Anton Lipthay von Kisfalud

Baron

Anton Lipthay (or Liptay) was born in 1745 (exact date unknown) in Szécsény (county of Nógrád), Hungary, into a family whose nobility dates back to 1248.

His early career in the Austrian army is poorly documented. We do know, however, that he reached the rank of major in 1788, lieutenant-colonel the following year, colonel in 1793 and finally generalmajor (brigadier-general) on May 1, 1795.

During the Italian campaign, his unit was integrated into the Eugène Guillaume de Mercy d'Argenteau division. It fought against the French at Voltri on April 10, 1796, then at Montenotte on the 11th and 12th. Lipthay then accompanied the Austrian army's retreat, observing Napoleon Bonaparte's crossing of the Po at Piacenza on May 7 without intervening. The following day, he was attacked and defeated at Fombio. Shortly afterwards, he received a mission to seize the Venetian fortress of Peschiera del Garda, and settle there with his 4,500 soldiers. He was successful. The defeat of the Austrian army at Borghetto forced him to retreat into the Tyrol.

Lipthay then took part in the first attempt to liberate Mantua [Mantova], led by Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. On August 3, 1796, his division was defeated at Castiglione delle Stiviere by Marshal Charles Augereau's division. Two days later, he suffered the same fate in the battle of Castiglione itself, this time involving much larger forces led by the generals-in-chief. Lipthay was seriously wounded. He soon recovered, however, and took part, under the command of Josef Alvinczy von Borberek, in the new Austrian offensive, which failed at Arcole. During these operations, he distinguished himself at the second battle of Bassano (November 6), one of the few Austrian victories of the campaign.

In early 1797, he led one of the columns of Alvinczy's army that converged on Rivoli. Lipthay's initial successes were quickly erased by the arrival of Marshal André Masséna.

In 1799, when the war resumed, he again served in Italy. On March 26, Lipthay was wounded in Verona. He died in Padua [Padova] less than a year later, on February 17, 1800, as a result of his wounds. Meanwhile, on October 2, 1799, his promotion to the rank of Feldmarschall-Leutnant (Major General) crowned his military career.