Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf, Archduke

(1817–1895)

   Austrian military commander born in Vienna in August 1817. Albrecht was the son of Archduke Charles, who had defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Aspern- Essling in 1809. In the wake of the revolution of 1848–49, Albrecht got involved in politics, serving as governor of Hungary and becoming the leading ultraconservative among the Habsburgs. In the war of 1866, he commanded the Austrian army on the Italian theater and defeated the Italians at Custoza. After the war, the victorious field commander became supreme commander of the army and general inspector. He cooperated closely with Count Friedrich Beck-Rzikowsky, the chief of the general staff since 1881. Struggling relentlessly against both liberal and nationalist tendencies in the military, as well as political and dynastic elites of the Habsburg monarchy, Albrecht usually favored a cautious foreign policy. He died in Arco in February 1895.

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   FURTHER READING:

    Wawro, Geoffrey. The Austro-Prussian War: Austria ’ s War with Prussia and Italy in 1866. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

   GUENTHER KRONENBITTER