Carl Mak Baron von Leyberich, Austrian field marshal-lieutenant Date of Birth: 24.08.1752 Country: Austria

Biography of Karl Mack

Baron von Leiberich, Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Mack (24.8.1752, Neusling, Franconia - 22.10.1828, Saint-Nolten, Lower Austria), Baron von Leiberich, Lieutenant Field Marshal (1796). Son of a high-ranking official. He began his service in 1770 as a cornet in the 2nd Carabinier Count Altann regiment. In 1776, he was promoted to lieutenant, and in 1777, to captain. He participated in the War of the Bavarian Succession. During the campaign in Bohemia (1778), he served as an adjutant to the commander of Count Joseph Kinsky's division, and then became the adjutant to Field Marshal Lacy, thanks to whose patronage he made a rapid career. In 1789, at the beginning of the war with Turkey, he commanded the vanguard of the army, and after the unsuccessful storming of Belgrade, he became the chief of staff to Field Marshals Kinsky and Laudon. Within a year, he was promoted first to lieutenant colonel, and then to colonel. From the end of 1789, he served as the Quartermaster General of the army staff. In 1790, he participated in military operations against Prussia and the same year was appointed as the Emperor's chief aide-de-camp. From 1791, he commanded the 8th Light Cavalry Regiment, leading them in battles against the Turks. In the autumn of 1792, Mack was appointed as the chief aide-de-camp and Quartermaster General of Field Marshal Prince Coburg, who commanded the Rhine Army. He drafted the plan for the 1792 campaign against France and proved himself to be a capable military leader. In 1793, he became the commander of the 6th Cuirassier Regiment, and in early 1794, he became the Quartermaster General of the active army in the Netherlands. In 1796, he was promoted to Lieutenant Field Marshal and appointed as the Quartermaster General of the Rhine Army. After the conclusion of the Campo Formio peace treaty, he led the cavalry in the army on the River Lech. He carried out important military-diplomatic assignments in Portugal, Istria, and Dalmatia. In August 1798, he led the Neapolitan Army. All his attempts to reorganize the army ended in failure, and after the start of the French offensive, the situation turned against Mack. After the flight of the Neapolitan king, a mutiny broke out in the troops, and Mack concluded a convention with the French and surrendered Capua, paying approximately 10 million francs in contributions collected from Naples. Nevertheless, the French Directory declared Mack a prisoner of war, but Napoleon Bonaparte released him on his word of honor, and he fled to Austria in 1800, where he remained inactive for several years. In 1804, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the troops in Tyrol, Italy, and Dalmatia. In the spring of 1805, he was appointed as the Quartermaster General to Archduke Charles and was one of the leaders of the reorganization of the Austrian army. He authored a large number of military-theoretical works and enjoyed a reputation as one of the best theorists of the Austrian army. From August 1805, he served as the Quartermaster General to the Emperor. At the beginning of the 1805 campaign, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian army in Germany, Archduke Ferdinand. In practice, it was Mack who led the army (about 50,000 men). On September 9, 1805, the Austrian troops invaded Bavaria and captured Ulm. Napoleon cut off Mack's retreat to Vienna; he attempted to break through but was stopped by the Battle of Wertingen (October 8). After an unsuccessful attempt to break through, the Austrian troops split into the group of Archduke Ferdinand and the group of Mack, concentrated around Ulm. On October 17, he surrendered with the entire army (about 33,000 men, 40 flags, and 65 guns), reserving his freedom and promising not to fight against France anymore. The Austrian Military Court sentenced him to death, which was commuted to two years of imprisonment in a fortress and the deprivation of all ranks and awards. After the "Battle of the Nations" at Leipzig, he was reinstated in the army with the rank of Lieutenant Field Marshal. "Mack is the most mediocre person I have ever met," said Napoleon.