Archduke Leopold Ludwig of Austria
Archduke Leopold, 1855–1865
Born(1823-06-06)6 June 1823
Milan, Lombardy–Venetia
Died24 May 1898(1898-05-24) (aged 74)
Hörnstein, Austria-Hungary
Names
Leopold Ludwig Maria Franz Julius Estorgius Gerhard
HouseHabsburg-Lorraine
FatherArchduke Rainer Joseph of Austria
MotherPrincess Elisabeth of Savoy

Archduke Leopold Ludwig Maria Franz Julius Estorgius Gerhard of Austria (6 June 1823 – 24 May 1898) was an Austrian general and admiral.

Life

Archduke Leopold was the eldest son of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Savoy and a grandson of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor. Leopold was born in 1823 in Milan, where his father served as Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia from 1818 to 1848. Leopold's younger brother Rainer Ferdinand served as Austrian minister president from 1859 to 1861. Leopold followed his father in a military career, attaining the rank of Feldmarschall-leutnant (lieutenant general) in the Austrian Army.

When Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian was preparing to accept the throne of Mexico in March 1864, Emperor Franz Josef I sent Leopold to Miramar to induce Maximilian to sign the Act of Renunciation. The two cousins had never been on friendly terms, and Maximilian viewed Leopold as one of the archdukes who would benefit from the renunciation of his hereditary rights in Austria. Maximilian delayed signing the 'Family Compact', as it was called, until the visit of Franz Josef to Miramar on 9 April 1864.[1]

Austro-Hungarian Naval Ensign

Undoubtedly to Maximilian's chagrin and irritation, Leopold was promoted to the rank of Viceadmiral in the Austro-Hungarian Navy and acted as Inspector General of the Marines and the fleet from 1865 up till 25 February 1868.[2][3]

During the Austro-Prussian War, Leopold was given command of the Austrian VIII Corps. According to Geoffrey Wawro the Archduke was an incompetent princely commander who during the Battle of Skalitz, where his corps was severely mauled by the Prussian V Corps under Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz, didn’t give a single order. Before the Battle of Königgrätz the Archduke was replaced as corps commander by General Weber.[4]

Leopold never married, and after stepping down as head of the Navy he faded into obscurity. He died at Hörnstein on 24 May 1898.

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ^ Joan Haslip, The Crown of Mexico, pp. 218, 221, 223-226. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.
  2. ^ Amtliche Tageszeitung Wiener Zeitung, Nr. 55, Wien, 4. März 1868, S. 1
  3. ^ Genealogisches Taschenbuch 1866. Verlag Justus Perthes, Gotha, S. 716 Marinetruppen und Flotteninspektor.
  4. ^ Geoffrey Wawro, The Austro-Prussian War. Austria's war with Prussia and Italy in 1866 (New York 2007)
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