Franz von Werneck Franz Freiherr von Werneck , born 13 October 1748 – died 17 January 1806 , enlisted in the army of Habsburg Austria and fought in the Austro - Turkish War , the French Revolutionary Wars , and the Napoleonic Wars . He enjoyed a distinguished career until 1797 , when he lost a battle and was dismissed as punishment . He was only reinstated in 1805 . In that year he surrendered his command and was later brought up on charges . He died while awaiting a court - martial . Early career . Born in the Württemberg royal residence on 13 October 1748 , Werneck entered the service of Habsburg Austria in 1764 as an Oberleutnant in the " Weid - Runkel " Infantry Regiment # 28 . Shortly afterward , he transferred to the " Stain " Infantry Regiment # 50 as a Hauptmann ( captain ) . After 20 years of service in the regiment he became its Oberst ( colonel ) in 1784 . During the war with Ottoman Turkey , he led his troops in the first of several actions at Slatina - Timiş on 13 September 1788 , where he captured a hill . The following year he fought at Mehadia . Werneck made his reputation on 30 September 1789 while leading the 1st Assault Column at the Siege of Belgrade . On this occasion his command included a battalion of the " Stain " Regiment , a battalion of grenadiers , and a company of volunteers . On 9 October after the siege was successfully concluded , Francis II , Holy Roman Emperor appointed him General - Major . On 19 December 1790 , he was decorated with the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . French Revolutionary Wars . After the outbreak of the War of the First Coalition , Werneck led a contingent of grenadiers with distinction at the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792 . In December 1792 , Pierre de Ruel , marquis de Beurnonville led 20 , 000 French troops to overrun the Electorate of Trier . He was opposed by a force commanded by Friedrich Wilhelm , Fürst zu Hohenlohe - Kirchberg . The defenders were surrounded by 4 December , but thereafter they repelled repeated French attacks . In this stage of the fighting , Werneck commanded the Reserve at Grevenmacher which included single battalions of the " Matheson " Infantry Regiment # 42 and " Murray " Infantry Regiment # 55 , plus two squadrons of the " Latour " Chevau - léger Regiment # 31 . By 17 December , the French effort collapsed and Beurnonville ' s army melted away . Werneck was present at Aldenhoven on 1 March 1793 where Henri Christian Michel de Stengel ' s column was defeated by two Austrian cavalry regiments . He fought in the Battle of Neerwinden on 18 March . He served at the successful Siege of Valenciennes from 25 May to 27 July and at the failed Siege of Dunkirk from 24 August to 8 September . He led a brigade in József Alvinczi ' s Reserve at the Battle of Le Cateau on 29 March 1794 . Promoted to Feldmarschallleutnant on 28 May , he served in the army of William V , Prince of Orange . In 1795 he led troops in François Sébastien de Croix de Clerfayt ' s army on the middle Rhine . The actions included the Battle of Mainz on 29 October , where he led the Reserve , and Pfeddersheim on 16 November . In 1796 Werneck served in Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen ' s brilliant campaign in Germany . At the Battle of Würzburg on 3 September , he led a division of 12 grenadier battalions in Wilhelm von Wartensleben ' s Reserve . His brigade commanders were Johann Kollowrat , Joseph von Schellenberg , and Ludwig von Vogelsang . On 18 September he was awarded the Commander ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . When Charles took troops to join Maximilian Anton Karl , Count Baillet de Latour , Werneck was left in command of the independent Army of the Lower Rhine beginning in September . His position remained unmolested by the French during the winter . On 18 April , Lazare Hoche and 38 , 000 French troops from the Army of Sambre - et - Meuse caught Werneck ' s 21 , 000 Austrians by surprise in the Battle of Neuwied . After heavy fighting , his soldiers were driven from the field with losses of 1 , 000 killed and wounded , plus 3 , 000 captured . In addition , 24 artillery pieces , 60 wagons , and five colors became trophies of the French . Total French losses were 2 , 000 . On 17 April , when Jean Etienne Championnet ' s division threatened Werneck ' s right wing , the Austrian general weakened his left under Pál Kray in order to bolster his right . When the divisions of Paul Grenier and François Joseph Lefebvre began crossing the Rhine at 3 : 00 AM , Werneck hurriedly ordered Kray ' s troops back to defend his left . Lefebvre defeated the Austrian left flank , while Grenier broke through Kray ' s line of redoubts at Heddersdorf after repeated assaults . Hoche ' s offensive forced the Austrians into a deep withdrawal which ended only with news of the Treaty of Leoben . After the defeat , Werneck was placed in retirement on half - pay . Napoleonic Wars . At the start of the War of the Third Coalition in 1805 , Werneck was reactivated and appointed to the army in Germany . Despite some attempts at reform , the Austrian army remained wedded to 18th century concepts of warfare . The army ' s brigades and divisions were only semi - permanent units , and corps - sized formations were organized on an ad hoc basis . There were no corps and division staffs such as existed in the French army , which had permanent brigades , divisions , and corps . The French armies had won notable victories in 1800 , but under Emperor Napoleon I of France they were even more powerful and effective in 1805 . To Austria ' s greater disadvantage , the nominal army commander , Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria - Este was at odds with his deputy , Karl Mack von Lieberich . The archduke and Mack ' s chief of staff Anton Mayer von Heldensfeld wanted to halt at the Lech River as originally planned , while Mack desired to keep marching to the Iller River at Ulm . After Emperor Francis I of Austria upheld Mack and sacked Mayer , the Austrian army began concentrating on the Iller . The flanks were held by Franz Jellacic ' s 11 , 000 troops near Lake Constance and Michael von Kienmayer ' s 12 , 000 men at Ingolstadt on the Danube . While Jean Lannes ' s V Corps and Joachim Murat ' s Cavalry Corps moved directly east on Ulm , the rest of Napoleon ' s army swept past Ulm on the north bank of the Danube . Crossing the river to the east of the Austrians , the French I , II , III , IV , and VI Corps got between Ulm and Vienna . Austrian defeats at Wertingen and Günzburg followed on 8 and 9 October . A breakout attempt failed on 11 October at the Battle of Haslach - Jungingen . Finally , on 13 October , Mack ordered Werneck to march his corps northeast from Ulm in order to escape from the trap . His south flank was covered by Johann Sigismund Riesch ' s corps which held Elchingen . Archduke Ferdinand fled from Ulm with some cavalry . Michel Ney ' s VI Corps smashed Riesch on 14 October in the Battle of Elchingen and forced the survivors to retreat to Ulm . Murat set out in pursuit of Werneck . On 16 October , there was a clash between Ney ' s cavalry and Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern - Hechingen ' s division at Langenau . Murat caught a 5 , 000 - man brigade under Rudolf Sinzendorf at Herbrechtingen on 17 October and wiped out half of it . On the same day , Ferdinand ' s cavalry fought off the French cavalry at Nordlingen and there was another clash with Werneck ' s troops at Neresheim . Murat and Ney with 28 , 000 troops cornered their adversary at Treuchtlingen on 19 October . On that day Werneck capitulated with 15 , 000 troops , 28 guns , 12 colors , two standards , and four generals . Murat demanded that the terms include nearby Austrian units and Werneck accepted . Because of this the artillery reserve also surrendered . Hohenzollern refused to join in the capitulation and got away with 10 squadrons of cavalry . Ferdinand also managed to escape to Bohemia with Karl Philipp , Prince of Schwarzenberg and 12 squadrons of horsemen . On 20 October Mack surrendered at Ulm with 20 , 000 infantry , over 3 , 000 cavalry , and 59 guns . For his surrender , charges were brought against Werneck . On 17 January 1806 , he died of a stroke while awaiting court - martial at the fortress town of Hradec Králové ( Königgrätz ) . Family . Werneck ' s son Reinhard von Werneck briefly joined the Austrian military before transferring to the army of the Electorate of Bavaria . In between his military duties , he became noted as a gardener .