Erzherzog Karl von Österreich

Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Joseph Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; (Archduke Charles in English) was born in Florence (Tuscany) on September 1771. He was the third son of  Emperor Leopold II, but was raised by his childless Aunt and her husband., in Florence, Vienna, and the Austrian Netherlands. This magnificent sculpt of Karl is from Foundry. 

At age 21 he commanded a brigade at the battle of Jamaopes (1792), was victorious at the battle of Neerwinden (1793) but defeated at the battles of Wattignies (1793) and Fleurus. As commander of all Austrian forces on the Rhine, in 1796 he prevailed over Jourdan at the battles of Amberg and Wurzburg, and defeated Moreau at Emmendingen that obliged his withdrawal across the Rhine. During 1799,  Karl defeated Massena at the 1st battle of Zurich, and Jourdan at the battles of Ostrach and Stokach, before being repulsed by Moreau at Messkirch. 

The Archduke first faced then General Bonaparte in 1797, when he managed the later stages of the withdrawal of the Austrians from the Italian theater. During the 1805 campaign, Karl commanded what was intended to be the main Habsburg army, and fought the French Army of Italy under Massena at the battle of Caldiero. It is debatable who won the battle tactically, but strategically the result was the withdrawal of Austrian forces. 

Were you to be introduced to Erzherzog Karl, you would properly address him as königliche und kaiserliche Hoheit (Royal and Imperial Highness).  Following the disastrous outcome of the 1805 campaign, Karl, who already held the the rank of  Feldmarchal, was appointed supreme commander of the Habsburg forces in 1806, and directed the reform of the Army. His exploits during the 1809 campaign are likely too well know to readers of the blog to be worth repeating here, but thereafter he effectively retired from military life (and later, finally married in 1815, having 4 sons and 2 daughters, in the Habsburg tradition of fertility!) .

Portrait of  Archduke Charles, by Thomas Lawrence, in the public domain (from Wikipedia). 

Karl died in Vienna in 1847.

The famous equestrian statue of Karl at the battle of Aspern-Essling, located in the Heldenplatz (Heroes Square) , in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, by Anton Dominick Ritter von Fernkorn.  Karl is reputed to have scoffed at the design, saying "I am quite a small fellow, you know, and those colors are very heavy!" Photo by Brücke-Osteuropa - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25847022