The Military Experiences of Feldmarschalleutnant Franjo Jelačić (Franz Jellachich) in the War of the Second Coalition
The Military Experiences of Feldmarschalleutnant Franjo Jelačić (Franz Jellachich) in the War of the Second Coalition

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the military experiences of Feldmarschalleutnant Franjo Jelačić (Franz Jellachich) in the War of the Second Coalition. During this conflict, Jelačić distinguished himself on multiple occasions on the front in Switzerland. “His finest hour“ came at the Battle of Feldkirch, February 22nd and 23rd 1799 in Switzerland, for which he was later awarded the Knight's Cross of the Militar Order of Maria Theresa. Nine years later he received the title of Baron (Freiherr) propelling him into the higher ranks of Habsburg nobility and the Imperial Austrian Army. His exploits against the French army in Switzerland in the year 1799 proved his worth and sealed his reputation as a capable and brave field commander. After the campaign, he emerged as a prominent political and military figure in the Habsburg Monarchy, with his military success paving the way for the rise of his son Josip Jelačić, who became Ban of Croatia-Slavonia and a general in the Imperial Austrian army half a century later. After debacle of Imperial Austrian army at Ulm in the year 1805 in The War of the Third Coalition, Jelačić was forced to capitulate with his army corps to the French at Dornbirn on November 14th 1805. For this reason his earlier achievements and reputation were reevaluated. As such, his successes from 1799 remain high water-mark of his military career. The main source for this paper is Franjo Jelačić's unpublished war diary held by of the Collection of Rarities in the National University Library in Zagreb, Croatia (Zbirka rijetkosti, Nacionalna i sveučilišna knjižnica Zagreb, NSK). This is supplemented throughout the article by various other archival materials from the Croatian National Archives in Zagreb (Hrvatski državni arhiv Zagreb), State archive Zagreb (Državni arhiv Zagreb), Archive of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Arhiv HAZU) and the Croatian History Museum (Hrvatski povijesni muzej) along with secondary literature.

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