Count Heinrich Von Bellegarde - Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

In 1805, when Archduke Charles left to take command in Italy, Bellegarde became president ad interim of the council of war. He was, however, soon employed in the field, and at the sanguinary Battle of Caldiero he commanded the Austrian right.

In the War of the Fifth Coalition he commanded the I Armee Korps. He supervised the II Armee Korps, which was also posted on the north bank of the Danube River. Cut off from Archduke Charles as the result of the Battle of Eckmühl, he retreated into Bohemia, but managed to rejoin the main army before the great battles near Vienna. He led the I Korps in the battles of Aspern-Essling and Wagram. After the 1809 war, Bellegarde became a Feldmarschall. From 1809 to 1813 he was governor-general of Galicia, but was often called to preside over the meetings of the Aulic Council, especially in 1810 in connection with the reorganization of the Austrian army.

In 1813, 1814 and 1815 he led the Austrian armies in Italy. His successes in these campaigns were diplomatic as well as military, and he ended them by crushing the last attempt of Joachim Murat to regain the Kingdom of Naples in 1815. Between 1815 and 1816 he was Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia. From 1816 to 1825 (when he had to retire owing to failing eyesight) he held various distinguished civil and military posts. He died in Vienna on 22 July 1845.