Eduard Clam-Gallas
Encyclopedia
Count Eduard Clam-Gallas (14 March 1805, Prague
– , Vienna
) was an Austria
n General
. He was the eldest son of Count Christian Christoph Clam-Gallas (1771–1838), patron of Beethoven
, and Countess Josephine Clary-Aldringen (1777–1828).
(Captain) of the 1st Cavalry Regiment in 1831, then Commander
(1835), Colonel
(1840) and General
in Prague
(1846).
In 1848, called to Italy
under the orders of General Joseph Radetzky, he commanded a brigade which distinguished itself at Santa Lucia
, Vicenza
and the Battle of Custoza
. He was decorated with the Military Order of Maria Theresa
and promoted to Field Marshal Lieutenant (equivalent of two star general).
In April 1849 he became commander of the Transylvania
n Army Corps which needed to return to Turkey
(7,000 infantry, 1,600 horse and 36 cannon). At the beginning of July he was moving into Hungary to (now ), to support Alexander von Lüders
on the right flank. In this month there were a few battles between Lüders, Józef Bem
and Sándor Gál. During the Transylvanian summer campaign, Clam-Gallas was defeated by Bem, but after that was able to defeat Sándor Gál and his Székels Army. After occuping Székely Land
he joined Lüders and together they defeated Bem at Segesvár
.
In 1850, he was head of the 1st Army Corps of Bohemia in Vienna
, and in the Second Italian War of Independence
(1859) took part in the Battle of Magenta
and the Battle of Solferino
. This army corps was one of the first to be repelled, but this failure had no personal consequences for Clam-Gallas, who was promoted to General der Kavallerie.
In 1861 he was admitted to the Aulic Council
before becoming, in 1865, Imperial Hofmeister
.
In the course of the Austro-Prussian War
, he suffered a humiliating defeat at Jičín, for which he was court-martialled, but he was acquitted because of his position in society. He spent his final years in retirement in Frýdlant and Liberec
in Bohemia
(now the Czech Republic
).
and a brother-in-arms during the Battle of Magenta. They had one son, Franz and two daughters, Eduardine and Clotilde.
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
– , Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) was an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
. He was the eldest son of Count Christian Christoph Clam-Gallas (1771–1838), patron of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, and Countess Josephine Clary-Aldringen (1777–1828).
Career
In 1823 Clam-Gallas joined the Army, at first as a RittmeisterRittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...
(Captain) of the 1st Cavalry Regiment in 1831, then Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
(1835), Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
(1840) and General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(1846).
In 1848, called to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
under the orders of General Joseph Radetzky, he commanded a brigade which distinguished itself at Santa Lucia
Santa Lucia
Santa Lucia is a traditional Neapolitan song. It was transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau and published by the Cottrau firm, as a "barcarolla", at Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from Napuletano into Italian during the first stage of the Risorgimento, the first Neapolitan song to be given Italian...
, Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
and the Battle of Custoza
Battle of Custoza (1848)
The Battle of Custoza was fought on July 24 and 25 1848 during the first Italian War of Independence between the armies of the Austrian Empire, led by Field Marshal Radetzky, and of the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by King Charles Albert of Piedmont....
. He was decorated with the Military Order of Maria Theresa
Military Order of Maria Theresa
The Military Order of Maria Theresa was an Order of the Austro-Hungarian Empire founded on June 18, 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolin, by the Empress...
and promoted to Field Marshal Lieutenant (equivalent of two star general).
In April 1849 he became commander of the Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n Army Corps which needed to return to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(7,000 infantry, 1,600 horse and 36 cannon). At the beginning of July he was moving into Hungary to (now ), to support Alexander von Lüders
Alexander von Lüders
Count Alexander Nikolajewitsch von Lüders was a Russian general and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland.Lüders was born to a German noble family that moved to Russia in the middle of the 18th century...
on the right flank. In this month there were a few battles between Lüders, Józef Bem
Józef Bem
Józef Zachariasz Bem was a Polish general, an Ottoman Pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European nationalisms...
and Sándor Gál. During the Transylvanian summer campaign, Clam-Gallas was defeated by Bem, but after that was able to defeat Sándor Gál and his Székels Army. After occuping Székely Land
Székely Land
The Székely Land or Szekler Land refers to the territories inhabited mainly by the Székely, a Hungarian-speaking ethnic group from eastern Transylvania...
he joined Lüders and together they defeated Bem at Segesvár
Battle of Segesvár
The Battle of Segesvár was a battle in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, fought on 31 July 1849 between the Hungarian revolutionary army supplemented by Polish volunteers under the command of General Józef Bem and the Russian V Corps under General Alexander von Lüders in ally with the Austrian...
.
In 1850, he was head of the 1st Army Corps of Bohemia in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and in the Second Italian War of Independence
Second Italian War of Independence
The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, Austro-Sardinian War, or Austro-Piedmontese War , was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia against the Austrian Empire in 1859...
(1859) took part in the Battle of Magenta
Battle of Magenta
The Battle of Magenta was fought on June 4, 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai....
and the Battle of Solferino
Battle of Solferino
The Battle of Solferino, , was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I; it was the last major battle in world...
. This army corps was one of the first to be repelled, but this failure had no personal consequences for Clam-Gallas, who was promoted to General der Kavallerie.
In 1861 he was admitted to the Aulic Council
Aulic Council
The Aulic Council was originally an executive-judicial council for the Holy Roman Empire....
before becoming, in 1865, Imperial Hofmeister
Hofmeister (office)
In medieval Europe, a Hofmeister was a house tutor, also responsible for the care of his students beyond their education....
.
In the course of the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
, he suffered a humiliating defeat at Jičín, for which he was court-martialled, but he was acquitted because of his position in society. He spent his final years in retirement in Frýdlant and Liberec
Liberec
Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....
in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
(now the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
).
Family
In 1850 he married Clothilde von Dietrichstein (1828 – 1899), heiress of Prince Joseph-Franz von Dietrichstein (1798 – 1858) and sister-in-law of Alexander von Mensdorff-Pouilly, a senior minister of the Austrian EmpireAustrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and a brother-in-arms during the Battle of Magenta. They had one son, Franz and two daughters, Eduardine and Clotilde.