Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon (or Loudon) (February 2, 1717 in Tootzen, Livonia, now Tootsi, Estonia – July 14, 1790 in Nový Jičín, now Czech Republic) was Austrian field marshal. February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... // Events January 4 — The Netherlands, Britain & France sign Triple Alliance February 26-March 6 What is now the northeastern United States was paralyzed by a series of blizzards that buried the region. ... Livonia (Latvian: Livonija; Estonian: Liivimaa; German: Livland; Polish: Inflanty; Russian: Лифляндия or Liflandiya) once was the land of the Finnic Livonians, but came in the Middle Ages to designate a much broader territory controlled by the Livonian Order on the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea in present-day Latvia and... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Location of Nový Jičín in the Czech Republic Nový Jičín is a city in Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. ... Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ...

His family, of Scottish origin, had been settled in that country since before 1400. His father was a lieutenant-colonel, retired on a meagre pension from the Swedish service, and the boy was sent in 1732 into the Russian army as a cadet. He took part in Field Marshal Mannich's siege of Gdańsk in 1734, in the march of a Russian corps to the Rhine in 1735 and in the Turkish war 1738-1739. Events February 23 - First performance of Handels Orlando, in London June 9 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia. ... For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see Gdansk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation) Motto: Nec temere, nec timide (Neither rashly nor timidly) Voivodship Pomeranian Municipal government Rada miasta Gdańska Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Area 262 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 461 400 (2003) Ranked 6th 1 035 000 1761/km² Founded...

Dissatisfied with his prospects he resigned in 1741 and sought military employment elsewhere. He applied first to Frederick the Great, who declined his services. At Vienna he had better fortune, being made a captain in Trenck's free corps. He took part in its forays and' marches, though not in its atrocities, until wounded and taken prisoner in Alsace. He was shortly released by the advance of the main Austrian army. Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... Franz, Freiherr von der Trenck (January 1, 1711 - October 4, 1749), Austrian soldier, was born into a military family. ... Capital Strasbourg Land area¹ 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Population  - Jan. ...

His next active service, still under Trenck, was in the Silesian mountains in 1745, in which campaign he greatly distinguished himself as a leader of light troops. He was present also at Soor. He retired shortly afterwards, owing to his distaste for the lawless habits of his comrades in the irregulars, and after long waiting in poverty for a regular commission he was at last made a captain in one of the frontier regiments, spending the next ten years in half-military, half-administrative work in the Carlstadt district. At Bunich, where he was stationed, he built a church and planted an oak forest now called by his name. He had reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel when the outbreak of the Seven Years' War called him again into the field. From this point began his fame as a soldier. Soon promoted colonel, he distinguished himself repeatedly and was in 1757 made a General-feldwacht-meister (major-general of cavalry) and a knight of the newly founded order of Maria Theresa. // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected... Map highlighting Carlstadts location within Bergen County. ... The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... This page is about Maria Theresa of Austria (often known as Empress Maria Theresa), ruler of the Habsburg Empire from 1740-1780. ...

In the campaign of 1758 came his first opportunity for fighting an action as a commander-in-chief, and he used it so well that Frederick the Great was obliged to give up the siege of Olomouc and retire into Bohemia (action of Darmstadt, June 30). He was rewarded with the grade of lieutenant-field-marshal and having again shown himself an active and daring commander in the campaign of Hochkirch, he was created a Freiherr ‘in the Austrian nobility by Maria Theresa and in the peerage of the Holy Roman Empire by her husband the emperor Francis. Maria Theresa gave him, further, the grand cross of the order she had founded and an estate near Kutná Hora in Bohemia. 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... town hall with astronomical clock Olomouc (German Olmütz) is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. ... Map of Germany showing Darmstadt Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland (federal state) of Hesse in Germany. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining, and the last day of June. ... The battle of Hochkirch was a battle fought on October 14, 1758 during the Seven Years War. ... Freiherr (German for Free Lord) is a title of lower nobility in Germany, the Baltic states and Austria-Hungary, considered equal to the title Baron. ... Kutná Hora   listen? (German: Kuttenberg, Hory Kutné in medieval Czech) is a city in the Czech Republic, in Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia. ...

He was placed in command of the Austrian contingent sent to join the Russians on the Oder. At Kunersdorf he turned defeat into a brilliant victory, and was promoted Feldzeugmeister and made commander-in-chief in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. In 1760 he destroyed a whole corps of Frederick's army under Fouqué at Landshut and stormed the important fortress of Glatz. In 1760 he sustained a reverse at Frederick's hands in the battle of Liegnitz (August 15, 1760), which action led to bitter controversy with Daun and Lacy, the commanders of the main army, who, Laudon claimed, had left his corps unsupported. In 1761 he operated, as usual, in Silesia, but he found his Russian allies as timid as they bad been after Kunersdorf, and all attempts against Frederick's entrenched camp of Bunzelwitz failed. He brilliantly seized his one fleeting opportunity, however, and stormed Schweidnitz on the night of September 30/October 1, 1761. His tireless activity continued to the end of the war, in conspicuous contrast with the temporizing strategy of Daun and Lacy. The student of the later campaigns of the Seven Years' War will probably admit that there was need of more aggressiveness than Daun displayed, and of more caution than suited Laudon's genius. But neither recognized this, and the last three years of the war are marked by an ever-increasing friction between the "Fabius" and the "Marcellus," as they were called, of the Austrian army. The battle of Kunersdorf was fought on August 23, 1759 during the Seven Years War near Kunersdorf, east of Frankfurt an der Oder. ... 1760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... There is also a Landshut in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, see Landshut, Switzerland. ... Motto: none Voivodship Lower Silesian Municipal government Rada Miejska w Kłodzku Mayor Roman Lipski Area 25 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 30. ... Two military engagements are known as the Battle of Liegnitz: The Battle of Legnica (1241) was a battle in the Mongol invasion of Europe The Battle of Liegnitz (1760) was a battle in the Seven Years War This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Świdnica (German Schweidnitz) is a town in southwestern Poland. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 92 days remaining. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Fürst von Thiano (Count Leopold Josef von Daun or Dhaun) (September 24, 1705 – February 5, 1766), Prince of Thiano, Austrian field marshal, was born at Vienna. ... Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy (also written Lascy) (en: Count Franz Moritz von Lacy), (October 21, 1725–November 24, 1801), Austrian field marshal, was born at St Petersburg. ... The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ...

After the peace, therefore, when Daun became the virtual commander-in-chief of the army, Laudon fell into the background. Offers were made, by Frederick the Great amongst others, to induce Laudon to transfer his services elsewhere. Laudon did not entertain these proposals, although negotiations went on for some years, and on Lacy succeeding Daun as president of the council of war Laudon was made inspector-general of infantry. Dissensions, however, continued between Laudon and Lacy, and on the accession of Joseph II, who was intimate with his rival, Laudon retired to his estate near Kutná Hora. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. ... Kutná Hora   listen? (German: Kuttenberg, Hory Kutné in medieval Czech) is a city in the Czech Republic, in Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia. ...

Maria Theresa and Kaunitz caused him, however, to be made commander-in-chief in Bohemia and Moravia in 1769. This post he held for three years, and at the end of this time, contemplating retirement from the service, he settled again on his estate. Maria Theresa once more persuaded him to remain in the army, and, as his estate had diminished in value owing to agrarian troubles in Bohemia, she repurchased it from him (1776) On generous terms. Laudon then settled at Hadersdorf near Vienna, and shortly afterwards was made a field-marshal. Of this Carlyle (Frederick the Great) records that when Frederick the Great met Laudon in 1776 he deliberately addressed him in the emperor's presence as "Herr Feldmarschall." But the hint was not taken until February 1778. Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz (Count Anton von Kaunitz), (Václav Antonín hrabě Kounic-Rietberg) (February 2, 1711 - June 27, 1794), born into old Bohemian noble family settled in Moravia, was an Austrian statesman. ... Bohemia For the place in the USA, see Bohemia, New York. ... Moravia in relation to the current kraje of the Czech Republic Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava, German: Mähren, Polish: Morawy, Hungarian: Morvaország) is an historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The most familiar view of Carlyle is as the bearded sage with a penetrating gaze. ...

In 1778 came the War of the Bavarian Succession. Joseph and Lacy were now reconciled to Laudon and Laudon and Lacy commanded the two armies in the field. On this occasion, however, Laudon seems to have in a measure fallen below his reputation, while Lacy, who was opposed to Frederick's own army, earned new laurels. For two years after this Laudon lived quietly at Hadersdorf, and then the reverses of other generals in the Turkish War called him for the last time into the field. Though old and broken in health, he was commander-in-chief in fact as well as in name, and he won a last brilliant success by capturing Belgrade in three weeks, 1789. He died within the year, at Nový Jičín (Neu-Titschein) in Moravia, still on duty. His last appointment was that of commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Austria, which had been created for him by the new emperor Leopold. Laudon was buried in the grounds of Hadersdorf. Eight years before his death the emperor Joseph had caused a marble bust of this great soldier to be placed in the chamber of the council of war. 1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The War of the Bavarian Succession was a war that occurred in 1778 and 1779. ... Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II Leopold II (born Peter Leopold Joseph) (Vienna, May 5, 1747 – Vienna, March 1, 1792) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1790 to 1792 and Grand-duke of Tuscany. ...

His son Johann Ludwig Alexius Freiherr von Laudon (1762-1822) fought in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with credit, and rose to the rank of lieutenant-field-marshal. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ... The Napoleonic Wars was a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule of France. ...

Notes

• Note regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, equal to the title Baron, not a first or middle name.

See memoir by von Arneth in Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, s.v. "Laudon," and life by GB Malleson. Freiherr (German for Free Lord) is a title of lower nobility in Germany, the Baltic states and Austria-Hungary, considered equal to the title Baron. ... Alfred Ritter von Arneth ( July 10, 1819 - July 30, 1897), Austrian historian, born at Vienna, was the son of Joseph Calasanza von Arneth (1791-1863), a well-known historian and archaeologist, who wrote a history of the Austrian Empire (Vienna, 1827) and several works on numismatics. ... George Bruce Malleson (May 8, 1825 - March 1, 1898), English officer in India and author, was born at Wimbledon. ...

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.