Prince Josias of Coburg
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Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (26 December 1737 - 26 February 1815), a son of Duke Josias Francis of Coburg (German: Koburg) became a famous general of the Holy Roman Empire.
Born at Coburg, he joined the Austrian service as Colonel in 1759, paticipated in the Seven Years' War and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Field Marshal by 1773. In the Turkish war of 1788 he commanded an army corps under Laudon, occupying Moldavia, capturing Chotin in Bessarabia and sharing in Suvorov's victory at Focsani (1 August 1789). Having completely beaten the main Turkish army under the Grand Vizier at Martinestie, he captured the greater part of Wallachia, including Bucharest, becoming a Field Marshal in consequence.
In 1793 and 1794 he commanded the army in the Austrian Netherlands. Due to his victories at Aldenhoven and Neerwinden (1793) he returned the region to Austrian control. In France he took Condé, Valenciennes, Quesnoy and Landrecies. But due to unfortunate positioning, partly due to disunity amongst the Allied powers and their forces, he suffered a string of minor setbacks on the Sambre, followed by a decisive defeat at Fleurus on 26 June 1794. He thereupon abandoned the Netherlands, which Austrian diplomats had already decided to give up. Angered by this, and openly criticising the policies of Thugut, Coburg resigned as Field Marshal (Clerfayt assumed command) and retired to Coburg, where he died on 26 February 1815.
Bibliography: A. v. Witzleben, Prinz Friedrich J. von Koburg-Saalfeld, Herzog zu Sachsen (Berlin, 1859).
Original text from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon of 1888 - 1889.