Franz von Lauer

Franz von Lauer
Franz von Lauer
Born	11 May 1736 (1736-05-11)
Died	11 September 1803 (1803-09-12) (aged 67) Krems an der Donau, Austria
Allegiance	Habsburg monarchy
Service/branch	Engineers
Years of service	1755–1801
Rank	Feldzeugmeister
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) Siege of Belgrade War of the First Coalition Siege of Fort-Louis Siege of Mannheim Battle of Bassano Siege of Mantua War of the Second Coalition Battle of Ampfing Battle of Hohenlinden
Awards	Military Order of Maria Theresa, KC 1789, CC 1795

Franz von Lauer (11 May 1736 – 11 September 1803) entered the Imperial Army as a military engineer in 1755 and ended his career as Feldzeugmeister. After serving in the Seven Years' War, by 1783 he had reached the rank of oberst, or colonel. He fought against Ottoman Turkey at Belgrade and became a general officer for his distinguished effort as a siege specialist.

During the War of the First Coalition against the First French Republic, he directed the sieges of Fort-Louis in 1793 and Mannheim in 1795. In 1796, he was named chief of staff of the army sent to oppose Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy, fighting at Bassano and Mantua. In 1800, he was appointed deputy commander of the main army in southern Germany, which ended in disastrous defeat at Hohenlinden in December. He was made the scapegoat for this failure and dismissed from the service shortly thereafter.