Friedrich Joseph , Count of Nauendorf Friedrich Joseph of Nauendorf , a general and field marshal in Habsburg service during the French Revolutionary Wars , was noted for his intrepid and daring raids . Like most Austrian generals of the French Revolutionary Wars , he joined the military as a young man , and served in the War of Bavarian Succession , in which he took part in its first action by successfully repelling a Prussian border raid , which earned him the admiration of the Empress Maria Theresa ' s son , Joseph . His continued success in the Habsburg Border wars with the Ottoman Empire added to his reputation as a commander . In the Wars of the First and Second Coalitions , his forces were vital to the successful relief of Mainz , and his commands captured the French siege train and most of the supplies during the French evacuation . In the campaigns in Swabia ( 1799 ) , he commanded the advanced guard , and later the center of the main column at the Battle of Stockach on 25 March 1799 . At the First Battle of Zürich in 1799 , he commanded the right wing in the Austrian victory of André Massena ' s force . After the Swabian and Swiss campaigns , he retired in poor health , and died in 1801 . Early career . Born in the village of Heilsdorf , in the Saxon Vogtland , 3 August 1749 , Nauendorf came from a family of minor Saxon aristocracy and Prussian state administrators . His grandfather was a states ’ attorney in Jena . His father , Freiherr ( Baron ) Carl Georg Christian Nauendorf , was a cavalry officer in Habsburg military service in the Seven Years ' War , and was present at the Battle of Kolín . He was also part of Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon ' s army on 30 September – 1 October 1761 , when Laudon led the force in the storming of Schweidnitz . Nauendorf joined the 8th Hussar Regiment in 1763 . In 1766 , his father became Colonel and Proprietor ( Inhaber ) of the regiment ; upon his father ' s death in 1775 , Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser became Colonel and Inhaber , and the Regiment became known as 8th Hussar " Wurmser " , or " Wurmser ' s Hussars . " War in Bohemia and Silesia . In 1778 , Nauendorf was a " Rittmeister " ( captain of cavalry ) of the " Wurmser " Hussar Regiment , and stationed near the border of Bohemia and Prussia , by Pressburg , the regiment ' s peace - time garrison . At the end of the year , the Duke of Bavaria , Maximilian III Joseph , Elector of Bavaria , died unexpectedly of smallpox . As the last of the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty , descended from 13th century Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Bavarian , Maximilian was related to most of the German houses , and Bavaria was strategically located to entice the Habsburgs , chiefly Archduke and co - Regent Joseph , to covet the duchy . Tensions rose between and among the princes of the German states , principally Elector of Saxony , King of Prussia , and Joseph ; their diplomats shuttled between courts to resolve problems raised by the Bavarian Succession crisis , while Frederick II of Prussia , Frederick August of Saxony and Joseph of Austria moved their extensive armies into position in Bohemia . In early July 1778 , the Prussian General Johann Jakob von Wunsch ( 1717 – 1788 ) crossed into Bohemia near the fortified town of Náchod , in the opening action of the War of the Bavarian Succession . Nauendorf had only 50 Hussars , but they sallied from their garrison to engage the larger Prussian force . Encountering Wunsch , Nauendorf greeted the old Prussian general and his men as friends ; by the time the Prussians realized the allegiance of the Hussars , Nauendorf and his small force had acquired the strategic advantage . Following a brief skirmish , Wunsch withdrew . The next day Nauendorf was promoted to major . ) . In a letter to her son , Joseph , the Empress Maria Theresa wrote : " They say you are so pleased with the rookie Nauendorf , the Carlstätter or Hungarian who killed seven men , that you gave him 12 ducats . " Enamored with the possibility of acquiring Bavaria , Joseph encouraged successful raids against the Prussian troops . On 7 August 1778 , with two squadrons of his regiment , Nauendorf led a raid against a Prussian convoy at Biebersdorf in the County of Kladsko . The surprised convoy surrendered , and Nauendorf captured its officers , 110 men , 476 horses , 240 wagons of flour , and 13 transport wagons . In another raid , on 17 – 18 January 1779 , Nauendorf ' s commander , Dagoburt von Wurmser advanced into the County of Glatz in five columns , surrounded Habelschwerdt , stormed the village . In a subsequent assault on the so - called Swedish blockhouse in Oberschwedeldorf ( now Szalejów Górny ) , it and the village of Habelschwerdt were set on fire by howitzers . In total , the raid resulted in the capture of Prince Adolf of Hesse - Philippsthal and over 1 , 000 men , three cannon and ten colors . Wurmser ' s forward patrols reached the outskirts of Glatz , and patrolled much of Silesia ' s border with Prussia , near Schweidnitz . Halberschwerdt and Oberschedeldorf were both destroyed . On 3 March 1779 , Nauendorf raided the Berbersdorf again , this time with a larger force of infantry and hussars , and took the entire Prussian garrison as prisoner . Following this action , Joseph , now Emperor , awarded him the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa ( 19 May 1779 ) . This kind of action characterized the entire war ; there were no major battles . The armies of the opposing sides conducted series of raids and counter - raids from which they lived off the country - side and tried to deny each other access to supplies and fodder . Action in the border war . Nauendorf served with the Habsburg forces during the Ottoman wars from 1787 to 1791 . On 19 – 20 October 1788 , near Tomaševac ( present day Serbia ) , Nauendorf routed 1 , 200 of the elite Sipahis with two squadrons of hussars . On 23 October 1788 , with only six squadrons of hussars , he attacked the Turkish rearguard in the village of Pančevo , in the Banat , during which the Turkish commander was mortally wounded . On 16 September 1789 , he led the successful raid on the island of Borecs in the Danube , which garnered greatly needed supplies from the Turkish forces . On 9 November of that year , he led four squadrons of his regiment to capture Gladova , from the so - called Iron Gate of the Danube . Nauendorf was awarded command of 30th Hussar Regiment " Wurmser " , as the so - called second colonel , who functioned as an executive officer . On 12 March 1779 , Joseph elevated Nauendorf to the rank of Count , or " Graf " . Austrian action on the Rhine . In 1792 , Nauendorf ' s regiment served on the lower ( northern ) Rhine river and at Trier on the Moselle river in the French Revolutionary Wars . In December of that year , his regiment successfully defended Pellingen , Merzkirchen and Oberleuken from the attacks of General of Division La Baroliére ' s Army of the Moselle . In 1795 , Nauendorf served in Field Marshal Charles Joseph de Croix , Count of Clerfayt ’ s Army of the Lower Rhine , which relieved Mainz . On 13 October , he commanded part of Count Clerfayt ' s Corps of Observation , totaling close to 8 , 000 men . On 10 October , a portion of the Corps of Observation had surprised the French at Hochst ; Jourdan was withdrawing his force from the blockade of Mainz . Nauendorf ' s cavalry swam across the Main River and the infantry followed in boats ; they surprised and overwhelmed Jourdan ' s rear guard at Niederhausen , capturing five guns , 30 + wagons and 80 ammunition caissons . On 29 October , Nauendorf captured most of the French siege train and supply wagons evacuated from Mainz . Finally , in that year on 6 November , his victory at Rochenhausen prevented the unification of the French armies of the Rhin - et - Moselle and the Sambre - et - Meuse . During the maneuvers leading to the Battle of Amberg on 24 August 1796 , Nauendorf ' s cavalry reconnaissance discovered crucial intelligence , after which he sent Archduke Charles the message : " If your Royal Highness will or can advance 12 , 000 men against Jourdan ' s rear , he is lost . " After the Austrian victory at Amberg , Nauendorf prevented General Jean - Victor Moreau ' s attempted Danube crossing at Neuburg and thwarted Moreau ' s next attempt to flank the Austrians by passing through Ulm . Action in Switzerland and Swabia . When the War of the Second Coalition began in early 1799 , Nauendorf fought in the Austrian victories at Ostrach ( 21 March ) and then at Stockach ( 25 March ) . In early March he led the Advanced Guard of 17 , 000 across the Lech River by Augsburg , to deploy at Ostrach , a village about of the Danube River , and less than from the Free Imperial City of Pfullendorf . Jourdan ' s Army of the Danube had crossed the Rhine on 1 March , and moved east to cut communication between the main Austrian force , quartered near Augsburg , and the Austrian troops in northern Italy . At Ostrach , his Advanced Guard sustained the immediate shock of contact , but the main force of the army was less than a day behind him , and Archduke Charles , the commander of the Austrian force , divided his army into three assault columns to make a simultaneous attack at three points on the French line ; after a day of nasty fighting , the Austrians flanked the French at the north and south , and threatened to break through the line in the middle . The French withdrew to Mösskirch , and then to Engen and Stockach , where , on 25 March , the fighting renewed . At Stockach , Nauendorf again commanded the Austrian advanced guard , which was composed of troops seasoned , as he had been , in the Habsburg border wars . The advanced guard , or " Vorhut " , was redeployed before the battle as the center of the main Austrian line , and took the brunt of the initial fighting . After the French retreat from the Hegau into the Black Forest , Nauendorf took his force across the Rhine between Constance and Stein am Rhein on 22 May , and positioned himself at Steinegg . After Friedrich , Freiherr von Hotze ' s column successfully pushed the French out of Winterthur on 26 May , Archduke Charles instructed Nauendorf to secure the village of Neftenbach , which effectively closed a semicircle around the French force at Zürich . Once the Austrian main army united with its left wing , under Nauendorf , and its far left , under Hotze , Charles ordered the assault on Zürich . On 4 June , Nauendorf helped to rout the French force at Battle of Zürich , commanding the Coalition ' s right wing ; with sustained pressure on Andre Massena ' s force , Massena pulled his army across the Limmat river , and dug into positions on the low ring of hills there , biding his time until the propitious moment to retake the city , which he did in September , 1799 , at the Second Battle of Zürich ; Nauendorf was not present for this action , being with Archduke Charles on a march north , toward Mainz . In 1800 , Nauendorf fought in the Austrian losses at Stockach and Engen on 3 May , Mösskirch on 5 May , and Biberach on 9 May . Nauendorf retired in poor health at the end of the 1800 campaign . He died in Troppau , Austrian Silesia ( today Opava , in the Czech Republic ) , 30 December 1801 .