Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg ( 26 June 1760 – 25 March 1799 ) was an Austrian military commander . He achieved the rank of Field Marshal and died at the Battle of Stockach . The third son of a cadet branch of the House of Fürstenberg , at his birth his chances of inheriting the family title of " Fürst zu Fürstenberg " were slight ; he was prepared instead for a military career , and a tutor was hired to teach him the military science s . He entered the Habsburg military in 1777 , at the age of seventeen years , and was a member of the field army in the short War of the Bavarian Succession ( 1778 – 79 ) . His career progressed steadily during the Habsburg War with the Ottoman Empire . In particular he distinguished himself at Šabac in 1790 , when he led his troops in storming the fortress on the Sava River . During the French Revolutionary Wars , he fought with distinction again for the First Coalition , particularly at Ketsch and Frœschwiller , and later at the Battle of Emmendingen . He was stationed at key points to protect the movements of the Austrian army . With a force of 10 , 000 , he defended the German Rhineland at Kehl , and reversed a bayonet assault by French troops at Bellheim ; his troops also overran Speyer without any losses . By the end of the War of the First Coalition , at the age of 35 , he had achieved the rank of Field Marshal . During the War of the Second Coalition , he fought in the first two battles of the German campaign , at Ostrach , 21 March 1799 , and at the Battle of Stockach , 25 March 1799 . At the latter , while leading a regiment of grenadiers , he was hit by French case shot and knocked off his horse . He died shortly afterward . Childhood and early military training . As the third son of a cadet ( junior ) branch of the Fürstenberg princely family , Karl Aloys was prepared for a military career . His tutor , Lieutenant Ernst , was in active service in the Habsburg military , and took six - year - old Karl Aloys on maneuvers with him . In this way , he learned as a child the Habsburg military manual , and came into contact with important military men who later furthered his education and career ; he also acquired an honorary rank as " Kreis - Obristen " , or Colonel of the Imperial Circle , by the time he was ten years old . As a youth , in 1776 , he met the Habsburg war minister Count Franz Moritz von Lacy and Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon ; he was also invited to dine with Emperor Joseph II . He started his service in 1777 as a " Fähnrich " ( ensign ) in the Habsburg military organization . He saw his first field service during the War of the Bavarian Succession ( 1777 – 78 ) , although he was not involved in any battles . In 1780 , at the age of twenty years , he was promoted to captain , and assigned to the 34th Infantry Regiment , also known as the " Anton Esterházy " , named for Paul II Anton Esterházy , the general of cavalry , field marshal of the Seven Years War , and ambassador to Britain . While he was assigned to this unit , he participated in the border conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburgs , 1787 – 92 , and stormed the fortress at Šabac ( German : " Schabatz " ) on the Sava River in Serbia on 27 April 1788 . For his action at Šabac , he was personally commended by the Emperor ; on the following day , he was promoted to major and given command of a grenadier battalion . On 1 January 1790 , at Laudon ' s explicit request , Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg was promoted to major general ; at the end of June of that year , he received the coveted position of second colonel of the 34th Infantry Regiment " Anton Esterhazy " , where he served as the executive officer for Antal , Prince Esterházy de Galántha , the 34th Hungarian Regiment ' s Colonel and Proprietor . This was a customary appointment in which a less prominent officer completed the day - to - day administrative duties of the Colonel and Proprietor , who was usually a noble and was often posted in a different assignment , sometimes a different staff location . Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg also received the confraternal Order of Saint Hubert from the Duke of Bavaria and married the " elegant " Princess Elisabeth of Thurn und Taxis ( 1767 – 1822 ) , that year . Fight against Revolutionary France . While Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg fought for the Habsburg cause in Serbia , in France , a coalition of the clergy and the professional and bourgeois class — the First and Third estates — led a call for reform of the French government and the creation of a written constitution . Initially , the rulers of Europe viewed the French Revolution as an event between the French king and his subjects , and not something in which they should interfere . In 1790 , Leopold succeeded his brother Joseph as emperor and by 1791 , he considered the situation surrounding his sister , Marie Antoinette , and her children , with greater alarm . In August 1791 , in consultation with French " émigré " nobles and Frederick William II of Prussia , he issued the Declaration of Pilnitz , in which they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis XVI and his family . They threatened ambiguous , but quite serious , consequences if anything should happen to the royal family . The French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter - revolution . On 20 April 1792 , the French National Convention declared war on Austria . In the War of the First Coalition ( 1792 – 1797 ) , France opposed most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her , plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire . War of the First Coalition . In the early days of the French Revolutionary Wars , Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg remained as brigade commander of a small Austrian corps , approximately 10 , 000 men , under the overall command of Anton , Prince Esterházy . He was stationed in the Breisgau , a Habsburg territory between the Black Forest and the Rhine River . This location between the forested mountains and the river included two important bridgeheads across the river which offered access to southwestern Germany , the Swiss Cantons , or north - central Germany . His brigade defended Kehl , a small village immediately across the Rhine from Strassbourg , but most of the action in 1792 occurred further north , in present - day Belgium , near the cities of Speyer and Trier , and at Frankfurt on the Main River . In the second year of the war , Fürstenberg was transferred to the cavalry of Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser , in the Army of the Upper Rhine , and placed in charge of the advance guard near Speyer , which was still held by the French . On 30 March , he crossed the Rhine by Ketsch at the head of the advance guard , which included 9 , 000 men . He took the city of Speyer on 1 April , in the absence of the commander of the city , Adam - Philippe de Custine , who was away with most of his troops ; those that remained behind simply abandoned the city . On the following day , Fürstenberg occupied the town of Germersheim . His first combat action of the war occurred on 3 April , when Custine ' s infantry attacked him in a bayonet charge near the villages of Bellheim , Hördt and Leimersheim , and afterward at Landau and Lauterburg . During these attacks , he lost all the ground he had gained in the days before . After these events , he was again transferred , this time to the command of the Regiment " Count von Kavanagh " , where he continued to distinguish himself during the French counter - offensive of October – November 1793 . In the action around Geidertheim , on the Zorn River , he assisted Lieutenant Field Marshal Gabriel Anton , Baron Splény de Miháldy , in repelling a French counter - attack . Shortly afterward , he became very ill and , in December 1793 , was sent to the Hagenau to recover . On 22 December , he rejoined Wurmser ' s Corps for the battles of Fröschweiler , Reichshofen and Wörth against Lazare Hoche and Charles Pichegru . After the French retreated over the Rhine at Hüningen , near Basel , he directed the construction of its new fortifications . In June 1796 , Fürstenberg commanded a division of four infantry battalions , 13 artillery pieces , and the " Freikorps " ( Volunteers ) " Gyulay " and secured the Rhine corridor between Kehl and Rastatt . On 26 June 1796 , the French troops of the Army of the Rhine - and - Moselle crossed the Rhine and chased the Swabian Circle ' s military contingent out of Kehl . In June 1796 , Archduke Charles added the contingent to Fürstenberg ' s command , making him the Swabian ' s " Feldzeugmeister " , or General of Infantry . Fürstenberg ' s troops defended the imperial line at the town of Rastatt until support troops arrived , and they could make an orderly withdrawal into the Upper Danube Valley . The Swabian contingent was demobilized in July , and Fürstenberg returned to the command of Austrian regulars during the Austrian counter - offensive . At the Battle of Emmendingen on 19 October 1796 , his leadership was again instrumental in an Austrian victory . General Jean Victor Marie Moreau ' s Army of the Rhine - and - Moselle sought to retain a foothold on the eastern side of the Rhine , following his retreat from southwestern Germany west of the Black Forest . Fürstenberg held Kenzingen , north of Riegel on the Elz River . Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg was ordered to feint against Riegel , to protect the primary Austrian positions at Rust and Kappel . In the Battle of Schliengen ( 24 October 1796 ) , Fürstenberg commanded the second column of the Austrian force , which included nine battalions of infantry and 30 squadrons of cavalry ; with these , he overwhelmed the force of General of Division Gouvion Saint - Cyr , holding his position to prevent the French force from retreating north on the Rhine . While Maximilian Anton Karl , Count Baillet de Latour , engaged the main Austrian force at Kehl , Archduke Charles entrusted to Lieutenant Field Marshal Fürstenberg the command of the forces besieging Hüningen , which included two divisions with 20 battalions of infantry and 40 squadrons of cavalry . Charles ' confidence in his young field marshal was well - placed . On 27 November , Fürstenberg ' s chief engineer opened and drained the water - filled moat protecting the French fortifications . Fürstenberg offered the commander of the bridgehead , General of Brigade Jean Charles Abbatucci , the opportunity to surrender , which he declined . In the night of 30 November to 1 December , Fürstenberg ' s force stormed the bridgehead twice , but was twice repulsed . In one of these attacks , the French commander was mortally wounded and died on 3 December . Fürstenberg maintained the siege while Archduke Charles engaged the stronger French force to the north by Kehl . After the French capitulation at Kehl ( 10 January 1797 ) , Fürstenberg received additional forces with which he could end the siege at Hüningen . He ordered the reinforcement of the ring of soldiers surrounding Hüningen and , on 2 February 1797 , the Austrians prepared to storm the bridgehead . General of Division Georges Joseph Dufour , the new French commander , pre - empted what would have been a costly attack , by offering to surrender the bridge . On 5 February , Fürstenberg finally took possession of the bridgehead . Francis II , the Holy Roman Emperor , appointed him as Colonel and Proprietor of the 36th Infantry Regiment , which bore his name until his death in battle in 1799 . Peace . The Coalition forces — Austria , Russia , Prussia , Great Britain , Sardinia , among others — achieved several victories at Verdun , Kaiserslautern , Neerwinden , Mainz , Amberg and Würzburg , but in northern Italy , they could neither lift nor escape the siege at Mantua . The efforts of Napoleon Bonaparte in northern Italy pushed Austrian forces to the border of Habsburg lands . Napoleon dictated a cease - fire at Leoben on 17 April 1797 , leading to the formal Treaty of Campo Formio , which went into effect on 17 October 1797 . Austria withdrew from the territories the army had fought so hard to acquire , including the strategic river crossings at Hüningen and Kehl , as well as key cities further north . When the war ended , Fürstenberg stayed at the Donaueschingen estate of his cousin , Karl Joachim Aloys , who had recently inherited the family title as " Fürst zu Fürstenberg " . Later in 1797 , he traveled to Prague and remained with his family until May 1798 , when he received a posting to a new division in Linz . His daughter , Maria Anna , was born after he left , on 17 September 1798 . Activities in the Second Coalition . Despite the longed - for peace , tensions grew between France and most of the First Coalition allies , either separately or jointly . Ferdinand IV of Naples refused to pay agreed - upon tribute to France , and his subjects followed this refusal with a rebellion . The French invaded Naples and established the Parthenopaean Republic . A republican uprising in the Swiss cantons , encouraged by the French Republic which offered military support , led to the overthrow of the Swiss Confederation and the establishment of the Helvetic Republic . On his way to Egypt in Spring 1798 , Napoleon had stopped on the Island of Malta and removed the Hospitallers from their possessions . This angered Paul , Tsar of Russia , who was the honorary head of the Order . The ongoing French occupation of Malta angered the British , who dedicated themselves to ejecting the French garrison at Valletta . The French Directory was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war . Indeed , the weaker the French Republic seemed , the more seriously the Austrians , the Neapolitans , the Russians , and the British actually discussed this possibility . As winter broke on 1 March 1799 , General Jean Baptiste Jourdan and his 25 , 000 - man Army of the Danube crossed the Rhine at Kehl . The Army of the Danube met little resistance as it advanced through the Black Forest and eventually took a flanking position on the north shore of Lake Constance . Instructed to block the Austrians from access to the Swiss alpine passes , Jourdan planned to isolate the armies of the Coalition in Germany from allies in northern Italy , and prevent them from assisting one another . His was a preemptive strike . By crossing the Rhine in early March , Jourdan acted before Archduke Charles ' army could be reinforced by Austria ' s Russian allies , who had agreed to send 60 , 000 seasoned soldiers and their more - seasoned commander , Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov . Furthermore , if the French held the interior passes in Switzerland , they could not only prevent the Austrians from transferring troops between northern Italy and southwestern Germany , but could use the routes to move their own forces between the two theaters . Battle of Ostrach . At the outbreak of hostilities in March 1799 , Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg was with his troops in Bavarian territory , just north of the free and Imperial city of Augsburg . When news reached the Austrian camp that the French had crossed the Rhine , Charles ordered the imperial army to advance west . Fürstenberg moved his troops toward Augsburg , crossing the Lech River . The French advanced guard arrived in Ostrach on 8 – 9 March , and over the next week skirmished with the Austrian forward posts , while the rest of the French army arrived . Jourdan disposed his 25 , 000 troops along a line from Salem Abbey and Lake Constance to the Danube river , centered in Ostrach . He established his command headquarters at the imperial city of Pfullendorf , overlooking the entire Ostrach valley . Jourdan was expecting Dominique Vandamme ' s troops to arrive in time to support his far north flank near the river , but Vandamme had gone to Stuttgart to investigate a rumored presence of Austrian troops there and had not rejoined the main army . Consequently , the French left flank , under command of Gouvion Saint - Cyr , was thinly manned . Jourdan thought he had more time , expecting Charles would need still three or four days to move his troops across the Lech , and march to Ostrach , but by the middle of Holy Week in 1799 , more than a third of Charles ' army , 48 , 000 mixed troops , was positioned in a formation parallel to Jourdan ' s , and his 72 , 000 remaining troops were arrayed with the left wing at Kempten , the center near Memmingen , and the right flank extended to Ulm . By 21 March , the French and Austrian outposts overlapped , and skirmishing intensified . Charles had divided his force into four columns . Fürstenberg covered the northern flank of the Archduke ' s main force . Fürstenberg ' s force pushed the French out of Davidsweiler , and then advanced on Ruppersweiler and Einhard , 5 kilometers ( 3 mi ) to the northwest of Ostrach . Saint - Cyr did not have the manpower to defend the position , and the entire line fell back to Ostrach , with Fürstenberg ' s troops pressuring their withdrawal . Fürstenberg ' s persistent pressure on the French left flank was instrumental in the collapse of the northern part of the French line . After their success in driving the French back from Ostrach , and then from the heights of Pfullendorf , the Austrian forces continued to press the French back to Stockach , and then another five miles or so to Engen . Death at the Battle of Stockach ( 1799 ) . On the morning of what they suspected would be the general engagement , Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg sought out the field chaplain , and requested the sacraments because , as he told his aide , anything can happen during a battle . Although Ostrach had been a hard - fought battle , at Engen and Stockach , the Austrian and French forces were far more concentrated — more men in a smaller space — than they had been at Ostrach , where the French forces in particular had been stretched thinly on a long line from Lake Constance to north of the Danube . At Stockach , furthermore , Jourdan had all his troops under his direct control , with the possible exception of Dominique Vandamme , who was maneuvering his small force of cavalry and light infantry into position to attempt a flanking action on the far right Austrian flank . In the course of the battle , Jourdan ' s forces were supposed to engage in simultaneous attacks on the left , center and right of the Austrian line . On the French right , Soulham ' s and Ferino ' s Corps met with strong resistance and were stopped ; on the French left , Lefebvre ' s troops charged with such force that the Austrians were pushed back . Having stopped Soulham ' s and Ferino ' s assault , Charles had troops available to counter Lefebvre ' s force . At that point , Vandamme ' s men moved into action . Because Soulham ' s assault at the center had been stalled , Charles still had enough men to turn part of his force to fight this new threat , but the Austrians were hard pressed and the action furious . At one point , Charles attempted to lead his eight battalions of Hungarian grenadiers into action , to the dismay of the old soldiers . Fürstenberg reportedly said that while he lived , he would not leave this post ( at the head of the grenadiers ) and the Archduke should not dismount and fight . As Fürstenberg led the Hungarian grenadiers into the battle , he was cut down by a canister and case shot employed by the French . Although he was carried alive off the field , he died almost immediately . Charles ultimately did lead his grenadiers into battle , and reportedly his personal bravery rallied his troops to push back the French . After the battle , someone removed Fürstenberg ' s wedding ring and returned it to his wife in Prague , with news of his death ; Fürstenberg was buried at the battlefield cemetery in Stockach , and his cousin erected a small monument there , but in 1857 , his body was moved to the family cemetery , " Maria Hof " at Neudingen , near Donaueschingen . Family . Upon the death of Prosper Ferdinand , Count Fürstenberg , in the War of the Spanish Succession , in 1704 the Fürstenberg inheritance was divided between the count ' s two youngest sons , Joseph Wilhelm Ernst and Wilhelm Egon ; the eldest son was an ecclesiastic . The family of Fürstenberg was raised to princely status 2 February 1716 , with the elevation of Joseph Wilhelm Ernst , as the first Prince ( " Fürst " ) of Fürstenberg ( German : " Fürst zu Fürstenberg " ) . The first prince had three sons , Joseph Wenzel Johann Nepomuk ( 1728 – 1783 ) , Karl Borromäus Egon ( 1729 – 1787 ) , and Prosper Maria , who died in infancy . The title passed through the line of the first son , Joseph Wenzel Johann Nepomuk ( as second prince ) , to his son Joseph Maria Benedikt Karl ( third prince , who died in 1796 ) and then to another son of the second prince , Karl Joachim Aloys ( fourth prince ) . The last son of Joseph Wilhelm Ernst died in 1803 without male issue . Consequently , the title passed to the male line of first prince ' s second son . This son , Karl Borromäus Egon , had died in 1787 . Karl Borromäus Egon ' s oldest son , Joseph Maria Wenzel ( 16 August 1754 – 14 July 1759 ) , died as a small child . The second son , Philipp Nerius Maria ( Prague , 21 October 1755 – 5 June 1790 ) , married in 1779 to his first cousin , Josepha Johanna Benedikta von Fürstenberg ( sister of the third and fourth princes ) , at Donaueschingen . Only one of their sons survived childhood , but died at the age of 15 years . The other children of this second son were all daughters , and thus not eligible to inherit the title Prince of Fürstenberg . Consequently , the title devolved to the agnatic male descendants of Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg . In 1803 , two of Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg ' s children were still living . Karl Egon , as the surviving son , inherited the title Prince of Fürstenberg ; he and his eldest sister lived into adulthood and produced families . Children of Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg and Elizabeth , Princess of Thurn und Taxis , were : External links . < br >