View source for Archduke Eugen of Austria

{{Short description|Archduke of Austria and a Prince of Hungary and Bohemia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{multiple issues|
{{essay-like|date=March 2014}}
{{No footnotes||date=August 2007}}
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{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Archduke Eugen
| image        = Grand Duke Eugene, Austria LCCN2014686906.tif
| caption      = Archduke Eugen, {{circa}} 1900s
| spouse       = 
| house        = [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine|Habsburg-Lorraine]]
| father       = [[Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria]]
| mother       = [[Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1863|05|21|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Židlochovice|Gross-Seelowitz]], [[Margraviate of Moravia|Moravia]], [[Austrian Empire]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1954|12|30|1863|05|21|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Merano]], [[Italy]]
| burial_place = 
}}
'''Archduke Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria of Austria-Teschen''' (21 May 1863 – 30 December 1954) was an [[Archduke]] of [[Austria-Hungary|Austria]] and a Prince of [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]]. He was the last [[Grand Master of the Teutonic Order]] from the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] dynasty.

==Early life==
Eugen was the son of [[Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria]] (son of [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]]) and of his wife [[Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria]]. He was born at the castle of Gross Seelowitz in [[Moravia]] (today [[Židlochovice]] near [[Brno]] in the [[Czech Republic]]). At his baptism he was given the names ''Eugen Ferdinand Pius Bernhard Felix Maria''. His education was Spartan in character. His country living at Gross Seelowitz and holidays at [[Gmünd, Carinthia|Gmund]] alternated with a sound education and strict instruction.

At the Palais Erzherzog Albrecht (Archduke Albrecht's Palace, also known as the Albrechtspalais) in [[Vienna]], Eugen received instruction in all the military subjects in addition to languages, music and the history of art. At the age of 14 in keeping with the family tradition and like his elder brother [[Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen|Friedrich]], he also began his military career with the [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]]ean [[Kaiserjäger Regiment]] and was commissioned as a [[Leutnant]] on 27 October 1877. Shortly thereafter he was transferred as an [[Oberleutnant]] to a [[hussar]] regiment and in the following years participated in many lengthy [[Military exercise|manoeuvres]].

In 1882, Eugen took an examination before a commission assembled by [[Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Albrecht]] that verified his suitability to attend the military academy at [[Wiener Neustadt]]. Eugen became then the sole archduke to attend the several year long course at the academy (1883–1885) and subsequently successfully graduated as a fully trained general staff officer.

==Military career==
In 1885, Eugen was assigned to the [[Austro-Hungarian General Staff]] and rapidly rose through the ranks. He commanded a [[battalion]] of Infantry Regiment 13 as a [[lieutenant colonel]] before assuming command of the entire regiment as a [[colonel]]. Following a further regimental assignment as commanding officer of Hussar regiment 13, he assumed command of an infantry brigade in [[Olomouc]] and then a division in Vienna. In 1900 he was appointed to the command of [[XIV Army Corps]] in [[Innsbruck]] and promoted to [[Army General|General der Kavallerie]] on 27 April 1901. This command simultaneously also made him the commanding general in Innsbruck and the defence commander for the Tyrol. He was appointed eight years later as an army inspector and senior defence commander for the Tyrol. When in 1909 the possibility of a war against [[Kingdom of Serbia|Serbia]] was in the air he alongside [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Archduke Franz Ferdinand]] and General [[Eugen von Albori|Albori]] was named as a presumptive army commander.

Eugen also had exercised his influence in the field of personnel. He had urgently recommended [[Feldmarschallleutnant]] [[Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf]], his divisional commander at Innsbruck as the successor to the retiring chief of the general staff&nbsp;— General [[Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky]]. In 1911, the Archduke retired from active military service ostensibly for health reasons. Hötzendorf however suggested in his memoirs that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had become increasingly jealous of the importance of Eugen.
[[File:Archduke Eugen of Austria 1894 Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Inauguration Medal by Scharff, obverse.jpg|thumb|left|Archduke Eugen of Austria 1894 Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Inauguration Medal by Scharff, obverse]]
[[File:Archduke Eugen of Austria 1894 Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Inauguration Medal by Scharff, reverse.jpg|thumb|The coat of arms of Archduke Eugen on the reverse of this medal]]
In addition to his military career above all else, Eugen was called upon to perform his duty as the [[Grand Master of the Teutonic Order]]. On 11 January 1887, Eugen entered the [[Teutonic Order]] as a professed knight. At the same time he was chosen to be the coadjutor of his uncle, [[Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria|Archduke Wilhelm]], then ''Hoch- und Deutschmeister''.

When Archduke Wilhelm suddenly died, Eugen was enthroned as the new Hoch- und Deutschmeister on 19 November 1894 and in this office he also proved himself very effective. He further developed the institution of the volunteer nursing care (Marianer), founded new hospitals and improved the training of the sisters. Finally he had the central archives of the order in Vienna sorted out and extended.

==World War I==
[[File:Archduke Eugen in Ischl.JPG|thumb|left|Archduke Eugen at Ischl]]
At the outbreak of [[World War I]] Eugen immediately reported for active duty. At first he was palmed off with a relatively unimportant post as the patron of the voluntary war welfare organization. Finally he was transferred in December 1914 to replace [[Oskar Potiorek]] and assume the post of commander of the forces in the [[Balkans]] (''[[Balkanstreitkräfte]]'') with his headquarters at [[Petrovaradin]]. Together with his chief of Staff, Feldmarschall-Leutnant [[Alfred Krauss (officer)|Alfred Krauss]], a very talented military theoretician with a decisive and vigorous character, he reorganized the hard hit [[5th Army (Austria-Hungary)|5th Army]].

On 22 May 1915, Eugen was promoted to [[Generaloberst]]. Two days later on 24 May he was entrusted with the command of the southwestern front against Italy. He moved his headquarters to [[Marburg]] (Maribor) and now commanded a theatre stretching from the Swiss border to the Adriatic. His main objective here was straightforward defence against the many times numerically superior Italian forces. Only at the beginning was the designation "Southwest Front Command" clear. From March 1916, it functioned as ''Heeresgruppen-Kommando Erzherzog Eugen'' in [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]] to the exclusion of the remaining parts of the front and at the beginning of the execution of the 12th battle of the Isonzo as ''Heeresfront Erzherzog Eugen'' with the allied German [[14th Army (German Empire)|14th Army]] and ''[[Heeresgruppe von Boroević]]'' under command but [[Heeresgruppe von Conrad]] was not immediately subordinate.
[[File:Coat of Arms of Archduke Eugen of Austria.svg|thumb|Coat of arms of Archduke Eugen]]
During the [[First Battle of the Isonzo]] Eugen traveled back and forth behind the front. He attended many conferences, appeared on the front lines and encouraged the troops and in this way achieved great popularity. At the same time he managed the rear areas in order to guarantee the best possible supply to the forward troops.

Before the great attack from the South Tyrol which took take place in the spring of 1916 Eugen assumed command as army group commander of the 11th and 3rd armies and took up headquarters at the estate of his cousin, the Graf von Bozen und Maurer, just outside Bozen ([[Bolzano]]). After initial success, the attack had to be broken off in consequence of the danger posed to the Russian front following the [[Brusilov offensive]] of June 1916 and the subsequent transfer of formations to that threatened front. However, after breaking off the offensive, Archduke Eugen successfully withdrew his troops in the second half of June 1916 into secure positions.

In the further course of the war Eugen had to transfer more and more of his troops to the hard fighting Isonzo Army so that he soon had to manage without reserves in his own theatre of operations. Although he had only a very limited forces holding the Tyrolean front, he never considered withdrawing further and shortening his line. He was too personally attached to the land to do that.

Eugen was promoted to [[List of Austrian field marshals|Field Marshal]] on 23 November 1916 and in the middle of March 1917 again took up his work as the commander of the southwest front. During the [[Battle of Caporetto|Caporetto offensive]], Eugen was the actual commander employing his complete energy in the process. He recognized that this was the last favorable opportunity for the [[Central Powers]]. The Archduke, who normally was no great flayer of the soldiers could on this occasion not push hard enough. There appeared temporarily to be great confusion in the issuing of orders. It is possible that many blamed Eugen and his staff for this.{{who|date=July 2013}}

Against the will of the chief of the general staff, Generaloberst Baron [[Arthur Arz von Straußenburg|Arz von Straußenburg]], the Emperor [[Charles I of Austria|Karl]] released Eugen from active service on 18 December 1917. The southwestern front command was terminated. The relief of Eugen does not appear to have been made for personal but on objective reasons. After Russia's withdrawal from the war and the shortening of various other fronts (Isonzo, Carinthia, Dolomites), the senior generals pushed at the [[Battle of the Piave River|Piave]]. With his very senior rank, Eugen could only be a commander in chief. Eugen was forced to go as the Emperor Karl himself took up the supreme command.

Eugen still enjoyed high renown and at the end of the war at the beginning of November 1918, the idea of Eugen becoming a [[regent]] was introduced. The last foreign minister [[Gyula Andrássy the Younger|Graf Andrássy]] and the member of parliament Dr. [[Franz Dinghofer]] of the German nationalist party had discussed this. However, Eugen would never have accepted such an offer without the consent of the emperor.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

===Military awards===
Amongst the Archduke's considerable number of Austro-Hungarian awards here are the most important:
*Knight of the [[Order of the Golden Fleece]] (13 April 1878)
*Throat and Breast Cross of a Professed Knight of the [[Teutonic Order]] (11 January 1886)
*Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (30 July 1894)
*[[Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)|Military Merit Cross]] (30 November 1898)
*Jubilee Commemoration Medal (2 December 1898)
*Military Service Award III Class (24 October 1902)
*Bronze Military Merit Medal (26 September 1905)
*Brilliants to the Military Merit Cross (12 August 1908)
*Second Expression of Appreciation (Silver Military Merit Medal 1911) (11 October 1908)
*Military Jubilee Cross (2 December 1908)
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary|Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen]] (30 March 1911)
*Red Cross Merit Star with War Decoration (8 March 1915)
*[[Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)|Bronze Military Merit Medal]] (War ribbon) (9 May 1915)
*[[Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)|Military Merit Cross]] 1st Class with War Decoration (29 July 1915)
*[[Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)|Large Military Merit Medal]] (24 May 1916)
*Grand Cross of the [[Military Order of Maria Theresa]] (15 January 1917)
*[[Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)|Silver Military Merit Medal]] with Swords (26 June 1917)
*Brilliants to the [[Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)|Military Merit Cross]] 1st Class with War Decoration and Swords (5 November 1917)
He also received the Swords to both his Large Military Merit Medal and Bronze Military Merit Medal at a later date to the original awards.

Additionally he was the possessor of a host of foreign awards and decorations:
*Grand Cross of the Romanian [[Order of the Star of Romania|Order of the Star]] (3 October 1881)
*Grand Cross of the Royal Spanish [[Order of Charles III]] (25 June 1883)<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000993923&search=&lang=es|chapter=Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III|title=Guía Oficial de España|year=1907|accessdate=2 February 2021|page=153|language=es}}</ref>
*Grand Cross of the Royal Portuguese [[Order of the Tower and Sword]] (7 March 1890)
*Knight of the Royal Prussian [[Order of the Black Eagle]] (30 January 1891)<ref>{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.)|volume=1|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&view=1up&seq=7&skin=2021|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&view=1up&seq=11&skin=2021 5]|chapter=Schwarzer Adler-orden|lang=German|location=Berlin|year=1886|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref>
*Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian [[Ludwigsorden|Order of Ludwig]] (5 May 1892)
*Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Tuscan [[Order of Saint Joseph|Order of St. Joseph]] (7 April 1896)
*Knight of the Imperial Russian [[Order of St. Andrew]] with Chain (26 June 1896)
*Knight of the Imperial Russian [[Order of St. Alexander Nevsky]]
*Knight of the Imperial Russian [[Order of the White Eagle (Russia)|Order of the White Eagle]]
*Knight 1st Class of the Imperial Russian [[Order of St. Anna]]
*Knight of the Siamese [[Order of the Royal House of Chakri]] (23 June 1897)<ref>{{cite journal |author=[[Royal Thai Government Gazette]] |date=8 January 1898 |url=http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2441/041/421.PDF  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212503/http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2441/041/421.PDF  |url-status=dead  |archive-date=4 March 2016 |title=พระราชทานเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ ที่ประเทศยุโรป|language=th |access-date=8 May 2019 }}</ref>
*Knight of the Royal Swedish [[Order of the Seraphim]] (18 September 1897)<ref>{{citation|title=Sveriges statskalender|year=1905|page=440|url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1905/0464.html|via=runeberg.org|access-date=2 February 2021|language=sv}}</ref>
*Royal Swedish Jubilee Commemorative Medal
*Knight of the Papal [[Supreme Order of Christ]] (17 February 1904)
*Grand Cross of the Ducal [[Saxe-Ernestine House Order]] (5 June 1904)
*Collar of the Royal Spanish [[Order of Charles III]] (18 May 1907)<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000996413&search=&lang=es|chapter=Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III|title=Guía Oficial de España|year=1908|accessdate=2 February 2021|page=155|language=es}}</ref>
*Grand Cross of the Papal [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]] (24 September 1907)
*Honorary Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] (21 August 1908)<ref name=LondonGazette28170>{{London Gazette|issue=28170|page=6145|date=21 August 1908}}</ref>
*Commemoration Medal to the Regency of Queen Maria Christina of Spain (1909)
*Grand Cordon of the Royal Belgian [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]] (6 October 1910)
*Royal Prussian [[Iron Cross]] 1st and 2nd Classes (30 March 1915)
*Grand Commander of the [[House Order of Hohenzollern|Royal Prussian House Order of Hohenzollern]] with Swords (4 August 1915)
*Grand Cross of the Royal Bavarian [[Military Order of Max Joseph]] (16 November 1915)
*Imperial Ottoman Gold and Silver [[Imtiyaz Medal]]s (15 January 1916)
*[[Friedrich-August Cross]], 1st and 2nd Classes of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (15 March 1916)
*Royal Prussian Order [[Pour le Mérite]] (23 May 1916)<ref name="PLM">{{cite web|title=Foreign Pour le Mérite Awards: Foreign Awards During World War I|url=https://pourlemerite.org/|website=pourlemerite.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031062935/https://pourlemerite.org/|access-date=1 February 2021|archive-date=31 October 2019}}</ref>
*Grand Cross of the House Order of Vigilance or of the White Falcon with Swords of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimer (2 December 1916)
*Honour Award of the Royal Bulgarian Red Cross (1916/1917)
*Oak leaves to the Royal Prussian Order [[Pour le Mérite]] (3 November 1917)<ref name="PLM"/>
*Royal Bulgarian [[Order of Bravery]] 1st Class (20 November 1917)
*Grand Cross of the [[Military Merit Order (Württemberg)|Royal Württemberg Military Merit Order]] (2 January 1918)
*Royal Bavarian Honour Award to commemorate the Golden Anniversary of King Ludwig III (20 January 1918)

==Later life==
[[File:Innsbruck - Dom zu St Jakob - tomb of Archduke Eugen - 6916.JPG|thumb|Tombs of Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (1558–1618) and Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954) in St Jacob's Cathedral, Innsbruck]]
Following the collapse of the monarchy Eugen first settled in [[Lucerne]] and then at [[Basel]] where he lived modestly in a hotel from 1918 to 1934. In order to safeguard the existence of the Teutonic Order, Eugen voluntarily resigned his position as the ''Hoch- und Deutschmeister'' in 1923. He had been the last hereditary grand master of the order. In this way the possessions of the order were saved.

In 1934, Eugen settled at the order's convent at [[Gumpoldskirchen]] near Vienna. He participated at monarchical rallies, attended veterans' meetings and placed himself again at the service of the dynasty even though he himself no longer believed that he would live to see the restoration. Following the [[Anschluß]] of Austria to Germany in 1938 the Teutonic Order was dissolved and its possessions confiscated.

Eugen received, probably with the intervention of [[Hermann Göring]] and other senior military figures, a rented house at [[Hietzing]] where he survived the [[Second World War]]. In 1945, he fled to the Tyrol where he received through the French occupying power a small rented villa at Igls. On 21 May 1953, the whole of Innsbruck celebrated the field marshal's 90th birthday.

Eugen died on 30 December 1954 at [[Meran]], by then part of Italy, the oldest living member of the dynasty at the time and later the 2nd oldest ever Archduke of Austria, surrounded by the brothers of his order from [[Lana, South Tyrol|Lana]]. On 6 January 1955, he was buried in the St. Jakobskirche at Innsbruck next to [[Archduke Maximilian III]] (1558–1618).

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Archduke Eugen of Austria'''
| 2 = 2. [[Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria]]
| 3 = 3. [[Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria]]
| 4 = 4. [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]]
| 5 = 5. [[Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg]]
| 6 = 6. [[Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary]]
| 7 = 7. [[Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg]]
| 8 = 8. [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor]]
| 9 = 9. [[Maria Luisa of Spain|Infanta María Luisa of Spain]]
| 10 = 10. [[Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg]]
| 11 = 11. [[Burgravine Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg]]
| 12 = 12. [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor]] (= 8)
| 13 = 13. [[Maria Luisa of Spain|Infanta María Luisa of Spain]] (= 9)
| 14 = 14. [[Duke Louis of Württemberg]]
| 15 = 15. [[Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg]]
}}

==Bibliography==
{{commons category|Archduke Eugen of Austria}}
* [[Robert Rác|Rác, Robert]]. ''Arcivévoda Evzen Habsbursko-lotrinský 1863-1954: velmistr Rádu nemeckých rytíru''. Sovinec/Eulenburg: Esmedia, 2005.
* [[Zoë von Schildenfeld|Schildenfeld, Zoë von]]. ''Erzherzog Eugen, 1863-1963: ein Gedenkbuch''. Innsbruck: F. Rauch, 1963.
* {{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Eugene, Archduke}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Teutonic Order]]|21 May|1863|30 December|1954}}
{{s-rel}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria|Archduke Wilhelm<br>Franz of Austria]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Grand Master of the Teutonic Order|Hochmeister]]|years=1894–1923}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Norbert Klein (bishop)|Norbert Klein]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Austrian archdukes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugen Of Austria}}
[[Category:1863 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Židlochovice]]
[[Category:House of Habsburg-Lorraine]]
[[Category:Austrian princes]]
[[Category:Austrian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Field marshals of Austria]]
[[Category:Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Moravian-German people]]
[[Category:Austro-Hungarian Army officers]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)]]
[[Category:Grand masters of the Teutonic Order]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class]]
[[Category:Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Imtiyaz Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Bravery, 1st class]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]
[[Category:Theresian Military Academy alumni]]