Military History of Croatia - 19th Century

19th Century

At the beginning of 19th century many Croatian troops (as a part of Austrian imperial army) fought in Napoleonic wars against French Grande Armée. After the Treaty of Schönbrunn and formation of Illyrian Provinces, several Croatian units were formed as a part of French Army.

On the wave of French revolution, at the end of first half of 19th century Croatian romantic nationalism emerged to counteract the non-violent but apparent Germanization and Magyarization. By the 1840s, and during revolutions of 1848 the movement had moved from cultural goals to resisting Hungarian political demands which grew even bigger during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Croatian Ban Josip Jelačić cooperated with the Austrians in quenching the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 by leading a military campaign into Hungary.

• Battles of Hungarian Revolution involving Croats:
  • Battle of Pákozd (1848)
  • Vienna Uprising (1848)
  • Battle of Schwechat (1848)
  • Battle of Mór (1848)

Croatian troops also contributed in other conflicts who involved Austrian Empire. According to the sources, out of 7,871 sailors on Austrian ships around 5,000 were Croats. Many of Croatian sailors fought on Austrian side in 1866 during Third Italian War of Independence in Battle of Vis.