Anton Lehár

Anton Freiherr von Lehár (21 February 1876 – 12 November1962), known in Hungarian as Lehár Antal (and sometimes as "Baron Antal Lehár"), was an Austrian officer of Hungarian descent, who reached the pinnacle of his service after World War I when he supported the former Emperor Charles I of Austria's attempts to retake the throne of Hungary. His brother was the famous composer Franz Lehár.

Early Life

Lehár was born in Ödenburg, Austria-Hungary (it is now Sopron in Hungary), as the younger son of a bandmaster in the Infantry Regiment No. 50 of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He entered cadet school in Vienna to become a professional officer, finishing in 1893 top of his class. Following a posting to his father's regiment, he was promoted Leutnant in 1894 and Oberleutnant in 1898. Between 1897 and 1899 Lehár attended the "Kriegsschule" (war college) in Vienna, after which he was attached to the general staff and served in a number of training positions until World War I.

World War I

Following the outbreak of World War I, Lehár, now with the rank of Major, was put in command of the 2nd battalion of the Honvéd-Landsturm Infantry Regiment No. 13, which he led in September 1914 during battles at Chodel south of Lublin. For his conduct there, Lehár would later be decorated with the Knights's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order (see below). While still fighting near Lublin, Lehár was severely wounded.

After leaving hospital he was reassigned to an administrative post at the department of the defense of Tyrol with headquarters in Bolzano, where he served under General Viktor Dankl. Following promotion to Oberstleutnant in September 1915, Lehár returned to fighting, this time on the Italian front. A number of other assignments followed. In May 1918 he was promoted to Oberst and received the Golden Bravery Medal for Officers.In August 1918 Lehár was decorated with the Knights's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order in recognition of his services during the battles at Chodel south of Lublin in September 1914. In accordance with the statutes of this order, Lehár became a baron in his country's nobility and was since styled "Freiherr von Lehár", while his brother Franz remained a commoner.

At the conclusion of hostilities of World War I, Lehár was able to move his regiment, without any casualities or desertion, back to Steinamanger (now Kössegg in Hungary).

Hungary

After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Oberst Anton Freiherr von Lehár decided to remain in Hungary and to fight for the monarchy, again in numerous roles and at various theatres of war. In August 1919 he became the military commander of Western Hungary and was promoted to Major General by Regent Miklós Horthy.

When the former King King Charles IV tried to regain his Hungarian crown (see main article: Charles I of Austria's attempts to retake the throne of Hungary), general Lehár joined his troops, but the mission failed. While the former monarch was transported into exile, Lehár escaped from Hungary and fled through Czechoslovakia to Germany where he hid with friends of his brother's.

Life as a businessman

When the political turmoil had calmed down, Franz Lehár organized the former general a job as director of the "Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers" in Berlin in 1926. With the rise of the national socialist party, Freiherr von Lehár was, as a dedicated monarchist, soon considered suspect. When the national socialists assumed power in 1933, he had to leave Berlin.

Back in Vienna, Lehár founded the "Chodel Music Publishing Company", but after it did not prosper, he decided to hand over the business to his brother in 1935. He then moved to the countryside, becoming a farmer in Theresienfeld near Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. When Germany occupied Austria in March 1938, Lehár was ordered to move to Vienna where the Gestapo could keep a closer eye on him and his wife for much of World War II.

After Franz Lehár's death in October 1948, the former general became the administrator of his estate and spent the rest of his life guarding the rights and promoting the popularity of his brother's music.

Anton Freiherr von Lehár died in Vienna in 1962, aged 86.