Ádám Récsey de Récse was born into a Transylvanian noble family in Sárd (today Șard, part of Ighiu in Romania) on 10 February 1775 to József Récsey and Erzsébet Kapronczai. He entered the Imperial Army as a cadet in 1789, and participated in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars against France. Inter alia, he fought in the battles of Dresden, Kulm and Leipzig in 1813. For his service and loyalty, he was created Baron by Emperor-King Francis I of Austria. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars, he was promoted to Colonel within the Imperial Army and was also awarded the highest order for Habsburg imperial soldiers, the Military Order of Maria Theresia. He was appointed commander of a brigade in Italy in 1820, holding the rank Major General. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1831 and became a Division Commander in the Italian Peninsula. In 1839, he was ordered to transfer to Galicia, commanding Austrian forces there. Récsey was promoted to "Feldzeugmeister" in 1846 and was appointed Vice-Captain of the Hungarian Noble Guard.