Leopold Joseph von Daun | |
---|---|
Born |
Vienna, Austria |
24 September 1705
Died | 5 February 1766 Vienna |
(aged 60)
Allegiance | Holy Roman Empire |
Service/branch | Imperial Army |
Years of service | 1718–1766 |
Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
Battles/wars |
War of the Quadruple Alliance |
War of the Quadruple Alliance
War of the Polish Succession
Russo-Austrian-Turkish War
War of the Austrian Succession
Count Leopold Joseph von Daun (German: Leopold Joseph Maria, Reichsgraf von und zu Daun; 24 September 1705 – 5 February 1766), later Prince of Thiano, was an Austrian field marshal of the Imperial Army in the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War.
Leopold Joseph Maria was born at Vienna, the son of Count Wirich Philipp von Daun (1669–1741). The Daun noble family originated from the Rhineland and derived its name from the ancestral seat at Daun south of the High Eifel range.
He was intended for the church, but his natural inclination for the army, in which his father and grandfather had been distinguished generals, proved irresistible. In 1718 he served in the War of the Quadruple Alliance in Sicily, in his father's regiment. He had already risen to the rank of Oberst (Colonel) when he saw further active service in Italy and on the Rhine in the War of the Polish Succession (1734–35). He continued to add to his distinctions in the Turkish War of 1737–39, in which he attained the rank of Feldmarschallleutnant (Major-General).