By Leopold
Kudrna, with Biographical Essays by Digby Smith.
Austrian
Generals
1792-1815
Q
Quallenberg to Quosdanovich
Personal
Information
Born: 1766
Died: Ödenburg (Sopron) / Hungary,
01.01.1836
Promotions
Major:
Oberstleutnant:
Oberst:
Generalmajor: 26.07.1813
Feldmarschalleutnant (title a.h.):
27.10.1835
Retired: 27.10.1835
Posts and Offices (Army, Politics,
Court)
Fortress Commandant of Peschiera:
1826 – 27.10.1835
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments
(Austria)
– (?)
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments
(Foreign Countries)
Parma:
Constantinian Order of St. George – CC:
1823
Russia:
Order of St. Anne 1st cl.
Printed Sources
MilSchem | WZ, 31.07.1813,
14.10.1813
Internet Sources
Schmidt-Brentano, Generale
| Q2 |
Quietovsky,
Tobias von |
Personal
Information
Born: Herrengrund (Úrvölgy
/ Špania Dolina) / Com. Sohl (Zólyom) / Hungary,
1734
Died: Ofen (Buda) / Hungary, 03.12.1806
Promotions
Major: 30.11.17781
Oberstleutnant: 13.08.1789
Oberst: 10.02.1790
Generalmajor: 10.17932 (w.r.f.
29.10.1793)
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Austria)
– (?)
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Foreign
Countries)
– (?)
Printed Sources
Amon, DR10, pp.82, 86, 104, 113f., 130 | MilSchem
Internet Sources
Schmidt-Brentano, Generale
Notes
1)
Amon, DR10, p.82: 31.12.1778 (?)
2)
Amon, DR10, p.130: 28.09.1793 "GM und in Ruhestand" (major general and retired)
(?)
| Q3 |
Quosdanovich,
Karl Paul Freiherr von |
Personal Information
Born: Brestovac1 / Croatia,
1763
Died: Pancsova / Banat, 05.02.1817
Name Variants
also: Guosdanovich, Gvozdanovich
Promotions
Major: 06.1795
Oberstleutnant:
Oberst:
Generalmajor: 12.05.1813
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Austria)
Military Maria Theresian Order – KC: 18.08.1801
/ CC: 08.03.1814
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Foreign
Countries)
Prussia:
Order of the Red Eagle 2nd cl.: 1813
Russia:
Order of St. Vladimir 2nd cl.
Printed Sources
Hirtenfeld 1, p.1171ff. | MD 4, p.147 | MD
8, p.132 (corrections) | MilSchem | Wurzbach 24, p.151ff. | WZ,
01.07.1813, 21.02.1814
Internet Sources
Jewison/Steiner
Schmidt-Brentano, Generale
Notes
1) Wurzbach 24, p.151: "Braslovacs" in
the Croatian Military Border (?)
| Q4 |
Quosdanovich,
(Peter) Vitus Freiherr von |
Personal Information
Born: Sichelburg (Zumberak) / Croatia, 12.06.1738
Died: Vienna, 13.08.1802
Name Variants
also: Guosdanovich, Gvozdanovich
Promotions
Major:
Oberstleutnant:
Oberst: 1779 (?)
Generalmajor: 12.10.1788 (w.r.f. 06.10.1788)
Feldmarschalleutnant: 29.12.1793 (w.r.f. 20.12.1783)
Retired: 28.02.1797
Field Service (1792-1815)
Commander of the Austrian forces at the combat
of Handschuhsheim: 24.09.1795 (+)
Commander of the Austrian forces at the battle
of Lonato: 02./03.1796 (–)
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Austria)
Military Maria Theresian Order – KC:
19.05.1779 / CC: 02.10.1795
Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Foreign
Countries)
– (?)
Biographical Essay (by Digby Smith)
Vitus Freiherr von Quosdanovich entered the
Warasdin Grenz Hussar Regiment N°41 in 1752. With this regiment he fought
through the Seven Years War, reaching the rank of captain. By 1773, he was Oberstleutnant
and commander of the Karlstadt Grenz Hussar Regiment N°40. In the War of
the Bavarian Succession, he shone in action on several occasions. On 15 and 16
July 1778, he raided a Prussian camp. At Hradecz, he held up the Prussian corps
of GL von Wunsch, rode down a square of the grenadier battalion Pitteris and
took five 12-pounder guns. At Weissskirchen on 26 November 1778, he held up the
superior Prussians for several hours, eventually forcing their withdrawal. At
Taubnitz, he drove the Prusian cavalry back onto their infantry, causing them
to abandon the action. On 19 May 1779, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the
Military Maria Theresian Order, promoted to Oberst and given command of the Slavonian
Grenz Hussar Regiment N°43.
In the wars against the Turks, from 1787-92,
Quosdanovich often distinguished himself and was promoted to Generalmajor in
1788. In the victory of Berbir he also played a key part.
At the beginning of the First Coalition War
Quosdanovich was given command of a brigade and – after his promotion to
Feldmarschalleutnant (end 1793) –
of a division in the Army of the Upper Rhine. On 22 September 1795 he was forced
back on Heidelberg by GdD Jean-Charles Pichegru's assault, with the 6th and 7th
Divisions (Ambert and Dufour resp.), 12,000 men in all. Two days later he defeated
GdD Dufour at Handschuhsheim, saving the day. French GdD Dufour was killed and
GdB Dusirat was wounded and the French lost 8 guns. This success allowed the
junction of the Austrian armies of the Upper and the Lower Rhine and forced Jourdan
to withdraw over the Rhine. For this victorious combat he was awarded the Commander's
Cross of the MMTO. Later FML Quosdanovich served under GdK Graf Wurmser and fought
in the successful siege of Mannheim, which fell on 22 November.
In 1796 he served initially in the Army of
the Upper Rhine, but was then transferred to Italy and led the minor column of
18,000 men down the western side of Lake Garda in the first of Wurmser's attempts
to relieve Mantua at the end of July. On 29 July the Austrian main column under
Wurmser attacked Massena at Rivoli; Massena fell back to Pievetano after losing
2,800 men and 9 guns. That same day, Quosdanovich attacked French GdD Sauret
at Salo; Sauret fell back to Desenzano, on the southwestern tip of the lake.
GdB Jean-Joseph Guieu was cut off with a battalion and took refuge in a large
building. Quosdanovich sent Klenau to Brescia (west of the southern end of Lake
Garda) where he captured four companies of infantry, a squadron of cavalry and
several generals. Next day Quosdanovich advanced to the Chiese, leaving part
of his force to contain Guieu. He was surprised by Sauret and defeated at Salo
(on the lower west side of Lake Garda) on 31 July and Guieu was saved. Quosdanovich
pulled back west to Gavardo, but advanced again on 3 August to join up with Wurmser.
That day he clashed with GdD Despinois (?) and GdD Claude D'Allemagne and pushed
them back to Brescia and Rezzato respectively. On 4 August, he was pushed further
away from Wurmser to Gavardo by General Guieu and Prince Reuss' Reserve division
was separated from him at Rocco d'Anfo on Lake Idro to the northwest. The battle
of Castiglione took place on 5 August. The divisions of Massena, Augereau, Kilmaine
and Serrurier (the latter commanded by GdB Fiorelli) and totalling over 30,000
men, fought here this day.
Wurmser's 15,500 were defeated with a loss
of 2,000 killed and wounded, 1,000 prisoners and 20 guns. Austrian GM Lipthay
was wounded. Wurmser was pushed back eastwards over the Mincio. He tried to fortify
a camp at Pescheira but was thrown out on 6 August by Marshal Massena with the
loss of 500 men and 10 guns. Wurmser fell back north up the Etsch (on the eastern
side of Lake Garda) to Ala where he established contact with Quosdanovich again.
In the second attempt to relieve Mantua, FML
Quosdanovich's division was hard-pressed by Augereau's at Bassano on 8 September.
After Wurmser's defeat at San Giorgio (Mantua)
on 15 September, Quosdanovich's corps on the Isonzo River numbered only 2,000
men. But in four weeks the strength had risen to 6,000. Alvinczy took over command
in Italy in place of Wurmser. He ordered Quosdanovich's Corps of the Friaul to
take Bassano on the Brenta, while Davidovich's Corps of the Tyrol was to seize
Trient on the Etsch. Davidovich was ordered then to move to join up with Alvinczy – who
was with Quosdanovich's corps – so as to unite before the critical battle
with Napoleon. No advance by Alvinczy over the Etsch would be made until he received
confirmation from Davidovich that he had cleared the enemy out of that valley.
Quosdanovich fought at the Austrian victories over Napoleon at Bassano on 6 November,
at Caldiero on 12 November, and at Arcole on 15-17 November.
He commanded an assault column at Rivoli on
14-15 January 1797 in Alvinczy's final attempt to relieve Mantua. On the first
day of the battle, his column was the first to reach the plateau of Rivoli, where
they pushed the 39e Demi Brigade out of the line of the Osteria and forced GdD
Barthélemy-Catherine Joubert to withdraw his division. At the "crisis" of
the day, they had only a fraction of their weary men on the plateau of Rivoli.
Napoleon seized this moment to throw part of Joubert's division, 600 cavalry
and the 39e Demi Brigade at them and they were tumbled back down the hill in
utter confusion.
FML Quosdanovich retired in February 1797 and
died on 13 August 1802 in Vienna.
Printed Sources
Bodart, pp.304, 311 | Hirtenfeld
1, p.445f. | MD 4, p.147 | MilSchem | Wurzbach
24, p.153f.
Internet Sources
Jewison/Steiner
Schmidt-Brentano, Generale
Ebert (http://www.napoleon-online.de/AU_Generale/html/quosdanovich.html)
|
