The Mysterious Adventures of Austrian General Chasteler in 1809

Johann Gabriel Josef Albert, Marquess de Chasteler and Courcelles (1763-1825) was an Austrian general officer who was assigned to assist the Tyrolese rising against the Bavarians in conjuction with the Austrian invasion of Bavaria in 1809.

He apparently at least witnessed the Tyrolese massacre of French and Bavarians captured by the Tyrolese and did nothing to intervene. For that 'distinction' he was proscribed by Napoleon with orders that, if captured, he was to be tried by the military commission for war crimes.

Order of the Day. Imperial Headquarters, Enns, 5 May 1809:

'By order of the Emperor, the person named Chasteler, would-be general in the service of Austria, the mover of the insurrection in the Tyrol, charged with being the author of the massacres committed on the Bavarian and French prisoners by the insurgents, shall, upon being taken prisoner, be carried immediately before the military commission, and if need be, shall be shot within 24 hours.'

Signed, The Prince of Neufchatel, Vice Constable, Major-General of the Army-Alexandre

Copy of a letter from His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, to Prince Charles Wolkersdorf, 25 May 1809:

'My dear brother, I have learned that the Emperor Napoleon has declared the Marquis of Chasteler out of the protection of the law of nations. This unjust conduct, contrary to the usage of nations, and of which there is no example in the latter periods of history, obliges me to have recourse to reprisals. In consequence, I order that French Generals Durosnel and Fouler shall be kept as hostages, to undergo the same fate and same treatment as the Emperor Napoleon shall make General Chasteler suffer. It is repugnant to my feelings to give such an order, but I owe it to my brave warriors, and to my brave people, who may be exposed to a similar fate while fulfilling their duties with ardent devotion I charge you to make known this letter to the army, and to send it by a parliamentary to the Major-General of the Emperor Napoleon.'

When Napoleon found out about this letter from Francis he ordered that Prince Colloredo, Prince Metternich, Count Pergen, and Count Hardegg be arrested and sent as prisoners to France 'to answer for the lives of Generals Durosnel and Fouler.'

The reply by Berthier to the Austrian chief of staff on this subject was sent on 6 June 1809 from Imperial Headquarters at the Schonbrunn:

'His Majesty the Emperor has learned of an order given by the Emperor Francis, which declares that the French Generals Durosnel and Fouler, whom the circumstances of war have placed in his power, shall answer for the punishment which the laws of justice may inflict on Monsieur Chasteler, who has put himself at the head of the insurgents of the Tyrol, and who has permitted the slaughter of 700 French prisoners and between 1,800 and 1,900 Bavarians, a crime unheard of in the history of nations, and which might have caused a terrible reprisal on 40 field marshal lieutenants, 36 major-generals, more than 300 colonels or majors, 1,200 officers, and 80,000 soldiers, if His Majesty did not consider prisoners as placed under his faith and honor, and had not beside proof that the Austrian officers in the Tyrol have been as indignant at the action as ourselves.'

'His Majesty, however, has ordered that Prince Colloredo, Prince Metternich, Count Frederic and Count Pergen shall be arrested and conveyed to France, to answer for the safety of Generals Durosnel and Fouler, threatened by the order of the day of your sovereign. These officers may die, sir, by they shall not die without being revenged: this vengeance shall not fall on any prisoners, but on the relatives of those who shall order their death.'

'As to Mr. Chasteler, he is not yet in the power of the army; but if he should be taken, you may be assured that he will be delivered to a military commission, and that his trial will take place. I request your excellency to believe the sentiments of my high consideration.'

Signed, The Major-General, Alexandre.

The French never caught Chasteler, who had left the Tyrol in something of a hurry...

These documents can be found in J. David Markham's, Imperial Glory: The Bulletins of Napoleon's Grande Armee 1805-1814, 223-224. It is noteworthy that these documents were not bulletins, but orders of the day and correspondence.