Friedrich Freiherr (Baron) von Hotze (20 April 1739 – 25 September 1799) was a Swiss-born general and Feldmarschall-Leutnant in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He campaigned in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition and in Switzerland in the War of the Second Coalition, notably at Battle of Winterthur in late May 1799, and the First Battle of Zurich in early June 1799. He was killed at the Battle of Linth River.Germany & Austria, Directories of Military and Marine Officers, 1500-1939
Hotze was born on 20 April 1739 in Richterswil in the Canton of Zürich, in the Old Swiss Confederacy (present-day Switzerland). As a boy, he graduated from the Carolinum in Zürich and pursued studies at the University of Tübingen. In 1758, he entered the military service of the Duke of Württemberg, and was promoted to captain of cavalry; he campaigned in the Seven Years' War, but saw no combat. Later, he served in the Russian army in Russia's War with Turkey, (1768–74).
His persistent attentiveness to Joseph II garnered for him a commission in the Austrian imperial army, and he served in the brief War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–79). A diligent and creative commander, he rose quickly through the ranks. His campaigning in the War of the First Coalition, particularly at the Battle of Würzburg, earned him the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa and, in 1798, the Commander's Cross. Archduke Charles placed him in full command of the center of the Austrian line at the First Battle of Zurich in 1799. He was killed by French musket fire in the morning mist near Schänis, in Canton of St. Gallen on 25 September 1799.
Childhood and early career Friedrich Hotze was the second son of Johannes Hotze, a doctor and surgeon in Hessian military service and his Zürich-born wife, Juditha Gessner. Hotze came from an old Swiss family, and was a cousin of Heinrich Pestalozzi, the pedagogue and education reformer. As a young man, Hotze studied at the renowned Gymnasium Carolinum (Zürich).Established during Zwingli's 16th century school reform, the gymnasium provided classical instruction. It also was one of the components of the University of Zurich, founded in the mid-19th century. University of Zurich. Klassiches-Philologisches Seminar . Ab 13 November 2009. Accessed 14 December 2009. Later he attended the University of Tübingen.His older brother, the doctor Johannes Hotze (1734–1801), studied medicine at Tübingen and the University of Leipzig. Johannes Hotze was one of the first professional doctors to practice medicine in the Zürich countryside. He also treated the emotionally disturbed, and offered in-house medical care for women in labor. He married Anna Elisabetha Pfenninger. Christoph Mörgeli. Hotz (Hotze), Johannes. Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz. 29 October 2007 edition. Accessed 18 October 2009. In October 1758, Hotze entered the military service of the Duke of Württemberg, in a Hussar regiment as an officer cadet (ensign). Jens-Florian Ebert. Friedrich, Freiherr von Hotze. Die Österreichischen Generäle 1792–1815. Napoleon-online (German Version). Accessed 15 October 2009; Katja Hürlimann. Johann Konrad (Friedrich von Hotze) . Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, 15 January 2008 edition, accessed 18 October 2009. By 1759, he had been promoted to lieutenant, and in 1761, to cavalry captain (or Rittmeister). He left the Duke's service during the disagreement between the Duke and the Württemberg Estates over financial matters involved in maintaining a standing army, and entered the service of the King of Prussia, where he remained until the end of the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). After service in Prussia, he took a brief vacation in Switzerland. Ebert. Freiherr von Hotze.
In May 1768, Hotze entered the service of Catherine II, the Tsarina of Russia, but only as lieutenant of a regiment of dragoons, the so-called Ingermannland, named for the territory between Lake Peipus, the Narva River, and Lake Ladoga, in the old Grand Duchy of Novgorod.Joseph Lins. "Saint Petersburg." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Accessed 17 October 2009. He participated in several battles in Russia's on-going conflict with the Ottoman Empire, attracting the attention of Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov during the battle at Giurgiu, on the lower Danube, during which he was wounded. Suvarov praised him for his bravery and promoted him to major.
Habsburg service
The war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire ended with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, signed on 21 July 1775. In 1776, Hotze returned to his home near Zürich. On the return journey, he stopped in Vienna, to present himself to the Emperor, Joseph II, and to seek an appointment as a major in the imperial Austrian army. When Joseph traveled to Hüningen near Basel, in the upper Rhine in 1777, Hotze once again presented himself, after which he finally secured a major's commission in the Cuirassiers Regiment 26, known as the Baron of Berlichingen (Freiherr von Berlichingen) regiment. His regiment served in the field during the brief War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–79). He served for a short time with the cuirassiers regiment Marquis de Voghera in Hungary, and returned with this regiment to Vienna in 1783. In 1784, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel (Oberstleutnant) and given command of the 1. Galician Lancers, which, in 1795, became the foundation of the 1. Lancers Regiment. Ebert.Freiherr von Hotze.
Hotze's experience with military preparedness and organization gave him an advantage in establishing the lancers as a new combat arm. Recognizing the importance of lancers as part of the Austrian armed force, he embarked on an organizational and training program. The Emperor named him as commander of these corps, with the rank of a full colonel. In 1787, he returned temporarily to Russia, this time to establish a similar force in Catherine the Great's army. At the outbreak of the border war between the Ottoman Empire and Austria, he returned to Austria and took command of his regiment.
French Revolutionary Wars
Initially, the rulers of Europe viewed the revolution in France 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 Pillnitz, in which they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family. They threatened ambiguous, but quite serious, consequences if anything should happen to the royal family.Timothy Blanning. The French Revolutionary Wars. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, , pp. 41–59.
The French Republican position became increasingly difficult. Compounding problems in international relations, French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter-revolution abroad. Chief among them were the Prince of Condé, his son, the Duke de Bourbon, and his grandson, the Duke d'Enghien. From their base in Koblenz, adjacent to the French-German border, they sought direct support for military intervention from the royal houses of Europe, and raised an army. On 20 April 1792, the French National Convention declared war on Austria. In this War of the First Coalition (1792–1798), France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire.Blanning, pp. 44–59.
War of First Coalition
In April 1792, Hotze and his regiment joined the autonomous Austrian Corps under Paul Anton II, Count von Esterházy in the Breisgau; although they took no part in any military clashes. Early in 1793, Hotze and his regiment were assigned to the Upper Rhine Army, commanded by General of Cavalry Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, at which time Hotze was promoted to major general. As commander of the third column, he played an essential role the storming of the line at Wissembourg and Lauterburg, for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. In the following year, 1794, he was assigned to the Army Corps of the Prince von Hohenlohe-Kirchberg, on the left bank of the Rhine, and later, from May–September at Heiligenstein on the Rhine, Schweigenheim, Westheim, and Landau in der Pfalz, against the French army commanded by the general of division Louis Desaix.Ebert. Freiherr von Hotze; Hürlimann, Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.
In each of these assignments, Hotze proved himself as a confident and courageous general against the stronger French Army of the Moselle. In recognition, he was promoted to Feldmarschall-leutnant, a rank unusual for a man from a non-aristocratic family. He was also raised to the rank of baron (Freiherr) by Emperor Francis II. In the campaign of 1795, he served again under the command of Wurmser; his troops secured Rhineland positions near Mannheim, and later took part in engagements at Edighofen and Kaiserslautern.Ebert, Freiherr von Hotze; Hürlimann, Hotze, in Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz.
In the Battle of Neresheim (11 August 1796), Hotze commanded 13 battalions and 28 cavalry squadrons, a total of 13,300 men, and formed the center of Archduke Charles' line.Smith. "Neresheim." Data Book.. Although Hotze's force managed to push the French out of several villages, his force was not strong enough to follow up on his advantage.Rickard, John. Battle of Neresheim, 11 August 1796. History of War, Peter Antill, Tristan Dugdale-Pointon, and John Rickard, editors. Accessed 14 February 2009. Following the action at Neresheim, his force participated in the joint battles of Neumarkt and Lauf, followed by the Battle of Würzburg on 3 September 1796. During these consecutive actions, Hotze's organization and initiative led to the overwhelming of the French lines. For his actions in this campaign, he was awarded a promotion on 29 April 1797, and received the Commander's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa.
Peace and the Congress of Rastatt The Coalition forces—Austria, Russia, Prussia, Great Britain, Sardinia, among others—achieved several victories at Verdun, Kaiserslautern, Neerwinden, Mainz, Amberg and Würzburg. While experiencing greater success in the north, in Italy, the Coalition's achievements were more limited. Despite the presence of the most experienced of the Austrian generals—Dagobert Wurmser—the Austrians could not lift the siege at Mantua, and the efforts of Napoleon in northern Italy pushed Austrian forces to the border of Habsburg lands. Napoleon dictated a cease-fire at Leoben on 17 April 1797, which led to the formal peace treaty, the Treaty of Campo Formio, which went into effect on 17 October 1797.Blanning, pp. 41–59.