Radetzky: Imperial Victor and Military Genius

by Alan Sked

History remembers Wellington's defeat of Napoleon, but has forgotten the role of Field Marshal Radetzky in the battles which led to Napoleon's abdication and first exile in 1814. As Chief of Staff to the Allied Coalition of 1813-1814, Field Marshal Count Joseph Radetzky von Radetz determined the shape of the most decisive campaigns of the Napoleonic wars by inventing the strategy that in a matter of months defeated Napoleon. Neither Russia nor Prussia had been able to overcome the Corsican in battle and the forces that these powers controlled between them in 1813 were in no position to challenge him in Europe. It took the brilliant diplomacy of Metternich and the military genius of Radetzky to ensure victory over the Emperor. In short, the Austrian contribution decisively tipped the balance against Napoleon - a fact which has always been overlooked by historians.



Later in Radetzky’s career, in 1848 and again in 1849, it was he who defeated a much superior army not merely to maintain the political and geographical integrity of the Habsburg Monarchy but thereby almost certainly preventing a whole continent from dissolving once again into war and revolution as it had in 1792-1815.



Yet, despite his impressive military record, Radetzky was not simply a commander. He was also an important military thinker, who examined all the key issues of his day - not merely strategy and tactics but also fortifications, the role of a general staff, the role of horses in warfare, the need for technical corps amongst many other issues. He was also progressive he believed in moving with the times, in constitutionalism and in popular defence and was active in military strategy until his retirement, at the age of 90, in 1857.



Radetzky’s achievements on the battlefield were of the greatest possible significance in European history, yet today, Radetzky is almost forgotten - remembered only in the music of the Radetzky March, dedicated to him by Johann Strauss the elder. In this, the first biography of Radetzky in English, Alan Sked paints a vivid picture of an exceptional, yet neglected, military commander in a book which will be fascinating reading for enthusiasts of military and modern European history.

Genres: History

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Alan Sked, FRHistS, is Professor Emeritus of International History at the London School of Economics and founded the party now known as the UK Independence Party.

Reviews

[Jur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fails for trying too hard. Sked is so busy insisting on Radetzky’s genius without always providing sufficient proof that the reader becomes suspicious. Sked always takes the Austrian side, and among Austrians always that of Radetzky.

There is no doubt that Radetzky was a very brave and capable officer, and his early career provides numerous examples in various theatres and roles. In the wake of the defeat at Wagram, the 42 year old general was appointed as chief of the general staff. In the following years he would be instrumental in rebuilding the Austrian army from scarce means and leading it to victory and the occupation of Paris in 1814.

He would remain active as a commander, thinker and organiser in the following 35 years. But his finest hour would be his victory at old age in 1848 and 1849 against Italian revolutionaries and nationalist led by the king of Sardinia-Piedmont. Clearly, Sked is most at home in the crisis of revolutionary Italy in 1848-9 (on which he has published before). This is where he uses primary sources at great length to support his narrative.

But his account of the Napoleonic Wars is based on secondary sources. Surprisingly, Radetzky sometimes doesn’t actively contribute for several pages, as if he’s not the driving force that Sked maintains he is. I would have been curious to know how Schwarzenberg, commander of the allied army, and Radetzky interacted: was Schwarzenberg the guy who sold Radetzky’s plans to the monarchs or did he add his own ideas? When Schwarzenberg is said to have made a decision, was it really his? Radetzky’s strategic principles are set out clearly, but what was his day to day role in the army? This lack of added detail means that his description of the 1813 and 1814 campaign adds very little to other accounts.

[Ian Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a man who arguably did more than anyone to defeat Napoleon, and who continued to play a role in the sweeping historical events of 1848-9, there have been remarkably few English-language biographies of Radetzky. Alan Sked's effort gets the job done, and provides the basic facts of his life from which a picture can emerge, albeit with a hagiographic tinge.

That being said, his prose is bombastic to the point of being confrontational, with statements like "This view of Metternich may be contentious, but it is undoubtedly correct." This sounds rather akin to 'There's debate about this, but I'm correct and anyone not agreeing is wrong.' And yet, later he says of an opinion expressed by Wolf-Schneider von Arno that 'one would need to look very far and very wide before accepting such a grand assertion'. Is this really intellectually consistent?

Some might confuse this for engaging writing, but it should be the strength of the source material and masterful skill of its conveyance that grips the reader, not the boldness with which doubtful opinions are advanced. Sked also makes some less than strictly academic speculations, such as 'Certainly, it is impossible to imagine Blucher as commander-in-chief. He would have resigned within days in a fit of temper.' 

Death of the author notwithstanding, it is curious to contemplate Sked having been the founder of UKIP, right-wing nationalist party and hobby group for racists who preface sentences with "I'm not a racist, but..." It does provide some context to the peculiar views expressed, but also raises the question of why a man so dedicated to nationalism in his own country is hero-worshipping another whose career largely militated against nationalist movements in much of Central and Eastern Europe, and especially of the unification of Italy.

I hope one day to read a superior biography of Radetzky from a historian in greater command of the craft.

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another monograph that I've been meaning to read for the better part of a decade, it started out decent enough, and, to be honest, it's not as though that there are many choices in English in regards to reading about the famous Austrian military leader.

However, the deeper I got into the work, the more my sense of unease grew. The Napoleonic period is not my best area of expertise, but at a certain point I felt as though I was being fast-talked, certainly that I was being fed a bit more of a polemic than I had expected. At that point I did some poking around about the late Prof. Sked, and it turns out that soon after he published this work Euro-skeptic politics became his main avocation, and it became difficult for me to take Sked's narrative seriously from that point on.

Having said all that, should anyone else be picking this book up to read? Maybe. If you just want a military life of Radetzky it's still probably serviceable. I wish that there was another option though.

Actual rating: 2.5. The more I think about this book the less charitable I feel.

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most compelling story of a largely forgotten man.