Eduard Clam-Gallas

Eduard Clam-Gallas
Clam-Gallas in 1849
Born	(1805-03-14)14 March 1805 Prague,Austrian Empire
Died	17 March 1891(1891-03-17)(aged 86) Vienna,Austria-Hungary
Allegiance	Austria
Years of service	1823–1866
Rank	General der Kavallerie
Unit	Cavalry
Commands held	1st Transylvanian Army Corps, 1st Bohemian Army Corps
Battles/wars	First Italian Independence War Battle of Santa Lucia Battle of Vicenza Battle of Custoza Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Battle of Segesvár Second Italian War of Independence Battle of Magenta Battle of Solferino Austro-Prussian War Battle of Podol Battle of Münchengrätz Battle of Gitschin
Awards	Military Order of Maria Theresa
Relations	Clothilde von Dietrichstein (1828–1899)
Other work	Member of theAulic Council

CountEduard Clam-Gallas(14 March 1805 – 17 March 1891) was anAustriangeneral. He was the eldest son of CountChristian Christoph Clam-Gallas(1771–1838), patron ofBeethoven,and Countess Josephine Clary-Aldringen (1777–1828).

Career

In 1823 Clam-Gallas joined the Army, at first as aRittmeister(Captain) of the 1st Cavalry Regiment in 1831, thenCommander(1835),Colonel(1840) and General inPrague(1846).

In 1848, called to Italy under the orders of GeneralJoseph Radetzky,he commanded a brigade which distinguished itself atSanta Lucia,Vicenzaand theBattle of Custoza.He was decorated with theMilitary Order of Maria Theresaand promoted to Field Marshal Lieutenant (equivalent of two-star general).

In April 1849 he became commander of theTransylvanianArmy Corpswhich needed to return to Turkey (7,000 infantry, 1,600 horse and 36 cannon). At the beginning of July he was moving into Hungary toHungarian:Brassó(nowRomanian:Braşov), to supportAlexander von Lüderson the right flank. In this month there were a few battles between Lüders,Józef Bemand Sándor Gál. During the Transylvanian summer campaign, Clam-Gallas was defeated by Bem, but after that was able to defeat Sándor Gál and his Székels Army. After occupyingSzékely Landhe joined Lüders and together they defeated Bem atSegesvár.

In 1850, he was head of the I Army Corps of Bohemia inVienna,and in theSecond Italian War of Independence(1859) took part in theBattle of Magentaand theBattle of Solferino.This army corps was one of the first to be repelled, but this failure had no personal consequences for Clam-Gallas, who was promoted toGeneral der Kavallerie.

In 1861 he was admitted to theAulic Councilbefore becoming, in 1865, ImperialHofmeister.

At the start of theAustro-Prussian WarClam-Gallas, still in command of I Corps, was given command of units (60,000 men) detached fromNorth Army,calledIser Armyand consisting out of his own I Corps, the retreatingRoyal Saxon Army Corps,the Austrian brigade evacuated out ofHolstein,and an Austrian light cavalry division. In the course of the War, he suffered defeats atPodol,MünchengrätzandJičín.After reuniting his force withNorth ArmyunderLudwig von Benedekhe reverted to command of I Corps. He was relieved of his command and replaced by CountLeopold Gondrecourtin the early morning of 3 July 1866 and thus took no part in the defeat of the Austrian main army atKöniggrätzthat day.

For his defeat at Jičín he wascourt-martialled,but he was acquitted because of his position in society. He spent his final years in retirement inFrýdlantandLiberecinBohemia(now theCzech Republic).

Family

In 1850 he married Clothilde von Dietrichstein (1828–1899), heiress ofPrince Joseph-Franz von Dietrichstein(1798-1858) and sister-in-law ofAlexander von Mensdorff-Pouilly,a senior minister of theAustrian Empireand a brother-in-arms during the Battle of Magenta. They had one son,Franzand two daughters,EduardineandClotilde.

Bibliography

• Hermann, Róbert (1999).The summer campaign.In: The Hungarian revolution and the War of independence.Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-88033-433-4.
• Wawro, Geoffrey (1997).The Austro-Prussian War. Austria's war with Prussia and Italy in 1866.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521629515.