Austrian general who brutally suppressed Brescia and Hungary and ordered the Arad executions, the "Hangman of Arad"
Born at Kassel in 1786, the illegitimate son of William I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, he entered the Austrian army as a cadet in 1801 and was wounded at Wagram in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1848 he was sent to suppress the risings in Italy and punished the Brescia rising with great severity. From June 1849 he commanded the Austrian army against Hungary and, with the Russian expeditionary force, defeated the Hungarians. As plenipotentiary he ordered the execution of thirteen Hungarian generals at Arad on 6 October 1849, and he was accused of having women suspected of sympathising with the rebels whipped. He resigned in 1850 after quarrelling with the minister of war, was chased by brewery draymen in London on his travels, and died in 1853.
Also known as: Julius Jakob von Haynau
Activities and affiliations
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1801–1850
Austria state institutionsMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1801Infantry cadet in the Austrian army
- 1848–1849Suppressed the Italian risings (Brescia)
- 1849Commander-in-chief of the Austrian army against Hungary
- 1849–1850Plenipotentiary in Hungary
Related historical events
- 1848.03–1849.10The Hungarian Revolution and War of IndependenceAustrian commander-in-chief, plenipotentiary in HungaryCommanded the main Austrian army from June 1849 and, with the Russians, defeated the Hungarians; as plenipotentiary he ordered the execution of the thirteen martyrs of Arad.
- 1848.01–1849.08The Italian Revolutions of 1848–1849 and the First War of IndependenceAustrian general, "the Hyena of Brescia"Crushed the Brescia rising in April 1849 and let the city be sacked, and directed the siege of Venice before leaving for Hungary in June.