- Guido Starhemberg
Guido Wald Rüdiger, count of Starhemberg; (Graz, 1657- Vienna,
March 7 ,1737 ) was an Austrian military officer.He was a cousin of
Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg (1638-1701), the famous commander ofVienna during the Turkish siege of 1683, and acted as his ADC during the siege. Guido followed his cousin, and laterPrince Eugene of Savoy , in battles against the Turks.In the
War of the Spanish Succession Starhemberg fought in Italy and Spain. Between 1706 and 1708 he was the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in Hungary, since this time he led the operations against the insurgents ofFrancis II Rákóczi . In 1708 he was appointed Supreme commander of the Austrians in Spain.Together with James Stanhope he succeeded in conquering
Madrid in 1710, after the victories of Almenara and Saragossa.But in December he was forced to leave the city by the lack of support by the people of Madrid for the
Habsburg pretender. After the defeats at theBattle of Brihuega and theBattle of Villaviciosa (1710), he had to pull back toCatalonia , where he was made viceroy, when Archduke Charles returned to Austria.After the
Peace of Utrecht (1713), archduke Charles, now Emperor Charles VI, ordered him to abandon Catalonia. He pulled back with his troops toGenua on English ships.When he died in 1737, he was Governor of
Slavonia .
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