Vlkerschlacht Bei Leipzig - Tumblr Posts

So thanks to @microcosme11 who showed a lot of interest in the incredible painting “Battle of Leipzig” by Johann Peter Kraft I’ve decided to consecrate a series of posts to the main participants of the event depicted on the canvas!

It’s simply going to be a bunch of my guesses about who is who over there. 👀

Unfortunately I’m going to illustrate my ideas with such an amount of pictures that it’s simply a necessity to divide this post into several parts…

Well, as an old Russian saying goes, “Don’t feed me bread, just let my speak a lot about 19-century men in fancy uniforms”!

Ahem.

So here comes part 1!

First of all, let’s start with the most important participants - three allied monarchs themselves. Here they are: Alexander I of Russia, Franz II of Austria and Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. 👑

…Aaaaand I was lucky enough to find some old photos I took in the State Hermitage Museum during my last trip to Saint-Petersburg!

I guess Saint-Petersburg is at some point the second home for each and every lover of the Russian Empire. Even nowadays the city itself represents the living remains of that illustrious period in Russian history. :)

As for the paintings those epic depictions of allied monarchs are located in the Military Gallery of the Winter palace. The portrait of Franz II is also one of Kraft’s works which was presented by Kaiser himself to Alexander I when the latter decided to organise the Military Gallery (which is also dedicated to the victory of Leipzig, what a coincidence) in the 1820s while the portraits of Alexander and Friedrich were made by the German painter Franz Krüger who had been working for the Russian Imperial court for a long period of time.

All three of them look truly magnificent but it’s a little bit hard to find the right angle for a photo because they hang pretty high and are gigantic. 😅

Okay, back to the “Battle of Leipzig”~

Since monarchs were usually followed by an escort of their loyal courtiers, the exact same thing goes for the Kraft’s painting. This time for the major part it consists of different military men. I believe most of them come from the general headquarters.

There are three major figures accordingly behind Alexander, Franz and Friedrich - three chiefs-of-staff of the allied forces.

The first man in the crowd is (I’m still not entirely sure about him but it would be still logical to some extent) August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, quartermaster-general of the Silesian army and Blücher’s right-hand man.

The second one is probably (like I don’t know where his aiguillettes are but the resemblance is quite obvious) Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky, chief-of-staff in the Russian army.

He became one of the Alexander’s closest friends since he was introduced to him by his father Pavel I, the emperor of Russia, when Alexander was still a grand-duke (or how we call him in Russian - цесаревич / tsesarevich ✨).

By the way, Volkonsky and his colleague Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, a general who also went through all Napoleonic wars, were the only commanders in the Russian army who received the Grand Cross of the British Order of the Bath after all the struggles.

And here is Vorontsov as a small postcriptum. :)

Mikhail was the eldest son of Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, a Russian diplomat who served as an ambassador in the United Kingdom for almost thirty years! That was the main reason why he knew English language as well as his mother tongue, Russian.

In the nearest troublesome future he and Wellington actually became very good friends as well! 🇷🇺🇬🇧

To be continued 🔜

After all the ball resumes! 🥂

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.

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Ahem, my bad, the Vienna Congress will be opened next year only!

Until then we’re stuck with an incredibly important meeting of prominent people which will eventually lead to an extraordinary outcome (especially if we remember all the past wars and their results which were rather… unfavourable for all the previous Coalitions and their paticipants).

And that’s why here comes

Part 2 of the main characters in the Kraft’s painting “Battle of Leipzig”

Let’s continue our small-talk with another representative of the general-headquarters, the most important one for sure - count Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, the chief-of-staff in the Bohemian army led by Schwarzenberg himself. Amongst his colleagues in the headquarters he probably had the most influence on the decisions made by Schwarzenberg and three allied monarchs themselves.

His placement in the painting illustrates this idea quite well! Even though at first sight he seems to be somewhat “lost” among the officers surrounding him, Radetzky is actually in the heart of a crowd probably listening to Gneisenau’s thoughts on the current state of affairs. 🗣

I also want to give another illustrative example of him wearing dark-green which, in my opinion, suits him very well. :)

It’s a much later artwork (the second half of the 19th century) created by another talented Austrian painter Carl von Blaas - a series of panels in the Ruhmeshalle (the Hall of Fame) which is located in the Museum of Military History in Vienna. There, on the walls from floor to ceiling are depicted the most important military victories in the history of Austria. This one in particular shows us the aftermath of a battle: kaiser Franz decorates the commander-in-chief of allied forces - Karl zu Schwarzenberg - with the Grand Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. Right behind him stands Radetzky with his arms crossed on his chest.

Soooo serious and solemn! ✨

(One more off top since I simply can’t help myself… Like, OMG, Schwarzenberg looks so blissful in this picture. It’s literally heartwarming! 🤲🤲🤲)

All in all, there’re many representatives from different European countries making up the crowd behind three monarchs’ backs. I’m sure there must be some military men from those German states which after all decided to join the allied forces but I’m not competent enough to identify all of them… (Yet, hopefully! 😅)

But I can say for sure that at least two more men in the crowd (who are somewhat hiding behind other’s backs) are of a particular interest.

The first one has such striking appearance that it’s almost impossible to confuse him with anyone else. Say hello to Adam Albert von Neipperg, a military men, a diplomat and… a future husband of archduchess Marie Louise as she was never allowed to reunite with Napoleon after the victory of the allies.

What a surprise to see him out there!

By the way, nice eyepatch, my man. ✨

And next to him is Maximilian von Merveldt, a general who was unfortunate enough to be captured by Napoleon’s men during the first day of a battle…

Oops, that’s quite unpleasant. :(

After that he had to deliver Napoleon’s peace offering which was immediately rejected by allied monarchs since it was only the 16th of October and much more reinforcements were on their way to the battlefield. ✊

To be continued even 🔜 er

Many things were said, many things were seen - at last we’re approaching the finish line! 🎉

So here comes

Part 3 of the main characters in the Kraft’s painting “Battle of Leipzig”

After all the trouble with an escort of three allied monarchs we have a suitable opportunity for a closing speech - a speech about prominent Austrian military men who participated in the Battle of Leipzig and got their moment of fame on the Kraft’s canvas.

Naturally they are led by their general-commander who presided over allied Russian, Prussian, Austrian and German forces - prince Karl Philipp zu Schwarzenberg, Austrian field marshal and experienced diplomat.

Representative of an ancient, well respected family in Habsburg’s monarchy (Franconian/Bavarian heritage with a pinch of Czech influence, money and - notably - property), he was one of the closest and most loyal Metternich’s associates whose gentleness, pliability and diplomatic skills combined with his influence in the army and utter bravery always came in handy when Klemens wanted to accomplish something on an international arena ever since he became chancellor in 1809.

Same thing goes for the war of 1813-1814: since newly formed Coalition needed a commander, probably an Austrian one as Russians and Prussians needed to ensure Austrian involvement in the business against Napoleon, Metternich simply swept other candidates aside (especially archduke Karl von Teschen who probably was the most successful military commander in the Empire… but indescribable boiling h a t r e d between the imperial family and chancellor lurking behind the back of emperor Franz and gracefully pulling the strings was practically insurmountable) and put in an ally he trusted the most.

Like, you know, find yourself a man who can do both! Because Klemens surely found one for himself. ✒️🗡

(This saying actually suits them soooo well, it’s unbelievable. Sometimes I still can’t comprehend how much of “partners in crime” they were (love their dynamic as much as Metternich’s relationships with Friedrich von Gentz) and I will certainly mention them A LOT in the nearest future!)

But for now that’s more than enough chatter about the commander-in-chief, I guess…

Especially when there is such a wonderful pair of true sweethearts behind his back - Hieronymus von Colloredo-Mansfeld and Friedrich VI von Hessen-Homburg, a field marshal and general of the cavalry in the Austrian service! Both went through the Napoleonic wars from it’s start to the very end. Also they properly illustrate the famous notion of “internationalism” which was common amongst the ranks of Austrian Empire’s officials thanks to the legacy of Holy Roman Empire (R.I.P as Napoleon said it himself… ☠️): Colloredo came from a noble family from Friuli (Northern Italy) and Friedrich’s name says it all for him. :)

Even though they seem completely fine on the canvas, both were severely wounded during a fierce confrontation with the troops of Poniatowski, Augerau and Oudinot which took place on the 18th of October. Friedrich who led his hussars in a battle suffered a serious blow…

Fortunately, Colloredo was able to support him in time! Even though he shared the same fate soon, he decided to hide his injury until the positions of allied forces were finally secured. ✊

In the mean time on Schwarzenberg’s left side we can see a fancy cavalry man - count Ignácz Gyulay, another veteran general.

He practically had one job - to stop Napoleon from escaping Leipzig by blocking the western route.

Did he succeed?

Well, to some extent...

It was not enough though.

But, despite some disappointment, we’ve practically collected them all! Czechs, Germans, an Italian and now a Hungarian! Austrian Empire at it’s finest as usual. ✨

And to top this enormous cake with a sweet cherry, I present to you a complete shot in a dark - this ironical looking military man could be Johann von Klenau, one more field marshal to go! His efforts actually saved the whole battle on it’s first day, since he blocked Murat’s fierce cavalry charge and prevented MacDonald’s from flanking the main army (classic Napoleon’s strategy sense I here, heh).

Now that’s what we call a nice save!

And with this small but important victory which can sometimes change the whole course of events I would love to conclude my vast reflection on the Kraft’s painting. It’s a true masterpiece when it comes to all the tiny details and portrayals of the heroes from a distance past.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your attention to the matter!

(Hope you liked it as well, @microcosme11! That was an incredible opportunity, thank you very much! It’s always a pleasure to dig into all these small nuances and facts. 😌)

Das Ende ❤️🤍❤️

Spent such a good day in one of the most famous and huge Russian libraries digging for some golden nuggets in terms of books on the Napoleonic era and Austrian affairs.

Feeling unbelievably calm and relieved. Haven’t experienced that in a long time. ❤️

And here is a meme as usual! The temptation was too strong. X)

(Oops, simple spelling mistakes but I’m too lazy to go and fix them…)

100th Anniversary celebration on the occasion of the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig on Vienna's Schwarzenbergplatz 🥀

The 20th of October is here as well as the aftermath of the Völkerschacht: 209 years ago field-marshal Schwarzenberg had finished a letter to his beloved wife where he recited to her the events of the past four days and announced the decisive victory of the allied forces in the Battle of Leipzig. Then - exactly a hundred years later - people in Vienna celebrated one more anniversary of the Battle of the Nations. And since it was a round date, there exists a thorough photographic recording of that illustrious commemoration. 🎥🎞️

That’s what I’d love to present to you today. :)

At first, when I found those photos and looked through them all, I sensed some kind of a deja-vu. Probably because of how much documentary sources is left after the 100th anniversary celebration of the year of 1812 in Russia. We’ve seen a bunch of photo- and video reportages about it in various museums - with tsar Nicolas II and all of his relatives being present there, obviously. That’s probably why I felt an incredible joy while looking at this new chronicle I was able to discover.

It’s truly amazing - not only to learn about a historical epoch but also to see what impact it had on the times which followed. I can say with some amount of confidence: Napoleonic experience wasn’t always used for good - especially in the beginning of the 20th century. However, it’s part of the history to the same extent now and I’m inclined to perceive it in those forms that are available to us.

Especially when we can observe something - or someone - extraordinary in a very-very-very close proximity! 👁️👁️

You probably already know what I mean from the photos above, since they depict one of the most recognisable figures in Austrian history - of flesh and blood! 🇦🇹

But there’s one more important person who was officially present at a such formal and meaningful event! He also deserves recognition, undoubtedly, especially when we remember that the anniversary took place in October 1913. And - oh boy - what is coming catastrophically soon…

This, let me finally introduce you to these honourable (or maybe not so) gentlemen - here are one of the most renowned emperors in the modern European history, Kaiser Franz Joseph I of Austria, who had actually celebrated his 83rd Birthday two months ago, and an equally infamous Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand von Österreich-Este, who was murdered 9 months later in one world-famous Serbian city.

What can I say? Well, it’s… fascinating. Unbelievably fascinating to look at them both having a stroll through the capital city on an anniversary event which connected the distant Napoleonic past with their own present so tightly.

In my opinion, Franz Joseph could have definitely “felt the feels” at that time: after all, he was the one who stood at the opening ceremony of the same exact field-marshal Schwarzenberg’s monument in the year 1867. He was also an emperor whom three of prince Karl’s sons - Friedrich, Karl and Edmund - served faithfully until their dying breaths. Helped him secure his positions on an Austrian throne in the turbulent years of 1848 - 1849, for example.

And that’s the sort of ancestral aristocratic continuity that sometimes makes the head spin. 🏛️