Friedrich Karl Gustav, Baron von Langenau


Friedrich Karl Gustav Freiherr von Langenau, Imperial Field Marshal-Lieutenant, was Quartermaster-General of the Grand Army of Bohemia, in 1814, and Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine, under Schwarzenberg in 1815.

Early life

He was the son of a Saxon lieutenant General, Gottlob Bernhard. He joined at the age of 13 years in the Saxon army, as a Unterleutnant, in the "Kurfürst" Infantry Regiment. He participated in the campaigns of 1796 to 1812, including the Battle of Saalfeld. Notably, in the Russian Campaign in 1812, he was head of the General Staff of the VII Corps. After the return of the Saxon Corps from Russia, the King appointed him Adjutant-General.
In 1813 he negotiated a treaty for mutual defence with Austria; but after the Battle of Lützen, the king of Saxony returned to the French fold at Dresden. Langenau resigned and fought for Austria. On 27 July 1813, Langenau was Major General to the General Staff. At Dresden, 26 August 1813, he was successful taking command from the wounded Major General v. Frierenberger. In Leipzig, 16 October 1813, Feldm. Director-Lieut. Reisner gave direction to Langerau of the Center and the left wing batteries, united at two points, and silenced the enemy guns. On 18 October Langerau was the first to pursue the withdrawal of the enemy from the Wachau Valley. Langerau commanded artillery in battles near Hochheim. His service as Quartermaster-General of the Grand Army of Bohemia, in 1814, and of the Rhine Army, in 1815, under Schwarzenberg, won him universal recognition. Joseph Radetzky von Radetz served under him in 1814.
Langernau in 1817, became a Brigadier General in Linz. In 1827 he was appointed Feldmarschall-Lieutenant and assumed command in Frankfurt. In 1835, he was appointed General in command, Illyria, Tyrol and intraday Austria, in which position he died at Gratz, Austria.

Political

He was Austrian Plenipotentiary, and the Chairman of the Military Central Commission of the German Federal Assembly at Frankfurt am Main, from November 1818 to 1829.

Family

He married Sarah von Sturtz.

Awards

Order of Military Merit – CC: 1816
Order of the Légion d'Honneur – KC: 1812

Hessen-Darmstadt

Order of Ludwig – GC: 1829

Prussia

Order of the Red Eagle 1st cl.: 1824

Russia

Order of St. Anne 1st cl.: 1813

Saxony

Military Order of St. Henry – CC: before 1829