Ludwig von Benedek Ludwig August Ritter von Benedek ( 14 July 1804 – 27 April 1881 ) , also known as Lajos Benedek , was an Austrian general ( Feldzeugmeister ) of Hungarian descent , best known for commanding the imperial army in 1866 in the Battle of Königgrätz against the Prussian Army . Early life . Early years . Benedek was born in Sopron as the son of a physician . He was trained at the Theresiana Military Academy in Vienna , from which he graduated seventh in his class . In 1822 , he was assigned to the 27th infantry regiment of the Austrian Imperial Army . He was made a First Lieutenant in 1833 , and was assigned to the Quartermaster - General . In 1835 , he was promoted to the rank of Captain . In 1840 Benedek was made a Major and aide to the General Commander of Galicia . While still serving in Galicia he was again promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel in 1843 . For suppressing an uprising in the town of Gdow in 1846 he was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Order of Leopold as well as given the rank of Colonel . Commander in Italy . In August 1847 , Benedek was entrusted with the command of the 33rd infantry regiment in Italy . On 5 April 1848 he took over the command of a newly formed brigade that consisted of two battalions . This brigade saw battle in the first Italian war of independence several times , notably at Curtatone in 1848 . The following day , Benedek led his troops in the Battle of Goito . Benedek was afterwards awarded the Commanders ' Cross of the Order of Leopold , and the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . This officially made Benedek a knight ( hence Ludwig , Ritter von Benedek ) . On April 3 , 1849 , he became Major General and was appointed to the staff of the Chief of Quartermaster - General with the 2nd Army in Italy . Hungary and Italy . Hungarian revolution . In 1849 , Benedek was sent to Hungary . Leading troops in the Battle of Győr , he was instrumental in striking down the rebellion . At another battle in Szőny he was seriously wounded . He was given the Military Merit Cross and made Regimental Colonel . Benedek was made Chief of Staff to Radetzky in Italy . He was promoted to Feldmarschallleutnant in 1852 and , when Radetzky retired in 1857 , Benedek became the Commander of the II Army Corps . Battle of San Martino / Solferino . In early 1859 , Benedek was Commander General of the VIIIth army corps in the Second Italian War of Independence . On 27 May 1859 , he was promoted to the rank of Feldzeugmeister , second in command of the entire Austrian Army . On 24 June , under the command of the young Emperor Franz Joseph I , he fought in the Battle of Solferino against the French troops of the Emperor Napoleon III . Benedek was attacked on the right flank by the entire army of King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont - Sardinia , just a few kilometers north of Solferino in the Battle of San Martino . The Austrian units threw the Piedmontese back at first and were able to hold their ground . In the meantime Franz Joseph was defeated at Solferino and Benedek aided his retreat to San Martino . Benedek received the Commander ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa in 1859 . After the Austrian defeat , Benedek was appointed Chief of the General Quartermaster Staff on January 31 , 1860 , and to the Governorship of Hungary in April . On October 20 , 1860 , Benedek assumed command of the Austrian forces in Lombardy - Venetia , Carinthia , Carniola , the Tyrol and the Adriatic Coastland and was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold with War Decoration on January 14 , 1862 . Military and political philosophy . Benedek was a staunch believer in the concept that the army was the chief guardian of the Habsburg monarchy and needed to protect it from liberal and nationalist forces ; loyalty to the dynasty and monarch were paramount and suspicion of the civilian professional and business classes followed . In a circular to his officers in March 1861 he warned against " international revolutionaries , lawyers and doctors without practices , ambitious and money - hungry journalists , dissatisfied professors and schoolteachers " as well as " debt - ridden nobles and cowardly magnates " who threatened the monarchy . A year later he further stated in Verona that the army ' s purpose was " to serve , fight , and if necessary die with honor for the emperor and supreme warlord . " Benedek believed in a traditional concept of war where valor and courage were of chief importance , where " simple rules " were superior to " complicated calculations " . Following in this vein , he opposed the notion of a national , Prussian - style general staff of officers selected for their education and intellect . Austro - Prussian War . Battle of Königgrätz . At the outbreak of the Austro - Prussian War in 1866 , Benedek was made the Commander in Chief of the Northern Army . He had previously declined the appointment three times , claiming that he knew neither the terrain in the north nor the enemy . Delaying his departure from Verona for nearly two months , he arrived in Vienna only on May 12 and did not establish his headquarters at Olmütz ( Olomouc ) until May 26 . Furthermore , his two chiefs of staff , von Krismanić and von Henikstein , encouraged his pessimism and reluctance to engage the enemy . While the Prussians advanced against and defeated Austria ' s German allies ( Hanover , Hesse - Kassel , and Saxony ) , Benedek remained in a defensive posture . Urged by Emperor Franz Joseph ' s emissary , Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Beck , to advance , Benedek and his staff replied the army was still not ready . Concerning himself with issues of military dress and ceremony and emphasizing the importance of close combat in the coming battles ( despite the superiority of the Prussians ' needle gun s ) , Benedek only deployed his troops at the end of June . Marching in three columns , they took up defensive positions near the fortress of Josefstadt and the Saxon and Silesian mountain passes . When the Prussians crossed into Bohemia , Benedek failed to mass his forces against the separate enemy formations and suffered defeats across his front ( except for a costly stand at Trautenau ) . Despite ordering a change of tactics and suddenly admitting the importance of artillery fire prior to the bayonet charge , morale among both the leadership and soldiers was shaken , and Benedek ordered his troops back to Olmütz . Stating that a " catastrophe " was at hand , he pleaded with the emperor to make peace with Prussia . When this was refused , he drew up his army in a defensive position against the Elbe between Sadowa and Königgrätz . When on July 3 , 1866 , the Prussians attacked , Benedek had a numerical advantage . Yet he expected to face only the Prussian First Army , and the arrival of the Prussian Second Army under Crown Prince Frederick William , attacking the Austrian flank at Chlum , disrupted the Austrian lines . Benedek ordered a retreat and crossed the river himself in the evening and informed the emperor that the catastrophe he had feared had indeed taken place . He offered to rally again at Olmütz but the retreat became a near rout . On July 10 , Archduke Albrecht was appointed commander of all armies and established defenses around Vienna . However , the Prussians had achieved their objectives and were suffering a cholera outbreak while the Austrians were desperate for an end to the fight ; an armistice was signed on July 21 . Loss of command . This placed Emperor Franz Joseph I in a difficult position . There was extensive demand for the blame for the defeat to be placed on Benedek . He resigned as Commander - in - Chief at Pressburg ( Bratislava ) on July 26 , 1866 . The highest military law senate imposed a court martial against him and was to investigate of the battle . This was stopped by the instruction of the emperor . Benedek was ordered never to speak about the circumstances of the defeat . When a scathing article in the " Wiener Zeitung " on December 8 , 1866 blamed him alone for the catastrophe , he had no right to reply . The former first soldier of the Empire lived for another fifteen years in quiet retirement at Graz , and died there on April 27 , 1881 .