Draft:Todor Milutinovich
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Todor Milutinovich also Theodor Milutinovich von Millovsky (Serbian Cyrillic: Тодор Милутиновић од Миловски; Surduk, Petrovaradin, Austrian Empire, 23 May 1766 - Temisvar, Habsburg Monarchy, 7 November 1836) held the titles of Freiherr von Weichselburg, Field Marshal-Lieutenant, and Knight of the Maria Theresa Order in the Imperial Austrian military.[1][2][3] He is remembered as a Serbian-Austrian military strategist who led the campaign of liberation of Illyrian provinces from Napoleon's French troops.[4]
Biography
Todor Milutinovich was born in Surduk in the Peterwardein border regiment district of the Slavonian Military Frontier. A son of a captain, later Colonel Aksentije Milutinovich[5]of the Slavonian Military Frontier, who was raised to the nobility in respect of his merits in 1796. Thanks to Wenzel Joseph von Colloredo who had the young officer's son educated at the engineering academy at his expense, whereupon Theodor Milutinovich joined the Imperial Austrian Army in 1786, then 20 years old, as a flag cadet. From then on Milutinovich began his career in the 2nd Banal-Grenz-Regiment, and in 1788 he became a lieutenant in the bridge-building pontoon corps. In this he trained himself to the best of his ability in his branch of service, so that in the wars that followed he had the opportunity to demonstrate his special skill. First in 1792, when after the loss of the Battle of Jemappes, as the army retreated behind Mons, bridges had to be built across the many canals there, but repeatedly had to be broken off in order to thwart the pursuit of the enemy, which difficult task Milutinovich performed with admirable speed and determination. In the winter of the same year, when the army retreated to the Rhine, and if it became necessary to cross the army, there were not enough ships, pontoons, in short, everything that was required to carry out such a crossing, along with the high one When the water level and the drift ice floating in huge pieces only increased the critical situation, it was Milutinovich who, with unusual energy, procured all the means for the army's passage, including artillery and baggage, and through this security significantly promoted the free movement of the army. In the spring of 1793 Milutinovich received orders to build a ship bridge across the Rhine at Koblenz, but was recalled in the middle of carrying out his assignment and assigned to the Royal Prussian Army. Here he now received orders to build a bridge at Bacharach, which task he solved so quickly and skilfully that King Wilhelm II of Prussia rewarded him with a hundred pieces of Friedrich d'or, and also each of the pontonniers who had a hand with it gifted some Friedrich d'or. The whole Prussian army, 55 battalions of infantry, 65 squadrons of cavalry, all the artillery belonging to it, together with the train, crossed the bridge built by Milutinovich without the slightest obstacle; defeated the French General Custine, destroyed Mayence, and began operations in the Netherlands. Milutinovich was now transferred from the 334 Pontonier Battalion to Wurmser's Freikorps, with simultaneous promotion to First Lieutenant. From there he came to the general quartermaster staff in the same capacity, from which he returned as a captain to the Free corps. During this period he distinguished himself on several occasions. During the storming of the Lauterburg and Weissenburg lines in October 1793, during which he first crossed the Rhine with 60 volunteers near Blittersdorf and bravely held out there until the columns crossed, the attention of Field Marshal-Lieutenant- Prince von Waldeck was directed to the brave young man of war; he also distinguished himself in the storming of the lines of Mainz in October 1795 and was always employed in the vanguard or rearguard until the Peace of Luneville.
Campaign of 1805
In the campaign of 1805 Milutinovich was promoted to major in the Peterwardein border regiment; with his battalion he raided the fortress of Veste Oberhaus near Passau and took it by storm; The corps commander, Field Marshal Lieutenant Count Merveldt, praised his bravery and that of his battalion in the army orders. After peace had again been concluded, Milutinovich returned to his homeland and turned his main attention to the border guards, whose welfare he endeavoured to increase through appropriate institutions. His efforts in this direction were recognized by his promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel in the Gradiscan Border Regiment, which took place in October 1808. In 1809, when the regiment also marched out to take part in the great battle of the year mentioned, Milutinovich first saw to it that reserve battalions were set up, also made the other necessary arrangements to secure the borders, and in May 1809 when Bosnian Turks attacked his Serbian defenders were victorious. In the same year Milutinovich was promoted to colonel. After peace had come, Milutinovich devoted his entire activity to the work of peace, he had new roads built and old ones repaired, swamps and marshes, which were making the area unhealthy, dried up, saw to it that appropriate housing was built in the officer stations, and had a sizeable one in the staff station Church and also build a few other churches in several parishes, in short, did everything to promote higher morals and welfare in these regions, half alienated from culture and neglected for years. In 1813 Miluinovich also went into the field with the second battalion of his Gradisca infantry regiment. The Italian army under the viceroy was advancing. On September 6th General Pino advanced from Ljubljana to Višnja Gora. There Milutinovich confronted him with a small detachment of Gradiscaners - the terrain gave the war of 1813 in Inner Austria the character of an outpost war - and two trains of Hussars, stopped his advance and then drove him back to Ljubljana. The following night he and his hussars attacked the two enemy battalions at Brunn and scattered them in such a way that they could not be re-formed for several days. On the 9th Milutinovich advanced with his battalion and the small detachment of Hussars towards St. Marein. The viceroy, who had not expected such resistance in this area as he now faced, soon turned his attention to Colonel Milutinovich and his troops, and decided first of all to eliminate their resistance. A decisive battle broke out near St. Marein on September 12th. As early as eight o'clock in the morning the battle developed under the personal command of the viceroy, who led a battalion of guards, a battalion of the Giuseppe Frederico Palombini's Brigade, two squadrons of dragoons and a detachment of horse artillery into battle against a battalion of Gradiscans and two platoons of Hussars of the Colonel Milutinovich. He had probably asked for reinforcements from General Matija Rebrovich, his countryman, who was stationed near Wechselburg, but they still didn't come. The viceroy had ordered one battalion to turn around the colonel's right wing. Milutinovich's situation became more and more precarious, and when no reinforcements came, defeat was certain. Only boldness could bring salvation, and after that Colonel Milutinovich took his measures. He sent his trusted friend and subordinate Captain Nikitsch with two companies to meet the enemy battalion that was supposed to outflank him. They were to lie in ambush and suddenly attack the approaching enemy battalion, which had been exhausted after an eight-hour march. This plan worked perfectly. For the rest, Milutinovich made the arrangements in such a way that the enemy could not bring about a mass attack. In the skirmish, however, Milutinovich found time and stopped the enemy with the bravery of his men, so that night fell over the battle and the enemy still hadn't won anything. In the meantime, General Rebrovich's reinforcements had also arrived, Austrian troops had maintained their position, and the viceroy and his guard had to retreat. The loss of the enemy was 2 officers, 500 killed and wounded, and 95 prisoners; the loss of Colonel Milutinovich's troops was 47 killed and wounded, and 28 prisoners. The following day the enemy's division led by Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet advanced on Vistula Castle and occupied the place with the Guards. General Matija Rebrovich now resolved to attack the Guards on the night of the 15th/16th; furthermore, Colonel Milutinovich was to turn around the enemy's right flank with his battalion. Milutinovich carried out his mission punctually after a ten-hour march on almost impassable mountain paths, and the French repeatedly suffered a complete defeat after four hours of stubborn fighting, in which they were far superior to Milutinovich's numbers. With no less success Milutinovich worked on September 25th in the enemy's raid at Groß-Laschitz, where he blew up General André Thomas Perreymond's detachment together with Colonel Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg, and on September 27th. Milutinovich in action at Zirknitzer, where, in association with General Ignaz Csivich von Rohr and Colonel Karl Gundakar Graf Starhemberg, 16 companies and three wings of Hussars achieved a complete victory over the enemy Palombini's division, which was five thousand strong and had fourteen guns. The enemy's loss was 500 killed and wounded, 1 colonel, 3 staff, 18 senior officers and 700 prisoners with 4 flags. This series of feats of arms also found deserved appreciation in the Highest Place. At Gorizia, where Colonel Milutinovich had advanced by October 6th, he received the imperial handwritten letter in which he was sent the Knight's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa in recognition of his service to the enemy, but also his promotion to the Major General except the tour had been announced.
1814 Campaign in Montenegro
The Bay of Kotor region was initially conquered from the Republic of Venice by Montenegro with Russian help by the temporal and spiritual Prince-Bishop Petar I Petrović-Njegoš and, in 1813, a union of the bay area with Montenegro was declared, however, Napoleon's French troops occupied the territory, and Austrian sent General Milutinovich von Millovsky to free the city of Kotor, In 1815, the entire Bay of Kotor was annexed by the Austrian Empire and was included in the province of Dalmatia (part of Cisleithania).
Siege of Ragusa
Milutinovich was now assigned to join the corps advancing to Dalmatia. In Dalmatia Milutinovich was particularly active in the capture of Zadar on 6 December 1813, then in that of Fort Terra di Morin and the places of Ragusa. He also took Spalato, Fort Clissa, and moved into the Ragusa area in the early days of January 1814. The first thing to do was to take Ragusa, because the Montenegrins had occupied Kotor. In Ragusa, however, two parties were up to mischief, the French and the so-called republicans. Milutinovich decided to enclose the city, which was completed by 13 January (1814). On 4 June 1814, after five months of seige, Milutinovich then forced the handover of the Bay of Kotor the same day.[6] He petitioned the citizens of Kotor with the following words:
Given the exasperation that has hitherto prevailed between the two parties in control of the city, it required an action that was as energetic as it was prudent in order to prevent the feared outbreak of massacre among the citizens of the two opposing groups. With Ragusa's fall, the last remnant of French rule in the Adriatic Sea came to an end. Among the booty that fell to the Austrians there were 163 pieces of artillery, and among them two 65-pound cannons, which Emperor Charles V had presented to the Republic in gratitude for the help he had received in 1535 against the Turks.
The general's next act of arms was the capture of Kotor. The Montenegrins, favoured by England in the name of Russia, seized the Bay of Kotor before the Austrians arrived. Negotiations were now attempted with Petar I Petrović-Njegoš the Metropolitan of Montenegro regarding the hostile surrender of the province, but these were unsuccessful for obvious reasons. Milutinovich now had to put an end to all activities of the Montenegrins.
In June of that year he attacked Kotor and, through the speed and determination of his troops's movements, took within a few days the fixed positions that had been most precisely reconnoitred. For the new merits acquired on this course, Milutinovich was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Leopold by His Majesty. The next time, up to the beginning of 1816, Milutinovich devoted himself to the organization of the now connected provinces of Ragusa and Albania, at the head of which he was placed as military and civil governor. He later held brigadier posts at Zadar, Karansebes and Sremska Mitrovica, in September he advanced to the rank of Field Marshal Lieutenant and in 1831 he became the owner of the Infantry Regiment No. 54. First employed in Karlstadt, then in Temesvár as a general, he retired in February 1836, after 50 years of service.
Unfortunately, he enjoyed only a few more months because he died in November 1836 at the age of 70.
Sources
Regarding Nobility diploma of June 20, 1796 for Theodor's father Axentius; Baronial status diploma from December 12, 1815; Schels, Austrian military journal (Vienna, 8°.) Year 1839, vol. I, [337] p. 36 and 131; Military newspaper, published by Hirtenfeld ( Vienna, gr. 4°.) XI. Year [WS 1] (1858), No. 33, in the article: Montenegro. – Hirtenfeld (J.); The Military Maria Theresa Order and its members (Vienna 1857, Staatsdruckerei, 4°.) P. 1198 and 1749; and Serbsky Ljetopis, 17th year (1843), I. Part.