Johann Heinrich von Schmitt
| Johann Heinrich von Schmitt | |
|---|---|
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, after his retirement in 1800.
|
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| Born | 1743 Pest, Hungary or Bavaria |
| Died |
11 November 1805 (aged 62) |
| Allegiance |
 Habsburg Monarchy
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| Service/branch | Chief of the Quartermaster General Staff of the Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant Field Marshal |
| Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars War of the Third Coalition |
11 November 1805 (aged 62)
Dürenstein, Austria
Heinrich Schmitt (1743 – 11 November 1805) rose to the rank of Feldmarshalleutnant Lieutenant-General in the Habsburg military during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.
He developed a sound military reputation as a surveyor, map-maker, and strategist during Austria's wars with the Ottoman Empire, He served on the Quartermaster's staff during the War of the First Coalition. As a major general, he was one of Archduke Charles trusted advisers during the War of the Second Coalition campaign in southwestern Germany.
In 1799, his reputation was tarnished by the assassination of the French delegates to the Congress of Rastatt in 1799, and he retired the following year. When war broke out again in 1805, he was recalled from retirement and assigned to the combined Russian-Austrian forces on the Danube. On 11 November, Schmitt was killed by friendly fire at the Battle of Dürenstein.
Heinrich Schmitt was born in 1743, the son of Johann Sebastian von Schmitt, a Rittmeister (cavalry captain) in the Imperial Cuirassier Regiment Graf Cordova. Schmitt may have been born in Pest (Budapest) in Hungary, or, as other sources claim, in Bavaria. In 1742–43, his father's regiment participated in the Battle of Sahay, and then in the Siege of Prague, followed by duty in Bavaria and the Rhineland in 1743. His father died in 1752—it is unclear where—and on 25 June 1758, at the age of 14 years, Schmitt enrolled in the Imperial School of Engineering in Gumpendorf. There he received a thorough technical training in engineering and the extensive education provided for officers on all other major subjects, particularly those pertaining to war and science.
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