Archduke Friedrich , Duke of Teschen Archduke Friedrich , Duke of Teschen ( Friedrich Maria Albrecht Wilhelm Karl ; 4 June 1856 – 30 December 1936 ) was a member of the House of Habsburg and the Supreme Commander of the Austro - Hungarian Army during World War I . Early life . Friedrich was born at the castle Gross - Seelowitz ( now Židlochovice , near Brno in Moravia ) the son of Karl Ferdinand , Archduke of Austria and his wife Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria . Amongst his siblings were Queen Maria Theresia of Bavaria , Queen Maria Cristina of Spain , Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria , and Archduke Eugen of Austria . When Friedrich ' s uncle Archduke Albert , Duke of Teschen died in 1895 , he and his brothers each inherited large estates . Friedrich owned properties at Ungarisch - Altenburg ( now Mosonmagyaróvár in Hungary ) , Belleje , Saybusch ( now Żywiec in Poland ) , Seelowitz ( now Židlochovice ) and Frýdek in the Czech Republic , and Pressburg ( now Bratislava in Slovakia ) . His Vienna residence , the Palais - Albrecht , housed the Albertina art collection which he owned . Marriage . On 8 October 1878 Friedrich married at Château L ' Hermitage in Belgium , Princess Isabella of Croÿ ( 1856 – 1931 ) , daughter of Rudolf , Duke of Croÿ , and his wife Princess Natalie of Ligne . They had nine children together . Military career . Like most of the princes of the ruling house , Friedrich adopted a military career , and served creditably for many years as commandant of the V . ( Pressburg ) Corps . Subsequently commander - in - chief of the Austrian Landwehr ( militia ) and army inspector , he became , after the murder of the heir to the throne , Archduke Franz Ferdinand , inspector - general of the Austro - Hungarian Army . In World War I , he was from the dynastic point of view as grandson of the victor of Aspern , Archduke Charles , and as nephew of the victor of Custoza , Archduke Albert , the predestined head of the armed forces of Austria - Hungary ; and on 11 July 1914 Friedrich was appointed supreme commander of the Austro - Hungarian Army by Emperor Franz Joseph I . He thought it his duty to accept this heavy responsibility , but , modestly estimating his own powers , left the actual exercise of the command to his chief - of - staff , Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf . In the performance of ceremonial duties , and as mediator for the settlement of the conflicting demands of the military , civil and allied elements , his services were undeniable . He was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall on 8 December 1914 . In the spring of 1917 Emperor Charles himself took over the supreme command ; the Archduke , although the Emperor ' s representative , no longer appeared in the foreground . Friedrich remained supreme commander until February 1917 when Emperor Charles I decided to take the office himself . Retirement and death . After World War I the governments of Austria and Czechoslovakia confiscated all of Friedrich ' s properties within their borders . These included his palace in Vienna and his art collection . He retained his properties in Hungary however . In 1929 he won a court case requiring compensation from the Czechoslovak government . Friedrich died at Ungarisch - Altenburg ( Magyaróvár , now Mosonmagyaróvár ) in 1936 . His death was the biggest royal event for Hungary since the coronation of King Karl in 1916 . The funeral and burial in the Pfarrkirche in Mosonmagyaróvár was attended by his nephew , the exiled King of Spain ; by numerous archdukes ; by all the surviving Austro - Hungarian field marshals ; by personal representatives of Hitler ; by members of the House of Savoy ; by the diplomatic corps ; by a son of exiled German Kaiser Wilhelm ; by representatives of the governments of Germany , Italy and Austria , and by Hungary ' s Regent , Miklós Horthy and his wife . There were members of the Hungarian government and delegates of the German and Austrian in attendance as well . Entire battalions of the Hungarian army were present to pay their last respects to their former Supreme Commander .