Anton Schübirz von Chobinin
Encyclopedia
Anton Schübirz or Anton Schubirz von Chobinin (21 December 1748 – 11 June 1801) fought for Habsburg Austria against Ottoman Turkey and the First French Republic. He participated in several noteworthy actions during the French Revolutionary Wars
. As a newly-promoted general officer in Italy, he led a brigade in an all-night action against the French at Codogno
, part of the Battle of Fombio
in May 1796. In the sparring before the Battle of Castiglione
, he showed initiative in bringing his troops to the assistance of a fellow general. He also fought at Fontaniva
, Caldiero
, and Arcole in the autumn of 1796. This was the theater of war where a young French general named Napoleon Bonaparte earned his fame. Schübirz retired from the army in 1798 and died three years later.
, a fortress town in the province of Moravia
in Habsburg Austria. Today, the city is part of the Czech Republic
. Upon leaving the Vienna
Neustadt Academy, he became a junior Leutnant
in the Batthyanyi Dragoon
Regiment Nr. 7 on 23 December 1768. He was promoted Leutnant on 1 January 1722, Rittmeister (captain)
on 10 April 1773, and Major
on 21 March 1786. Schübirz performed notable service against the Ottoman Turks
at Dubica on 25 April 1788 during the Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791). On 16 January 1790 he was appointed Oberstleutnant
of the Stabs Dragoon Regiment. That October he transferred back to the Batthyanyi Dragoons and was made Oberst
(Colonel) of the regiment on 30 November. He became Oberst of the newly-created Mészáros
Uhlan
Regiment Nr. 1 on 1 November 1791.
Another source states that Schübirz was elevated to Major in the Josef Kinsky Dragoon Regiment Nr. 12 (the successor to the Batthyanyi Regiment) on 30 May 1788, to Oberstleutnant in 1789, and to Oberst of the Mészáros Uhlans in 1790. In 1795, he led a cavalry brigade in Lombardy
.
's Austrian army of Italy. That spring he was assigned to command 10 squadrons of the Archduke Joseph Hussar
Regiment Nr. 2 at Pavia
and several squadrons of the Mészáros Uhlans near Lodi. He led these troops during the Montenotte Campaign
in April.
During the campaign, Bonaparte's army badly defeated the Sardinian army and forced the Kingdom of Sardinia
to sue for peace. The small Austrian Auxiliary Corps, which fought under Sardinian command, was placed in a tight spot when its allies laid down their arms. Since its previous commander, Giovanni Marchese di Provera
had been captured at the Battle of Millesimo
, Beaulieu appointed Schübirz to bring the Corps to safety. In this he was successful, though he had to make a circuitous march in order to get away.
, Schübirz's troops reached a position at Lomello
on the Agogna
River on 2 May. By the 7th, his retreating troops joined those of Philipp Pittoni, forming a body of seven battalions and 12 squadrons. By dawn on the following day, Bonaparte managed to slip Claude Dallemagne
's 5,000-strong advance guard across the Po River behind Beaulieu's strategic left flank. The 6,500 men of Amedee Emmanuel Francois Laharpe
's division soon followed. During the day, the rapidly moving French defeated Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud
at the Battle of Fombio
and pressed forward to occupy the town of Codogno
.
As Beaulieu tried to retreat east beyond the Adda River
, he found that the French were already across the southern-most roads. Hoping to cut his way through in the morning, the Austrian commander sent Schübirz toward Codogno with two battalions of the Reisky Infantry Regiment Nr. 13 and four squadrons of Uhlans, about 1,000 foot soldiers and 580 cavalrymen. Arriving at Codogno in the dark, Schübirz decided on his own initiative to capture the place. At around 10:00 PM, his troops routed the French pickets and infiltrated much of the town. Soon, Laharpe and his staff received reports of the Austrian incursion and went out to find out what was going on. It so happened that the French 51st Line Infantry Demi-Brigade was marching through the center of town. As the troops reached the town square, they were ambushed by soldiers of the Reisky Regiment and soon both sides were firing blindly into the darkness. After the French rounded up a number of Austrian prisoners, they found Laharpe shot dead, possibly by friendly fire
.
With the division commander down, Bonaparte's chief of staff
Louis Alexandre Berthier
arrived to direct the fighting. In the wee hours, 75th Line and the 17th Light Infantry Demi-Brigades added their weight to the battle. By dawn, convinced that the odds against him were increasing, Schübirz withdrew. Given some breathing room by his lieutenant's all-night combat, on 9 May Beaulieu directed his troops to cross the Adda farther north at Lodi. The Battle of Lodi
occurred on 10 May, though Schübirz missed it, having been ordered to march four battalions and four squadrons to Crema.
By 16 May, the Austrian army pulled back behind the Mincio
River, covered on its right rear by Schübirz. After the Battle of Borghetto
on 30 May, Beaulieu withdrew north into the Tyrol
. At this time an English observer, Thomas Graham
noted that Schübirz was one of the few generals still with the army.
, he nevertheless served with the army. At 3:00 AM on 2 August 1796, the army of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
, having relieved Mantua
, began to move on Goito
. An advance guard led by Lipthay, plus a body of troops commanded by Schübirz crossed the Mincio at Goito. Wanting to prevent Wurmser from attacking his rear while he disposed of Peter Quasdanovich
's column, Bonaparte ordered Pierre Augereau to attack the Austrian advance guard at Castiglione delle Stiviere
.
Accordingly, on 3 August, Augereau fell on Lipthay's 4,000-strong brigade with 11,000 men. Though driven back, the Austrians put up a spirited fight. Schübirz made the soldierly decision to march at once for the sound of the guns. Once he arrived on the field, he launched an effective attack that saved the village of Solferino
from capture and helped halt the French advance. On 5 August at the Battle of Castiglione
, Schübirz and Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
held the Austrian right flank at Solferino. Helped by late-arriving reinforcements, the right wing got away in good order. Schübirz led the rear guard of three squadrons of hussars, which were the last Austrians to cross the Mincio at the Borghetto bridge.
, a strategic point in northeastern Italy. The trek took two weeks but as soon as he arrived there, he was recalled to Bassano del Grappa
. This march took an additional two weeks, but by this time the Battle of Bassano
was fought on 8 September.
In late October 1796, Schübirz commanded a brigade in the Friaul
Corps, which was accompanied by the army commander József Alvinczi. He was present in the Second Battle of Bassano
on 6 November, where his troops were called upon to reinforce Lipthay's roughly handled brigade near Fontaniva
. The French suffered 3,000 killed, wounded, and missing, while 508 soldiers and one howitzer were captured. The victorious Austrians did not escape heavy losses. Quasdanovich's right wing at Bassano lost 1,633 men and two guns, while Provera's left wing at Fontaniva lost 1,190, including 208 killed, 873 wounded, and 109 captured.
At the Battle of Caldiero
on 12 November, Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen held off Bonaparte's initial attacks. Schübirz brought up his brigade sometime after 3:00 PM, and together with other reinforcements, the Austrians repulsed the French and forced them back into Verona
. The Austrians inflicted 1,800 casualties on their enemies for a loss of about 1,300 men.
On the second day of the Battle of Arcole, Schübirz's brigade was sent to reinforce Mittrowsky at the village of Arcole
. The orders for the morning of 16 November were to attack the French and drive them into the Adige
River. At first, the attack met with success. But when the Austrian right wing gave way at Belfiore, the soldiers lost heart and fell back to Arcole. By holding both banks of the Alpone River in strength, Mittrowsky defeated all French attacks on the 16th. The following day saw bitter fighting and until 4:00 PM it looked as though the Austrians might prevail. But another collapse of Austrian resistance at Belfiore allowed Bonaparte to concentrate against Arcole and the village finally fell at 5:00 PM on the 17th. That evening, the French tried to cut the main east-west highway but, at Alvinczi's direction, Schübirz drove them back. This final action of the day allowed the Austrian right wing to get away.
Schübirz retired from the military in 1798 and died at Graz
on 11 June 1801. Another source gives his retirement date as 1800.
This source traces the ancestry of Austrian cavalry regiments.
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...
. As a newly-promoted general officer in Italy, he led a brigade in an all-night action against the French at Codogno
Codogno
Codogno is a town and comune in the province of Lodi, Lombardy, Italy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on June 26, 1955....
, part of the Battle of Fombio
Battle of Fombio
The Battle of Fombio was fought between the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian army under Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu between 7 and 9 May 1796. It was the decisive strategic point of the campaign, as Bonaparte crossed the Po River at Piacenza in Beaulieu's...
in May 1796. In the sparring before the Battle of Castiglione
Battle of Castiglione
The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at...
, he showed initiative in bringing his troops to the assistance of a fellow general. He also fought at Fontaniva
Second Battle of Bassano
In the Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, an Austrian army commanded by Jozsef Alvinczi repelled the attacks of Napoleon Bonaparte's French army. The engagement, which happened two months after the more famous Battle of Bassano, marked the first tactical defeat of Bonaparte's career and...
, Caldiero
Battle of Caldiero (1796)
In the Battle of Caldiero on 12 November 1796, a Habsburg Austrian army led by Jozsef Alvinczi fought a First French Republic army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. The French assaulted the Austrian positions, which were initially held by the army advance guard under Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of...
, and Arcole in the autumn of 1796. This was the theater of war where a young French general named Napoleon Bonaparte earned his fame. Schübirz retired from the army in 1798 and died three years later.
Early career
On 21 December 1748, Schübirz was born at Olomouc (Olmütz)Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
, a fortress town in the province of Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
in Habsburg Austria. Today, the city is part of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Upon leaving the 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...
Neustadt Academy, he became a junior Leutnant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Batthyanyi Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Regiment Nr. 7 on 23 December 1768. He was promoted Leutnant on 1 January 1722, Rittmeister (captain)
Rittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...
on 10 April 1773, and Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
on 21 March 1786. Schübirz performed notable service against the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
at Dubica on 25 April 1788 during the Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791). On 16 January 1790 he was appointed Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
of the Stabs Dragoon Regiment. That October he transferred back to the Batthyanyi Dragoons and was made Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
(Colonel) of the regiment on 30 November. He became Oberst of the newly-created Mészáros
Johann Meszaros von Szoboszlo
Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló joined the Austrian army in 1756 and fought the Prussians, Ottoman Turks, and French during a long military career. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he fought in several campaigns. He commanded a division in the 1796-1797 Italian campaign against the army of...
Uhlan
Uhlan
Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....
Regiment Nr. 1 on 1 November 1791.
Another source states that Schübirz was elevated to Major in the Josef Kinsky Dragoon Regiment Nr. 12 (the successor to the Batthyanyi Regiment) on 30 May 1788, to Oberstleutnant in 1789, and to Oberst of the Mészáros Uhlans in 1790. In 1795, he led a cavalry brigade in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
.
Montenotte Campaign
On 4 March 1796, Schübirz found himself elevated to the rank of General-major in Johann Peter BeaulieuJohann Peter Beaulieu
Johann Peter Beaulieu de Marconnay, also Jean Pierre Beaulieu de Marconnay, born 26 October 1725 – died 22 December 1819, was an Austrian military officer. He joined the Austrian army and fought against the Prussians during the Seven Years War. A cultured man, he later battled Belgian rebels...
's Austrian army of Italy. That spring he was assigned to command 10 squadrons of the Archduke Joseph Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
Regiment Nr. 2 at Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
and several squadrons of the Mészáros Uhlans near Lodi. He led these troops during the Montenotte Campaign
Montenotte Campaign
The Montenotte Campaign began on 10 April 1796 with an action at Voltri and ended with the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April. In his first army command, Napoleon Bonaparte's French army separated the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont under Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi from the allied...
in April.
During the campaign, Bonaparte's army badly defeated the Sardinian army and forced the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
to sue for peace. The small Austrian Auxiliary Corps, which fought under Sardinian command, was placed in a tight spot when its allies laid down their arms. Since its previous commander, Giovanni Marchese di Provera
Giovanni Marchese di Provera
Giovanni Marchese di Provera, or Johann Provera, born c. 1736 – died 5 July 1804, served in the Austrian army in Italy during the French Revolutionary Wars. Provera played a significant role in three campaigns against General Napoleon Bonaparte during the Italian Campaign of 1796.-Military...
had been captured at the Battle of Millesimo
Battle of Millesimo
The Battle of Millesimo, fought on 13 and 14 April 1796, was the name that Napoleon Bonaparte gave in his correspondence to one of a series of small battles that were fought in Piedmont, Northern Italy between the armies of France and the allied armies of Austria and of the Kingdom of...
, Beaulieu appointed Schübirz to bring the Corps to safety. In this he was successful, though he had to make a circuitous march in order to get away.
Fombio and Codogno
As Beaulieu fell back into the Duchy of MilanDuchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, Schübirz's troops reached a position at Lomello
Lomello
Lomello is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 30 km west of Pavia, on the right bank of the Agogna...
on the Agogna
Agogna
The Agogna is a narrow long river which runs through the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It is a left side tributary of the river Po....
River on 2 May. By the 7th, his retreating troops joined those of Philipp Pittoni, forming a body of seven battalions and 12 squadrons. By dawn on the following day, Bonaparte managed to slip Claude Dallemagne
Claude Dallemagne
Claude Dallemagne started his career in the French army under the Bourbons, fought in the American Revolutionary War, rose in rank to become a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars, took part in the 1796 Italian campaign under Napoleon Bonaparte, and held military posts during the...
's 5,000-strong advance guard across the Po River behind Beaulieu's strategic left flank. The 6,500 men of Amedee Emmanuel Francois Laharpe
Amedee Emmanuel Francois Laharpe
Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpe fought in the armies of the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars, led a division in Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte, and died after being hit by friendly fire.-Early career:...
's division soon followed. During the day, the rapidly moving French defeated Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud
Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud
Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud , also Anton Liptai or Anton Liptay, served in the Austrian army, attained general officer rank, and fought in several battles against the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars.-Early career:Born in Nógrád, Hungary in 1745, Lipthay joined...
at the Battle of Fombio
Battle of Fombio
The Battle of Fombio was fought between the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian army under Feldzeugmeister Johann Peter Beaulieu between 7 and 9 May 1796. It was the decisive strategic point of the campaign, as Bonaparte crossed the Po River at Piacenza in Beaulieu's...
and pressed forward to occupy the town of Codogno
Codogno
Codogno is a town and comune in the province of Lodi, Lombardy, Italy. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on June 26, 1955....
.
Adda (river)
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
, he found that the French were already across the southern-most roads. Hoping to cut his way through in the morning, the Austrian commander sent Schübirz toward Codogno with two battalions of the Reisky Infantry Regiment Nr. 13 and four squadrons of Uhlans, about 1,000 foot soldiers and 580 cavalrymen. Arriving at Codogno in the dark, Schübirz decided on his own initiative to capture the place. At around 10:00 PM, his troops routed the French pickets and infiltrated much of the town. Soon, Laharpe and his staff received reports of the Austrian incursion and went out to find out what was going on. It so happened that the French 51st Line Infantry Demi-Brigade was marching through the center of town. As the troops reached the town square, they were ambushed by soldiers of the Reisky Regiment and soon both sides were firing blindly into the darkness. After the French rounded up a number of Austrian prisoners, they found Laharpe shot dead, possibly by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
.
With the division commander down, Bonaparte's chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier
Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1st Prince de Wagram, 1st Duc de Valangin, 1st Sovereign Prince de Neuchâtel , was a Marshal of France, Vice-Constable of France beginning in 1808, and Chief of Staff under Napoleon.-Early life:Alexandre was born at Versailles to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Baptiste Berthier ,...
arrived to direct the fighting. In the wee hours, 75th Line and the 17th Light Infantry Demi-Brigades added their weight to the battle. By dawn, convinced that the odds against him were increasing, Schübirz withdrew. Given some breathing room by his lieutenant's all-night combat, on 9 May Beaulieu directed his troops to cross the Adda farther north at Lodi. The Battle of Lodi
Battle of Lodi
The Battle of Lodi was fought on May 10, 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy...
occurred on 10 May, though Schübirz missed it, having been ordered to march four battalions and four squadrons to Crema.
By 16 May, the Austrian army pulled back behind the Mincio
Mincio
Mincio is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.Called the Sarca River before entering Lake Garda, it flows from there about 65 km past Mantua into the Po River....
River, covered on its right rear by Schübirz. After the Battle of Borghetto
Battle of Borghetto
The Battle of Borghetto, near Valeggio sul Mincio in the Veneto of northern Italy, occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. On 30 May 1796, a French army led by General Napoleon Bonaparte forced a crossing of the Mincio River in the face of opposition...
on 30 May, Beaulieu withdrew north into the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
. At this time an English observer, Thomas Graham
Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch
General Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, GCB, GCMG, GCTE was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and British Army officer....
noted that Schübirz was one of the few generals still with the army.
Castiglione
Though his name does not appear in the Castiglione 1796 Campaign Order of BattleCastiglione 1796 Campaign Order of Battle
Castiglione 1796 Campaign Order of BattleIn the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August 1796, the French Army of Italy under the command of General Napoleon Bonaparte defeated an Austrian army led by Field Marshal Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. Castiglione and the Battle of Lonato were the major actions...
, he nevertheless served with the army. At 3:00 AM on 2 August 1796, the army of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
, having relieved Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, began to move on Goito
Goito
Goito is a comune of Lombardy, Italy, in the Province of Mantua, from which it is some 20 km, on the road to Brescia. It is situated on the right bank of the Mincio River near the bridge.-History:...
. An advance guard led by Lipthay, plus a body of troops commanded by Schübirz crossed the Mincio at Goito. Wanting to prevent Wurmser from attacking his rear while he disposed of Peter Quasdanovich
Peter Quasdanovich
Peter Vitus Freiherr von Quosdanovich was a general of the Austrian Empire. Feldmarschall-Lieutenant and Commander of the Order of Maria Theresa...
's column, Bonaparte ordered Pierre Augereau to attack the Austrian advance guard at Castiglione delle Stiviere
Castiglione delle Stiviere
Castiglione delle Stiviere is a town and comune in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, Italy, 30 km northwest of Mantua by road.-History:During the War of the Spanish Succession, the French under the duc de Vendôme occupied it....
.
Accordingly, on 3 August, Augereau fell on Lipthay's 4,000-strong brigade with 11,000 men. Though driven back, the Austrians put up a spirited fight. Schübirz made the soldierly decision to march at once for the sound of the guns. Once he arrived on the field, he launched an effective attack that saved the village of Solferino
Solferino
Solferino is a small town and comune in the province of Mantua, Lombardy, northern Italy, approximately 10 kilometres south of Lake Garda....
from capture and helped halt the French advance. On 5 August at the Battle of Castiglione
Battle of Castiglione
The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at...
, Schübirz and Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky von Mittrowitz und Nemyšl, or Anton Mittrovsky, served in the Austrian army for many years. He was promoted to general officer in the spring of 1796, just in time to lead a brigade against Napoleon Bonaparte during the 1796-1797 Italian Campaign of the French...
held the Austrian right flank at Solferino. Helped by late-arriving reinforcements, the right wing got away in good order. Schübirz led the rear guard of three squadrons of hussars, which were the last Austrians to cross the Mincio at the Borghetto bridge.
Arcole
On 16 August after the Castglione campaign, Schübirz was ordered to march two battalions of the Deutschmeister Infantry Regiment Nr. 4 and two squadrons of the Erdödy Hussar Regiment Nr. 11 to hold PontebbaPontebba
Pontebba is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located about 100 km northwest of Trieste and about 50 km north of Udine, on the border with Austria...
, a strategic point in northeastern Italy. The trek took two weeks but as soon as he arrived there, he was recalled to Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...
. This march took an additional two weeks, but by this time the Battle of Bassano
Battle of Bassano
The Battle of Bassano was fought on 8 September 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, in the territory of the Republic of Venice, between a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces led by Count Dagobert von Wurmser. The battle ended in a French victory...
was fought on 8 September.
In late October 1796, Schübirz commanded a brigade in the Friaul
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
Corps, which was accompanied by the army commander József Alvinczi. He was present in the Second Battle of Bassano
Second Battle of Bassano
In the Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, an Austrian army commanded by Jozsef Alvinczi repelled the attacks of Napoleon Bonaparte's French army. The engagement, which happened two months after the more famous Battle of Bassano, marked the first tactical defeat of Bonaparte's career and...
on 6 November, where his troops were called upon to reinforce Lipthay's roughly handled brigade near Fontaniva
Fontaniva
Fontaniva is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 50 km northwest of Venice and about 25 km northwest of Padua...
. The French suffered 3,000 killed, wounded, and missing, while 508 soldiers and one howitzer were captured. The victorious Austrians did not escape heavy losses. Quasdanovich's right wing at Bassano lost 1,633 men and two guns, while Provera's left wing at Fontaniva lost 1,190, including 208 killed, 873 wounded, and 109 captured.
At the Battle of Caldiero
Battle of Caldiero (1796)
In the Battle of Caldiero on 12 November 1796, a Habsburg Austrian army led by Jozsef Alvinczi fought a First French Republic army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. The French assaulted the Austrian positions, which were initially held by the army advance guard under Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of...
on 12 November, Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen held off Bonaparte's initial attacks. Schübirz brought up his brigade sometime after 3:00 PM, and together with other reinforcements, the Austrians repulsed the French and forced them back into Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. The Austrians inflicted 1,800 casualties on their enemies for a loss of about 1,300 men.
On the second day of the Battle of Arcole, Schübirz's brigade was sent to reinforce Mittrowsky at the village of Arcole
Arcole
Arcole , historicaslly also known as Arcola, is a comune with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole.-History:...
. The orders for the morning of 16 November were to attack the French and drive them into the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
River. At first, the attack met with success. But when the Austrian right wing gave way at Belfiore, the soldiers lost heart and fell back to Arcole. By holding both banks of the Alpone River in strength, Mittrowsky defeated all French attacks on the 16th. The following day saw bitter fighting and until 4:00 PM it looked as though the Austrians might prevail. But another collapse of Austrian resistance at Belfiore allowed Bonaparte to concentrate against Arcole and the village finally fell at 5:00 PM on the 17th. That evening, the French tried to cut the main east-west highway but, at Alvinczi's direction, Schübirz drove them back. This final action of the day allowed the Austrian right wing to get away.
Schübirz retired from the military in 1798 and died at Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
on 11 June 1801. Another source gives his retirement date as 1800.
External references
The following source provides the Bouvier citation listed above.This source traces the ancestry of Austrian cavalry regiments.
- Liste der Kavallerieregimenter der kaiserlich-habsburgischen Armee der Frühen Neuzeit