the Campaign of 1805 due to illness. During 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 ...

in 1809 as major general, he again excelled in the

Battle of Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrians under Archduke Charles. It was the first time Napoleo ...

. In the following

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor of the French, Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian Empire, Austrian arm ...

he defended his position near Baumersdorf with great perseverance and received the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa for his bravery. In 1813 he took part in the campaign in Bohemia and the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

and was promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal in the same year. In the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

he led the vanguard of the left wing, but received a serious head injury at Dölitz. Recovered, he was able to take part in the fighting in France in 1814. He stormed the city of

Moret-sur-Loing Moret-sur-Loing (, literally ''Moret on Loing'') is a former commune in the Seine-et-Marne department located at the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is situated along the confluence of rivers Loing and Seine. Moret–Veneux- ...

, stubbornly defended by General Montbrun, and later fought with the southern army against

Marshal Augereau Charles Pierre François Augereau, duc de Castiglione delle Stiviere, Castiglione (; 21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic ...

After the War

Hardegg took part in the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

in 1815, where he was added to the Russian

Tsar Alexander I Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russia during the chaotic period of the Napoleo ...

, a position that he later retained at the congresses in

Troppau Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Silesia. Administr ...

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

and

Laibach Laibach () is a Slovenian and Yugoslav avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neoclassical genres. Formed in 1980 in the mining town of Trbovlje, Slovenia, at the time a constituent republic within Socialist Fede ...

. In 1829 Hardegg was appointed military commander of Linz and a year later he was appointed commander of Transylvania. In 1831, as General of the Cavalry, he became President of the

, an office that he held until his death. On 28 October 1841 he was awarded the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, the highest distinction of the Kingdom of Prussia.
In 1836 he was accepted into the Austrian

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. Ignaz Graf zu Hardegg died on 17 February 1848, at the age of 75 in Vienna.

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardegg, Ignaz, Count 1772 births 1848 deaths Military personnel from Vienna Austrian Empire commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Austrian military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Austrian generals Counts of Austria Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria