Description
Austria - Hungary 1917 Feldmarschall Archduke Friedrick 50mm zinc medal 41.47 grams by R. Bachmann
Obverse: Feldmarschell three-quarter left profile, in uniform ERZHERZOG FRIEDRICH
Reverse: shield, bearing the arms of Archduke Friedrich crowned and mantled
Like most of the princes of the ruling house, Friedrich adopted a military career, and served creditably for many years as commandant of the V. (Pressburg) Corps. Subsequently, commander-in-chief of the Austrian Landwehr (militia) and army inspector, he became, after the murder of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, inspector-general of the Austro-Hungarian Army.
In World War I, he was —from the dynastic point of view —as grandson of the victor of the Battle of Aspern, Archduke Charles, and as nephew of the victor of the Battle of Custoza, Archduke Albert, the predestined head of the armed forces of Austria-Hungary; and on 11 July 1914 Friedrich was appointed supreme commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army by Emperor Franz Joseph I. He thought it his duty to accept this heavy responsibility, but, modestly underestimating his own powers, left the actual exercise of the command to his chief-of-staff, Franz Graf Conrad von Hötzendorf. In the performance of ceremonial duties, and as mediator for the settlement of the conflicting demands of the military, civil and allied elements, his services were undeniable. He was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall on 8 December 1914. In February 1917 Emperor Charles himself took over the supreme command; the Archduke, although the Emperor's representative, no longer appeared in the foreground.
Rudolf Bachmann (1877-1933) was an Austrian painter, architect and medallist
