Count Maximilian Anton Karl Baillet de Latour (14 December 173722 July 1806) was a general in Austrian

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

 service 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...

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Biography

Born at Latour Castle near Virton

Virton

Virton is the most southerly town in Belgium and the administrative centre of a Walloon municipality and district of the same name, located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg...

 in the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

), he joined the Austrian Army in 1755 and distinguished himself in the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

. In 1772 he married Charlotte-Sophie de Guérin de La Marche (d-1806); their son, Count Theodor Franz Baillet von Latour

Theodor Franz, Count Baillet von Latour

Count Theodor Franz Baillet von Latour was an Austrian soldier and statesman. As the Imperial Minister of War, he was killed by a mob at the beginning of the Vienna Uprising.-Biography:...

, was Austrian

Austrian 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...

 minister of war during the Revolutions of 1848

Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas

From March 1848 through July 1849, the Habsburg Austrian Empire was threatened by revolutionary movements. Much of the revolutionary activity was of a nationalist character: the empire, ruled from Vienna, included Austrian Germans, Hungarians, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ruthenians,...

, and was murdered during the Vienna Uprising

Vienna Uprising

The Vienna Uprising or October Revolution of October 1848 was the last uprising in the Austrian Revolution of 1848....

. His brother, Count Ludwig Wilhelm Anton Baillet de Latour-Merlemont (1753–1836), was also a general in Austrian service, until 1810, when he resigned, and joined the Grande Armée of Napoleon

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

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Latour achieved the rank of a Generalmajor in 1782. In the course of the 1789 revolt that led to the proclamation of the autonomous United States of Belgium

United States of Belgium

The United States of Belgium, part of Brabant.In October, he invaded Brabant and captured Turnhout, defeating the Austrians in the Battle of Turnhout on October 27. Ghent was taken on November 13, and on November 17 the imperial regents Albert of Saxony and Archduchess Maria Christina fled Brussels...

, Latour was elevated to the rank of a Feldmarschall-Leutnant

Generalfeldmarschall

Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...

. His troops held the Duchy of Luxembourg

County, Duchy and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

The County, later Duchy of Luxembourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg.-History:...

 and played a significant role in regaining the renegade provinces by the end of 1790, which earned him 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...

. From 1792 onwards Latour fought as an Austrian commander in the Wars of the First and Second Coalition

War of the Second Coalition

The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...

. In 1805 Emperor Francis I of Habsburg

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor

Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...

 appointed him president of the Hofkriegsrat

Hofkriegsrat

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...

, Latour nevertheless died shortly afterwards at 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...

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