Friday, December 21, 2018

Tiroler Landsturm #5, Freiherr Luis Donnerstag


These Landsturm lead by Luis Donnerstag wear dark grey coats, green pants, and brown hats.


Some on line searching found some additional English language accounts of the War in the Tyrol that are out of copyright, and similarly romantic to Morris, whose account is not yet concluded. 


From: James Connolly, Insurrection in the Tyrol (1915)


After the total defeat of the Austrians and the capture of Vienna by Napoleon, the city of Innsbruck was retaken by a French army of 30,000 men. Hofer was summoned by the French General to appear at Innsbruck. He replied stating that he “would come but it would be attended by 10,000 sharpshooters.”


At first the peasantry had been so discouraged by their abandonment by the Austrians that a great number of them bad gone to their homes, but at the earnest solicitation of their leaders they again rallied, and hostilities re-opened on August 4th.

A column of French and Bavarians were crossing the bridge at Laditch where the high road from Balsano to the capital crosses the river Eisach. The Tyrolese under Haspinger occupied the overhanging woods, and when the troops were well in the defile they rained bullets and rocks upon them without showing themselves. Men were falling at every step, and the crushing rocks tore lanes through the ranks. 


The soldiers pressed on until the narrowest point of the defile was reached when a sudden silence fell upon the mountain side. Awestruck, the column involuntarily halted, and amid the silence a voice rang out –

“Shall I? Shall I? Stephen.”
and another answered –
“Not yet, not yet.”

Recovering, the troops resumed their march in silence and apprehension, and then as they wound deeper into the path the second voice again rang out –

“Now, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, cut loose.” And at the word, a hinge platform of tree trunks, upon which tons of rocks had been collected, was suddenly cut loose, and the whole mass descended like an avalanche upon the soldiery, sweeping whole companies away and leaving a trail of mangled bodies behind it. Despite this terrible catastrophe the column pushed its way on towards the bridge, only to find it in flames, and a raging torrent barring their further progress. They retreated to their starting point harassed all the way by the invisible enemy and with a loss of 1,200 men.

19 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks, Jon. It would make a pretty good movie, eh?

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    2. Yes, it would make a very good movie especially if the story continues with the betrayal, capture, trial, and execution of Hofer in1810.

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    3. There is a movie of sorts, but it really doesn't focus on the larger events. "The Holy Land of Tyrol"
      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1381407/

      More of a historical drama is: 1809 Andreas Hofer - Die Freiheit des Adlers (2002); filmed in Austria/Tyrol in German only
      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303586/

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  2. The stories alone are worth coming back for. Excellent work overall on this entire venture.

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    1. Thanks, Jake. Found yet another romanticized book, "The Tyrolese Patriots", online digitized version. I am up to page 75 out of 425.

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  3. A beautiful and dangerous unit, enjoyed the history...and the paint job!

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  4. Another fine unit, and exciting instalment. You’ll need a few hills when you recreate all this on the table.

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    1. Thank you Lawrence, and yes, indeed, I will! More on that another day...

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  5. Now that's something really different! Great unit and a very interesting post. Enjoyed it a lot.

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    1. The Tyrol itself was unique, and so was the warfare that took place there in 1809. Although the French were the origin of it, most of the fighting was done by the Bavarians and other troops of the Confederation of the Rhine.

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  6. Louie Thursday? I love it. Keep it up! (Merry Christmas as well!)

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    1. Thank you, John, and a very Merry Christmas to you as well!

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  7. Another fine unit of patriotic and stoic Tyroleans!

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  8. Hmmm, you're gonna need a lot of rocks and twigs for the table.

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    Replies
    1. Yes indeed, Joe. Being New England, both are in abundant supply in the back yard!

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  9. More great looking insurgents and entertaining history!
    Best Iain

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