Karl Baron of Urban | |
|---|---|
 Karl von Urban, circa 1857 | |
| Native name | Karl Freiherr von Urban |
| Born | 31 August 1802 Kraków, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 1 January 1877 Brünn, Margraviate of Moravia, Austria-Hungary |
| Allegiance | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Austrian Empire |
| Service/ | Imperial and Royal Army |
| Years of service | 1815-1865 |
| Rank | Feldmarschall-leutnant (Field Marshal-Lieutenant) |
| Commands held |
|
| Battles/wars | Revolution in Sardinia-Piedmont
Revolutionary War of 1848-1849
Second Italian War of Independence
|
Karl (Carl) Freiherr von Urban (English: Karl Baron of Urban; Hungarian: Báró Urban Károly; French: Baron Carl d'Urban; born 31 August 1802 in Kraków - died 1 January 1877 in Brünn) was an Austrian Field Marshal-Lieutenant celebrated for his daring tactics of lightning surprise attacks, often against much stronger forces, which earned him the epithet of Austrian Garibaldi.[1]
He is particularly distinguished for his decisive actions during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and 1849, and his participation in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859. Von Urban was the first commander to make a stand against the Revolution in Hungary, organizing the resistance and defending minorities.[2] He captured two times Klausenburg, the capital of Transylvania.[3]
Early Years and baptism of fire
Karl von Urban was born in Cracovia, at the time part of the Austrian Empire, to a Sudeten German family of officers who served the Imperial Army. He received his education at the Cadet Academy of Olmütz (Olomouc) and enrolled in the Imperial and Royal Army on 1st November 1815,[4] being assigned to the 29th Infantry Regiment.[5]
When the Revolution erupted in the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont in 1821, the Quintuple Alliance was assembled at the Congress of Laibach and Prince Metternich decided to intervene to restore the legitimate government. At the time a young cadet corporal,[5] Urban was selected to integrate the Austrian expeditionary force sent in the name of the Holy Alliance and underwent his baptism of fire at the Battle of Novara on 8 April.
Ascension in the military career
After Novara, Urban's progress in the ranks of the Army was meteoric and he performed a variety of prestigious roles, thanks in particular to his solid knowledge and exceptional adaptability.[5] He was promoted to Ensign in 1823 and, upon his appointment as Second-Lieutenant, he was transferred to the 59th Infantry Regiment in 1828, where he served until his promotion to Major and assignment to the 13th Border Infantry Regiment in 1844.[4]
Urban was the Adjutant to the Military Command in Moravia and Silesia from 1828 to 1835. He then took up the position of head and instructor at the Regimental Cadet School,[6] where he shared many new ideas of war of movement with Joseph Radetzky.
He participated in the military survey of the Inn Valley in Tyrol in the years 1837-1839[5] and, from 1843, Urban served in the General-Command of the province of Banat. He was named the General-Command Adjutant in the Military Government of the same province in 1845, a position he held for two years.[6]
In 1847, Urban was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and was soon transferred to the 2nd Romanian Border Regiment in the Principality of Transylvania. It was in this position that he found himself caught up by the Revolutionary storm that soon spread to Hungary and across the Austrian Empire during the fateful month of March 1848.[6]
Revolutionary War of 1848-1849
A staunch defender of the Habsburg monarchy and of the ethnic minorities oppressed by the revolutionary movement, Karl von Urban was the first military commander to make a stand against the Revolution in Hungary.[3] He opened a second front on the rearguard of the revolutionary forces and his actions were strategic to boost the morale of the Imperial camp, hence to the ultimate defeat of the Revolution, which threatened the very existence of the Austrian Empire.
Leader of the Resistance: the Assembly of September 10
During the mobilization of the first battalion of his regiment, Urban publicly addressed the soldiers in Romanian, their native language, exhorting them to remain faithful to the Imperial House, their oath and their colors. He urged them to refuse to swear the mandatory allegiance to the April Laws - and thus to the Revolution.[6]
Von Urban summoned leaders of all 44 districts of the Principality to his headquarters in Naszód (Năsăud) on 10 September 1848, and offered protection both to villages that rejected conscription and to the landowners who feared a peasant uprising. He then administered the oath of allegiance to the hundreds of peasants and village delegates.[7] Finally he denounced the Revolution in a Memorandum widely distributed.[6]
Urban acted in such a compelling manner that, by the end of September, 918 communities in the region had distanced themselves from the Revolution and were won over to the Imperial and Counter-revolutionary cause. This dealt a fatal blow to the power of the revolutionary party.[6]
Champion of minorities and strategic commander
Tensions between the minorities were exacerbated by the refusal of the Hungarian Revolutionary Government to grant equal rights to the Romanian and German minorities, by the decision to annex the Principality into Hungary and by the imposition of forced conscription into the Revolutionary Army. Above all, the minorities were exasperated by the summary executions and massacres of Romanians by Revolutionary Tribunals and units on the orders of the government in Pest, mostly for refusing forced conscription.[8]
Without communication with the Headquarters in Vienna and operating without funds, provisions or directives, Urban organized the Romanian national militia and prepared his small force of Grenz Infantry for the herculean challenge of fighting the Revolution.[6]
Finally Lieutenant-Colonel Urban was appointed by Latour as the Strategic Commander in northern Transylvania on October 1848, with the caveat to "trust himself and his judgment". This was despite the presence of six higher-ranking generals in the region.[6] Simultaneously, he moved with his troops to Sächsisch Regen (Reghin/Szászrégen), in order to attract the entire strength of the Revolutionary Army and enable the troops in the southern part of Transylvania to concentrate and procure war materials.[5]
Revolutionary War and the capture of Klausenburg
The war against the Hungarian Revolutionary Government was officially declared after the assassination in Pest of Count von Lamberg, appointed by Vienna as military commander and palatine for Hungary, by a mob of revolutionaries on 28 October 1848. However skirmishes between the revolutionary National Guard and the Austrian troops under Von Urban had already commenced.[6]
Battles of Voivodeni, Dés and Szamos-újvár
Despite being vastly outnumbered, the intrepid Von Urban was determined to fight. He faced with his 1.200 men the revolutionary National Guard, numbered over 12.000 and formed mostly by Szeklers, in a heated reconnaissance engagement at Voivodeni (Vajdaszentivány/Johannisdorf) on 31 October 1848.[2] Following the encounter, Urban withdrew to Wallendorf to wait for reinforcements.[6]
With the joint forces of his Romanian Infantry Regiment and the reinforcement of the Wardener Brigade, Urban considered himself ready to go on the offensive. Firstly he conquered Dej (Dés/Desch) after combat on November 10 and occupied Gherla (Szamosújvár/Neuschloss) on November 11. Then Urban enticed the Hungarian army to come from their stronghold with a bold and unexpected maneuver.
At the Battle of Szamos-újvár (Gherla) that followed, Karl von Urban engaged with his small force of around 3.000 the 12.000-strong National Guard led by Baron Manó Baldacci, the Hungarian commander-in-chief in Transylvania.[7] He completely routed the enemy, winning a brilliant victory on 13 November 1848.[6]
Capture of Klausenburg
With this success at Gherla, Urban set off to capture Klausenburg (Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár), the capital of the Principality of Transylvania. He reached the nearby village of Apahida (Bruckendorf) on November 15, which he would use as bridgehead to launch the attack.
The Hungarian position was highly advantageous, requiring Urban's columns to storm through the town on a narrow road while enduring heavy crossfire. At one point, they even seemed to be faltering, but he pressed for a renewed attack, which was ultimately successful.[6] Klausenburg was captured by Karl von Urban for the first time on 18 November 1848.[5][3][7]
The Second Battle of Dés
Meanwhile, the revolutionaries had once again advanced on Dej (Dés/Desch), displacing the Austrian troops there. Katona Miklós, who held the town, probably did not anticipate an attack from Urban and his single regular brigade. However, the Austrian Lieutenant-Colonel held a different opinion. In a war council in Klausenburg, he offered to retake the city.
At the Battle of Dés, Urban launched a storming attack from two flanks with his 1.500 men against 10.000 enemy force armed equipped with 16 cannons, allowing Katona barely enough time to fire a few of his artillery pieces. During this engagement on November 24, Urban's cavalry charged into the ranks of the insurgents, plunging them into great disarray. They fled into the mountains, pursued by Urban for seven hours.[6]
Urban, promoted to the rank of Colonel on December 1st, was by now renowned for his remarkable military feats: he had defeated a total of over 22,000 troops, leading to the capture of the entirety of northern Transylvania. In response to this triumph, the High Command in Vienna formulated a strategy to launch an attack on two fronts against the revolutionary forces entrenched in the heartland of Hungary. As part of this plan, Colonel Urban was ordered to cross the challenging Ciucea Pass (Csucsa/Tschetsch Pass) that traditionally served as a divider between Transylvania and the expansive Great Hungarian Plains.[6]
Simultaneously, the new leader of the revolutionary government Lajos Kossuth, recognizing the threat posed by Urban, decided to form a new army aimed at destroying Urban’s forces and retaking Transylvania.[2] Kossuth entrusted the new army to József Bem, who promtly organized his heavily armed 11.000 force - including 2.000 cavalry - in three columns and positioned them to invade the Principality on December 20.[7]
Battle of Ciucea Pass
This situation led to the Battle of the Ciucea Pass, where Urban's contingent, consisting of 1,200 men, faced the daunting task of forcing their way through a significantly larger Hungarian column led by the Colonel Károly Riczkó, which boasted 4,000 soldiers.[7]
The battle, marked by its intensity and scale, spanned two consecutive days - December 18 and 19. Despite a monumental and valiant effort, Urban’s forces were unable to break through the formidable enemy lines in the narrow pass. Realizing the futility of continued combat under these circumstances, Urban made the decision to retreat to Klausenburg. However, before withdrawing, he achieved a significant feat by capturing the treasury of the Hungarian army, marking a strategic victory despite the tactical retreat.[6]
Invasion by József Bem and retreat to Bukovina
Urban now faced the threat of encirclement and destruction by Bem's three army columns that advanced rapidly in his direction. He managed to deceive this fate by breaking through the numerous enemy masses at Apahida and retreating north-eastwards to the province of Bukovina.[6] Klausenburg fell on the 25th December.
During the Forced March, he fought an exhilarating series of consecutive defensive battles: at Bethlen (Beclean) on December 29, at Szeretfalva (Sărățel) on January 1, 1849, at Bistritz (Bistrița) on January 2, at the Borgo Pass (Pasul Tihuța) on January 4, and finally at Vátra-Dorna (Vatra Dornei) on January 5.
Urban consistently defended himself against a significant superiority in numbers and fire power , accomplishing an orderly retreat.[6] Avoiding encirclement and capture, he finally reached Bukovina successfully and received, as his new mission, the defense of this province from enemy invasion.
Return: the raid on Marossény (Marosborgó)
However, contrary to explicit orders and at great risk, the combative colonel could no longer be restrained and decided to launch a audacious surprise attack on the revolutionary outpost in Marossény (Marosborgó / Mureșenii Bârgăului),[9] deep inside enemy's territory. To this end, on February 4, he assembled a force of 900 men, mostly volunteers,[2] and departed from Poiana Stampei (Pojana-Stampi) in Bukovina towards Transylvania on January 5, starting at 7 o'clock in the morning.
Deep snow, unmarked paths, virgin forests, ravines, and steep mountain terrain made the march across the Carpathians exceedingly arduous. Progress was slow, with one man advancing at a time, but Colonel Urban encouraged his brave men.[6] After a grueling 20-hour day and night march, amidst temperatures as low as 24 Celsius degrees below freezing, Urban arrived on the morning of February 6 in the vicinity of Borgótiha and Marossény.[2]
By now, it had become daylight, and Colonel Urban, leading at the front, directed the surprise attack in complete silence, encircling the Revolutionary forces under the command of Captain Kofler. The Austrians managed to take the sentries by surprise and disarm them. Within 15 minutes of entering the village, the mission was accomplished; the surprise attack succeeded without noise or a single shot being fired.[9]
Without suffering any losses, the Austrian force captured the outpost commander, 11 officers, 3 infantry companies with 400 soldiers, 44 hussars, two cannons, 74 horses with all of the enemy's baggage, ammunition, and weapons.[9] Following the successful completion of his mission, Urban returned to Poiana Stampei on the same day.[2][9]
For this heroic act, Urban was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, Austria's highest honour, at the 153rd promotion of the Order on July 29, 1849.[10][5]
Summer Campaign of 1849 and the second capture of Klausenburg
In the fledgling Summer campaign of 1849 initiated in June, Colonel Karl Urban assumed the pivotal role of vanguard commander alongside the Russian army corps under the command of General Magnus Johann von Grotenhjelm.
On this capacity he took Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely) on August 2, as part of the offensive to reconquer Transylvania under the command of the Russian General Alexander von Lüders.
On August 15, Colonel Urban achieved the capture of Klausenburg for the second and final time. After this triumph, he launched a concerted offensive on Gyalu (Gilău), Szárvásár (Izvoru Crișului), and Bánffy-Hunyad (Huedin) on the following day.[6]
Second battle of Ciucea Pass and the last days of the war
Urban then led his forces in an endeavor to traverse the Ciucea Pass (Csúcsa Pass) on August 17. This time he successfully defeated the enemy and crossed into the Great Hungarian Plain.
August 18 marked Urban's advance on Zsibó (Jibou), where he relentlessly pursued the 6,000 insurgents who had not surrendered in that vicinity. While swiftly pursuing the enemy, Urban also captured the cities of Nagy-Bánya (Baia Mare) and Sziget, preserving their treasuries and precious metals from the threat of looting.[6]
Interwar Period
Upon the conclusion of the campaign in Hungary, Urban served as the Military Commander of Transylvania for over a year, with his headquarters in Klausenburg,[6] the city he had captured two times. He was promoted to Major-General on June 1850.[4]
Protector of ethnic Hungarians
Von Urban distinguished himself as the Military Commander by energetically countering the excesses of marauding Romanian bands that targeted the Hungarian population and settlements, previously supporters of the Revolution. In this role he saved Dés (Dej), Szamosújvár (Gherla), and Klausenburg from the threat of destruction.[6]
His commitment to reestablish the rule of law across the country and to protect Magyars against reprisals marked the beginning of the reconciliation between the Transylvanian Hungarians and the Empire.[11] For these actions of valour, the citizens of Klausenburg granted him the Honorary Citizenship, in recognition of his efforts to preserve their city and their rights.[7][6]
On November 1853, he was appointed the Adlatus (adjutant) to the Gendarmerie Commander of Austria[5] and, on April 1854, Urban became brigadier of infantry, a position he held for three and half years.[4]
Von Urban was promoted to the rank of Feldmarschall-leutnant (Field Marshal-Lieutenant) on September 1857,[4] becoming a division commander in the 7th Army Corps.[6]
Second Italian War of Independence 1859
During the Italian Campaign of 1859, Karl von Urban commanded the IX. Army Corps, an independent mobile division also known as Division Urban, consisting of 4.500 men. He was responsible for the only Austrian victories in this war and in no less than four occasions the Austrian Garibaldi fought against the Italian Garibaldi, resulting in a draw of two victories for each commander.
Battle of Montebello
At the reconnaissance Battle of Montebello on May 20, the first in the conflict, Urban faced the French and Sardinian Armies. Despite being outnumbered in men and firepower, he managed to resist the enemy's assaults for almost the entire day, only retreating with the arrival of the Sardinian Cavalry.
For his bravery and great ability displayed during this battle, Karl von Urban was distinguished with the highest honour: the expression of the utmost satisfaction by the Emperor Franz Joseph, conveyed to him on June 2.[6]
Battles of Varese, San Salvatore and San Fermo
After Montebello, Urban was sent by Count Ferenc Gyulay, the Imperial Regent of Lombardy, to the city of Varese, which had been occupied by Giuseppe Garibaldi's Hunters of the Alps (Cacciatori delle Alpi) on May 23. Urban's task was to prevent further advance by Garibaldi, which threatened the Austrian right flank. If the plan succeeded, Urban would have encircled Garibaldi's forces near Varese.[12]
Battle of Varese
Before proceeding to Varese, Urban divided his forces at the city of Como. Two columns were dispatched northward while other two under his command approached Varese from the south. The envisaged tactical objective was to encircle and launch a coordinated attack upon the Hunters of the Alps from two directions.
In the early hours of May 26 he arrived in the vicinity of Varese. However, the northern force failed to arrive timely and Urban was compeled to attack 3.000 Alpine Hunters - further reinforced by the Civil Guard - with a comparatively modest column of mere 2.000 men.[1] After three days of preparations, Garibaldi's force was by this time well entrenched in two robust defensive lines. At the ensuing Battle of Varese, the Austrian's initial attack was repulsed and Urban quickly realized that he was facing a well defended and numerically superior enemy. Prudently he decided to execute a tactical retreat to Como via the villages of Malnate and Binago.
Battle of San Salvatore
The Hunter of the Alps, motivated by the initial victory at Varese, started a relentless pursuit of the retreating Austrian contingent. At the elevated San Salvatore hights, near Binago, Von Urban deployed his units in a formidable barrier across a deep gorge to confront the impending assault. The resultant engagement was a victory for Urban.[13] The Austrians successfully rebuffed two determined infantry charges launched by Garibaldi, compelling the later to withdraw to Varese with his men. Subsequent to the battle, Urban continued his orderly retreat to the city of Como.
Battle of San Fermo
Urban left Como on the May 27 after Garibaldi and the Hunters of the Alps forced the defenses at San Fermo. He retreated to Monza to assemble his forces with the regiments not present during the Battlers of Varese and San Fermo.
Second advance on Varese
After reuniting his three regiments at Monza, Urban marched again on Varese with a force of 4.000 and encircled Garibaldi on May 31. Garibaldi however refused to give combat, preferring to escape to the security of mount Campo dei Fiori, from where he overlooked Urban and his troops amassed in front of Varese without interfering.[1] Von Urban, on his side, was recalled by Gyulay and had to cease his pursuit of the Hunters of the Alps on May 1st, after Gyulay's defeat at the Battle of Palestro and the advance of the Franco-Sardinian armies put Urban at risk of being cut off.[3]
In the aftermath of the Battle of Magenta, Von Urban was charged with the rear-guard defense of the retreating Austrian Army, which was falling back to the defensive position of the River Mincio and the Quadrilatero. Urban eluded the threat to his flank by conducting a forced march and successfully reached the Mincio through arduous and bloody rear-guard actions.[6]
Battle of Treponti (Castenedolo)
The Battle of Treponti (also known as Battle of Castenedolo), on June 15, was the fourth and final encounter between Karl von Urban and Giuseppe Garibaldi during the conflict. At this battle, Urban employed a cunning stratagem that led to his victory over Garibaldi. At this juncture, Garibaldi was pursuing the retreating Austrian forces with a formidable contingent that had increased from 3.000 to around 12,000 volunteers.[1]
Field Marshal Urban, with calculated finesse, orchestrated a sequence of events designed to entice Garibaldi into a trap, with an attack on the Italian positions at Treponti executed by elements of the Rupprecht Brigade. The Hunters of the Alps, eager to confront the challenge, took the bait and launched an assault en force against the Division Urban, strategically positioned in proximity to Castenedolo.[14]
Having successfully breached the initial Austrian lines of defense, the Italian forces soon found themselves entrapped, surrounded from three directions, and subjected to relentless and withering enemy fire. Von Urban, in a masterful display of tactical prowess, had strategically positioned his central forces upon a plateau, in an impregnable fortified semi-circular formation. As the Italian forces discovered themselves entrapped within this intricate web, Von Urban executed a meticulously coordinated maneuver, ordering an attack in pincers by his right and left flanks.[14]
Confronted by this relentless onslaught and entrapped within the tactical scheme, the Italian forces were compelled to retreat in a disorderly rout, retracing their steps in a desperate effort to regain their initial positions. Despite Garibaldi's energetic efforts to quell the rout and reorganize the remnants of his forces for a renewed offensive, his second attack met again with failure.[14]
Supreme commander of Verona
After the triumph of Treponti, Von Urban was appointed supreme commander over Verona,[3] the Imperial Headquarters and main fortress of the Quadrilateral, the Austrian strategic defensive system in Italy.
Peace and final years
Following the Battle of Solferino and the Peace of Villafranca, Field Marshal Karl von Urban was assigned commander of the 4th Army Corps in Brünn, Bohemia.[6] He was then commissioned to the Military General-Command for Moravia and Silesia on February 1862, a post he held until his retirement on 1 May 1865.[5]
On New Year's Day in 1877, between 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning, Von Urban ordered a cab and instructed the driver to take him to the garrison hospital. During the journey, just as the carriage crossed the Obrowitz Bridge, the coachman heard a gunshot but paid little attention to it. However, when the carriage arrived at the garrison hospital and was opened, they found the deceased 74-year-old General. It was rumored that severe physical suffering had driven Karl von Urban to suicide.[6]
Honours
Austrian Empire
- Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
- Knight of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen
- Knight of the Austrian Imperial Order of Leopold with war decoration
- Officer's Service Badge 1st Class
- War Medal 1873
Kingdom of Bavaria
Russian Empire
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stanislaus 1st Class
- Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir with Swords
- Knight of the Order of St. Anne with Crown and Swords
- Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Trevelyan, George Macaulay (2022). Garibaldi and the Thousand (facsimile of 1st ed.). Frankfurt: Salzwasser Verlag GmbH. p. 108. ISBN 978-3-37509-585-7.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bánlaky Doberdoi, József (1936). The Military History of Hungary's Independence Struggle of 1848/49 In The Military History of the Hungarian Nation (in Hungarian). Budapest: Grill Karoly Konivkiadovallalata.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Meyer, Herrmann Julius (1885–1892). Meyers Konversations-Lexikon (in German). Hildburghausen: Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts. p. 4.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Grundbuchblatt-Abschrift: Karl Freiherr von Urban (Service Record - Transcript)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pallua-Gall, Julian (1895). Urban, Karl Freiherr von. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie - ADB (Universal German Biography). Band 39 (in German). Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 349–351.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 von Wurzbach, Constantin (1884). Urban, Karl Freiherr. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich (Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire) (in German). Wien: Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. pp. 116–123.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Miskolczy, Ambrus (2002). Transylvania in the Revolution and the War of Independence (1848-1849) in History of Transylvania Vol. III. Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Science. ISBN 0-88033-497-5.
- ↑ Seton-Watson, R. W. (1934). A History of the Roumanians: From Roman Times to the Completion of Unity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 292.
- 1 2 3 4 Klenawsky (1849). "Raid on Marossény". Oesterreichischer Courier (41).
- ↑ Hirtenfeld, Jaromir (1857). Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden Und Seine Mitglieder. Nach Authentischen Quellen. Zur Ersten Säcularfeier 1857. Wien: K. k. Hof- u. Staatsdruckerei.
- ↑ "Karl Von Urban, Un Oficial Contrarrevolucionario". Suprahistoria. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ↑ Lance, Adolphus (1859). The History Of Italy From The Fall Of Venice, Up To The Eve Of The Renewed Struggle In Mdccclix. London.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ↑ Trevelyan (2022), p. 109
- 1 2 3 Redaelli, Alberto (1979). Le grandi battaglie della storia bresciana (The Great Battles of Brescia's History) (in Italian). Brescia: Edizioni Grafo. pp. 95–119. ISBN 978-8873852919.