Paul von Davidovich

Paul von Davidovich (also rendered Paul Davidovich; South Slavic form Pavle Davidović) was an Austrian (Habsburg) infantry officer who rose to high general rank and served continuously from the Seven Years’ War through the Napoleonic period. He was born in 1737 at Buda (Ofen) in the Habsburg Monarchy.

He entered military service as a volunteer on 1 February 1757 in an Austrian infantry regiment (recorded as Ferdinand Karl Infantry Regiment Nr. 2) and served during the Seven Years’ War, advancing through the company grades to captain. On 17 November 1771 he was promoted to Major in Infantry Regiment Nr. 19. During the War of the Bavarian Succession, he distinguished himself in an action at Habelschwerdt (Bystrzyca Kłodzka) on 18 January 1779, leading volunteers in an assault that broke into a defended position and captured enemy personnel and matériel. For that exploit he received the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa on 19 May 1779, and he was ennobled as Freiherr (baron) in 1780.

On 9 November 1781 he was promoted to Oberstleutnant in Infantry Regiment Nr. 34 (associated with Anton Esterházy), and on 8 November 1783 he was promoted to Oberst (colonel). He held regimental commands in the Military Frontier forces, including command of the Peterwardeiner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 9 (from 1785). In the Austro-Turkish War, he negotiated the surrender of the fortress of Šabac on the Sava River on 24 April 1788 and took command there. He later held command of the Broder Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 7 (from 1789).

In 1789 he served in the Habsburg Netherlands in operations connected with suppressing the Brabant Revolution, working under senior commanders including Count Baillet de Latour. He was promoted to Generalmajor on 16 January 1790 (with rank dated from 8 December 1789).

During the French Revolutionary Wars he served on the western fronts, including operations in the Austrian Netherlands and northern France. In the Flanders theatre he took part in Major actions including the siege of Valenciennes in 1793 and engagements in 1794 such as Grand-Reng and Erquelinnes, and in 1795 he was involved in the Siege of Mannheim. He later transferred to the Italian theatre during the 1796 campaign against the French Army of Italy. He commanded an Austrian corps in the Tyrol/Trentino sector and was defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Rovereto (Roveredo) on 4 September 1796, a setback that opened the way down the Adige valley. Later in the same campaign period, fighting continued around Calliano (near the Adige), in which his forces were engaged.

In the War of the Third Coalition he served in northern Italy and fought at the Battle of Caldiero (30 October 1805) under the Austrian command structure opposing the French in the Venetian region. In the War of the Fifth Coalition he was still in senior service and was present in 1809, including involvement connected in the campaign year with the Battle of Raab (Győr) on 14 June 1809. Late in his career he held the colonel-proprietorship (Inhaber) of an Austrian infantry regiment (recorded as Infantry Regiment Nr. 34).

He died on 18 February 1814 at Komárno (Komorn) in the Austrian Empire.