Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza

Vinzenz Ferrerius Friedrich Freiherr von Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza (1 February 1768Luraghi, Raimondo: "Italians in the Habsburg Armed Forces, 1815-1849". In: Király, Béla K. (Hg.): East Central European Society and War in the Era of Revolutions, 1775-1856 (= War and Society in East Central Europe, 4 = Brooklyn College Studies on Society in Change, 13 = East European Monographs, 150), New York 1984, p. 222 – 18 August 1855Luraghi, cit.), was an Austrian Feldmarschallleutnant who notably served during the Napoleonic Wars.

Early life Born in Vienna, Bianchi studied at the Imperial Engineering Academy.Hirtenfeld, Jaromir – Meynert, Hermann (Ed.): Österreichisches Militär-Konversations-Lexikon, Vienna 1851-1852, volume 1, page 400 and following In 1788, serving in the Austro-Turkish War, the sub-lieutenant distinguished himself at the siege of Bubitza.Kneschke, Ernst Heinrich (Ed.). Neues allgemeines Deutsches Adels-Lexicon, Leipzig 1859-1870, volume 1, page 408 During the French Revolutionary Wars he was appointed captain after the Siege of Valenciennes in 1793.Hirtenfeld, Jaromir. Der Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden und seine Mitglieder. Nach authentischen Quellen bearbeitet, Vienna 1857, volume 2, page 1147 and following In 1796 he was in Italy as staff officer under Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser's command. He captured French aide-de-camp Joachim Murat at Brescia. While commanding the six battalions of the Count of Lusignan's regiment at the Battle of Rivoli, he was taken prisoner, but released at the request of General József Alvinczi.Luraghi, cit.

In 1799, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he was attaché to young Archduke Ferdinand; then to Archduke Charles during the campaign in Germany and Switzerland.Militärische Zeitung. Zeitschrift für militärische Interessen. Ed. by Jaromir Hirtenfeld, Vienna, year 1855, Nr. 95 (from 01.09.1855), page 607 and following He was promoted to colonel in three months, leading the 48th Regiment of Hungarian infantry. In 1804, he put down a revolt at Cattaro, on the Dalmatian coast.Frank-Döfering, Peter (Ed.). Adels-Lexikon des österreichischen Kaisertums 1804-1918. Vienna-Freiburg-Basel 1989: N° 486 and N° 488

General After serving as Adjutant-general of the Army of Germany he again commanded the 48th Regiment until 1807, when he was made Generalmajor.Nahlik, Johann von. Geschichte des kais. kön. 55. Linien-Infanterie-Regimentes Baron Bianchi. Brünn 1863, pages 39 and following, 64, 267 and following In 1808 he married Friederike Liebetrau von Maixdorf (1780–1838).Gatti, Friedrich. Geschichte der k.k. Ingenieur- und k.k. Genie-Akademie. 1717-1869 (= Geschichte der k. und k. Technischen Militär-Akademie, vol.1). Vienna 1901, page 335 and following Their son Frederick (1812–1865) would eventually become a general as well and likewise rise to the rank of Feldmarschallleutnant.ÖBL, p.81

From 3 to 5 June 1809, he confronted Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout, denying him the bridgehead over the Danube near Pressburg, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.Hollins, David. Austrian Commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 1792-1815. Illustrated by Christopher Rothero (= Osprey Elite N°101), Botley 2004, page 16 and following He was then made Feldmarschallleutnant (Lieutenant field marshal), with the Infantry Regiment No. 63 as his personal regiment, and inspector of infantry in Hungary.Wrede, Alphons von. Geschichte der k.u.k. Wehrmacht, Bd.VI: Der Allerhöchste Oberbefehl – Die Garden. Rewritten by Peter Broucek, Georg Zivkovic and Herbert Klima after manuscript fragments of Alphons von Wrede. Ed. by the Austrian Military Museum (= Militaria Austriaca, vol. VI), Vienna 1988, page 33 In 1812, after Austria had been forced into a military alliance with France, Bianchi commanded the 1st Division of the Army of Karl Philip of Schwarzenberg; taking partZivkovic, Georg. Alt-Österreichs Heerführer. Stellenbesetzung in Heer, Landwehr und Kriegsmarine 1541 bis 1918.- Vienna 1976 in Napoleon's Russian campaign.Wrede, Alphons von. Geschichte der K. und K. Wehrmacht. Die Regimenter, Corps, Branchen und Anstalten von 1618 bis Ende XIX. Jahrhunderts, volume 1, Vienna 1898, page 503

In the German campaign of 1813 he only just kept his division at the Freyburg gate of Dresden, which he had tried to assault until he was attacked by Napoleon.Hollins, cit. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Leipzig and was afterwards awarded the Cross of St. George by Tsar Alexander I of Russia.Hollins, cit. In 1814, he commanded an army corps which participated in diverse fighting around Moret-sur-Loing. He was then sent to Dijon to halt Marshal Pierre Augereau's army and was victorious in the smaller Battle of Mâcon on 11 March 1814.

During the Neapolitan War in 1815, he served as a corps commander and was dispatched to southern Italy with a 20,000-strong force to prevent Joachim Murat, the King of Naples, from conquering Italy.Hold, Alexander. Geschichte des k.k. 48. Linien-Infanterie-Regimentes von seiner zweiten Errichtung im Jahre 1798 an. Vienna 1875, pages 30, 34, 39, 41 He eventually was made commander of the small army, commanding his own corps and that of Adam Albert von Neipperg. He gained a decisive victory against Murat at the Battle of Tolentino, which earned him the title of Duke of CasalanzaThe title commemorates the Treaty of Casalanza following Tolentino, in which Bianchi served as plenipotentiary to the commander-in-chief of the Austrian forces. from Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies.Lombroso, Giacomo. Vite dei primarj Generali et Ufficiali Italiani che si distinsero nelle guerre Napoleoniche dal 1796 al 1815. Milan 1843, page 592 and following

Retirement Afterwards, he served in the Hofkriegsrat. In 1824, he retired to a relatively private life, moving to an estate in Mogliano Veneto that he had purchased in 1821; there he started vineyards that still bear his name. His presence was unremarkable until 1848, when the revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas made him an enemy representative of the Austrian power, for which he was arrested and imprisoned in Treviso. Two months later, the imperial army reconquered the territories and freed Duke Bianchi.Wurzbach, Constant von. Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, 60 vols. Vienna 1856-1891, 1, page 373 and following

He died at Sauerbrunn in Styria, Austria, (now Rogaška Slatina, Slovenia) where he had moved temporarily to avoid a cholera epidemic that was ravaging Mogliano; the remains of the body were translated to his villa in 1864.Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Ed. by the Historische Kommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Munich, volume 2, page 608

References

Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza

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