Johann Kollowrat

Johann Nepomuk Karl, Graf von Kolowrat-Krakowsky (21 December 1748 – 5 June 1816)

Feldmarschall Johann Nepomuk Karl, Graf von Kolowrat-Krakowsky (often rendered “Kollowrat”) was a Bohemian nobleman and senior officer of the Habsburg monarchy, whose career combined early regimental service with later specialization in artillery administration and high command. Born in Prague, he entered the Austrian army in 1766 as an infantry and cavalry officer, advancing through company and field-grade ranks during peacetime postings and the 1778–79 campaign against Prussia. In the 1787–91 war against the Ottoman Empire, he served with distinction as an infantry commander; by 1788 he was an Oberstleutnant, became an Oberst in 1788, and was appointed Generalfeldwachtmeister after the 1789 operations at Belgrade. In 1791 he acted as an imperial commissioner connected with the postwar evacuation and handover arrangements in Belgrade.

In 1792 Kolowrat-Krakowsky transferred to the artillery, a move that shaped his later reputation as an organizer of gunnery and materiel. He became Feldmarschallleutnant during the Revolutionary Wars and received responsibility for artillery at the main army on the Rhine. His direction of batteries and siege artillery in the operations against Kehl in 1796–97 was followed by the award of the Commander’s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He was promoted Feldzeugmeister in 1800. In 1801 he entered the Hofkriegsrat as a senior councillor, and he also became Inhaber of Infantry Regiment No. 36, a proprietorship he retained for the remainder of his life. From 1803 he served as commanding general in Bohemia.

During the 1805 campaign he held Major command responsibilities and led a large formation at Austerlitz within the Allied army. In the 1809 war he commanded a corps operating from Bohemia into Bavaria, including the occupation of Regensburg in April. After the main army’s reverses he withdrew toward the Danube theater and fought with his corps at Wagram. He was promoted Feldmarschall in September 1809 and thereafter did not return to field command at the head of an army corps. During the 1813–15 campaigns he remained in Bohemia in a senior territorial command role, supporting Allied movements and organizing care and supply for the sick and wounded, including enemy prisoners and casualties; for this work he received foreign recognition from Louis XVIII in the form of appointment as a Grand officier of the Légion d’honneur. He requested release from active command in 1816 and was granted it with further honors shortly before his death in Prague.

Sources

• Deutsche Biographie: Kolowrat-Krakowský, Johann Karl Graf von
• Wikisource: BLKÖ – Kolowrat-Krakowsky, Johann Nepomuk Karl Graf
• Google Books: Ignaz Cornova, Lebensgeschichte Johann Karls Grafen Krakowsky von Kolowrat (1818)
• The Napoleon Series: Austrian Generals – Kollowrat-Krakowsky
• Wikipedia (English): Johann Kollowrat