Charles, Louis (1771–1847)

Archduke of Austria and Duke of Teschen, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, and a distinguished general of the Napoleonic period. In 1796 he drove the advancing French back across the Rhine, commanded the armies in Italy in 1805, and was commander-in-chief of the Austrian army at Aspern and Wagram in 1809, when Austria was defeated by Napoleon's forces.

Archduke Charles defeated the French marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan four times; at Amberg and Würzburg in 1796 and at Osterach and Stokach in 1799. In 1805 he took command of the Austrian armies in Italy, where he defeated the French marshal André Masséna. The peace which followed the disasters of Ulm and Austerlitz in 1805 was used by the Archduke to reorganize the Austrian forces. In 1809 he again became commander-in-chief of the Austrian army, and the victory of Aspern restored the morale of the rest of Europe. However, Aspern was followed by Wagram, where the Austrians were totally defeated. This was the last battle in which the Archduke took part.