Josef Speckbacher

Josef Speckbacher (13 July 1767, Gnadenwald - 28 March 1820, Hall in Tirol ) was a leading figure in the rebellion of the Tyrol against Napoleon.

Josef Speckbacher was born on July 13, 1767 in Gnadenwald, near Hall, in Austria's Tyrolean Alps. He was a peasant’s son, for Speckbacher’s father supplied wood for the salt mines of Hall for a living. Receiving only a brief education, Josef roamed the woods, poaching by the age of twelve, which got him into trouble with the forest officials. Josef got a job working in the Imperial salt mine in Hall. This work allowed him to start a family of his own.

On February 10, 1794, 27-year-old Speckbacher married Mary Schmiederer, and relocated to her farm in Judenstein, Rinn. From that time on, he had the nickname “the Man from Rinn.” He was respected by his community, and in 1796, during a politically sensitive time, he was elected to the local court committee.

France and Austria were at war, though, so he enlisted as a volunteer militiaman. On April 2, 1797 at the Battle of Spinges (in the town Spinges, near Brixen), Speckbacher fought in the ranks of Captain Philip von Wörndle beside Catherine Lanz, the heroine of Spinges, earning a reputation as a zealous sharpshooter. He continued the defense against Napoleon’s Marshal Ney until 1805, when the French were victorious. The Austrian Tyrol was obliged to accept being ceded to Napoleon’s ally, Bavaria.

By 1809, the Austrian government sought to recapture the Tyrol through guerrilla tactics. Speckbacher showed himself to be not only a daring fighter, but also a cautious but fearless strategist. According to his diary, he took part in thirty-six battles and skirmishes in 1809 alone. Early in the morning of April 12, 1809, he surprised the city of Hall, imprisoned the garrison troops and prevented the French retreat into the safety of the valley of the lower Inn. On May 31 he commanded the left wing during the Battle of Mount Isel, and achieved victory near Hall and Volders. From June 23 to July 16, he laid siege to Kufstein Castle. Here he gave countless proofs of his personal courage, built artillery emplacements, destroyed mills and boats useful to the enemy, burnt the city, captured the train of provisions, and even made his way as a spy into the castle. From August 4 to the 11th he was most of the time the commander in the battles between Sterzing and Franzensfeste against Marshal Lefebvre. He forced the marshal to quit the battlefield and with Hofer and Haspinger commanded troops at the famous Third Battle of Mount Isel (August 13 and 15, 1809).

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