Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles
Encyclopedia
Johann Gabriel, Marquis du Chasteler de Courcelles (22 January 1763 – 7 May 1825) was a Walloon
, entered the military service of Habsburg Austria at an early age and trained as an engineer. He won a coveted award in action against the Ottoman Turks
. He fought against the First French Republic and was promoted to general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars
. During the Napoleonic Wars
he was appointed to lead an advance guard division in 1805. At the beginning of the 1809 war he commanded an army corps and in 1813 he again led a division. He was the Proprietor (Inhaber)
of an Austrian infantry regiment on three different occasions.
appointed Chasteler to lead the VIII Armeekorps in Archduke John of Austria's Army of Inner Austria at the beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition
. Immediately, he was detached with 10,000 troops and sent to assist the revolt in the County of Tyrol
and Albert Gyulai took his place as corps commander. On 13 May he was badly beaten at the Battle of Wörgl
by François Joseph Lefebvre
's Bavarian VII Corps.
Walloons
Walloons are a French-speaking people who live in Belgium, principally in Wallonia. Walloons are a distinctive community within Belgium, important historical and anthropological criteria bind Walloons to the French people. More generally, the term also refers to the inhabitants of the Walloon...
, entered the military service of Habsburg Austria at an early age and trained as an engineer. He won a coveted award in action against the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
. He fought against the First French Republic and was promoted to general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
he was appointed to lead an advance guard division in 1805. At the beginning of the 1809 war he commanded an army corps and in 1813 he again led a division. He was the Proprietor (Inhaber)
Proprietor (Inhaber)
A Proprietor, or Inhaber, 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 wealthy noble, called the Inhaber who also acted as...
of an Austrian infantry regiment on three different occasions.
1809
The HofkriegsratHofkriegsrat
The Hofkriegsrat was the Court Council of War of the Habsburg Monarchy. Founded in 1556 in the reign of Emperor Ferdinand I, it was a council of men with military experience who could take charge of the army and its needs, in both war and peacetime...
appointed Chasteler to lead the VIII Armeekorps in Archduke John of Austria's Army of Inner Austria at the beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
. Immediately, he was detached with 10,000 troops and sent to assist the revolt in the County of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
and Albert Gyulai took his place as corps commander. On 13 May he was badly beaten at the Battle of Wörgl
Battle of Wörgl
In the Battle of Wörgl or Wörgel on 13 May 1809 a Bavarian force under French Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre attacked an Austrian Empire detachment commanded by Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles. The Bavarians severely defeated Chasteler's soldiers in series of actions in the Austrian towns...
by François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre, First Duc de Dantzig was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon....
's Bavarian VII Corps.
Printed materials
- Bowden, Scotty & Tarbox, Charlie. Armies on the Danube 1809. Arlington, Texas: Empire Games Press, 1980.
- Schneid, Frederick C. Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805-1815. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0-275-96875-8
- Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9