Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza, was an Austrian general and later field marshal.
Early life
Born in Vienna, Bianchi studied at the Imperial Engineering Academy in Vienna. In 1788, he was a sub-lieutenant in the Army of Slavonia and distinguished himself at the siege of Bubitza. He was appointed captain after the siege of Valenciennes in 1793. In 1796, he was in Italy, as staff officer under Wurmser's command. He captured the aide-de-camp Joachim Murat at Brescia. While commanding the six battalions of the Count of Lusignan's regiment at the Battle of Rivoli, he was taken prisoner, but released at the request of General József Alvinczi. In 1799, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he was attaché to Archduke Ferdinand, who was followed by the Archduke Charles during the campaign in Germany and Switzerland. He was promoted to colonel in three months, leading the 48th Regiment of Hungarian infantry. In 1804, he put down a revolt at Cattaro, on the Dalmatian coast.
General
Adjutant-general after the campaign in Germany, he commanded the 48th Regiment until 1807, when he was made Brigadier General. In 1808 he married Friederike Liebetrau von Maixdorf. From 3 to 5 June 1809 he confronted Marshal Davout, denying him the bridgehead over the Danube near Pressburg, and was awarded the Military Cross of Maria Theresa. He was then made lieutenant-general, with the Infantry Regiment No. 63 as his personal regiment, and inspector of infantry in Hungary. In 1812, he commanded the 1st Division of the Army of Karl Philip of Schwarzenberg, taking part in Napoleon's Russian campaign. In 1813 he only just kept his division at the Freyburg gate of Dresden, which he had tried to assault until he was attacked by Napoleon. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Leipzig and was afterwards awarded the Cross of Saint-Georges by Tsar Alexander I of Russia. In 1814, he commanded an army corps which participated in diverse fighting around Moret-sur-Loing. He was then sent to Dijon to halt Marshal Augereau, but was defeated on 11 March 1814 and had to retreat to Saint-Symphorien near Mâcon. In 1815 he was dispatched to Italy, with a 20,000 strong force, to prevent the King of Naples Joachim Murat from conquering Italy in the Neapolitan War. He commanded one corps personally; the other he entrusted to Adam Albert von Neipperg. He gained a decisive victory against Murat at the Battle of Tolentino, which earned him the title of Duke of Casalanza from Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and then a promotion to field marshal.
Retirement
In 1824 he retired to a relatively private life, moving to an estate in Mogliano Veneto that he had purchased in 1821; there he started vineyards that still bear his name. His presence was unremarkable until 1848, when the revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas made him an enemy representative of the Austrian power, for which he was arrested and imprisoned in Treviso. Two months later the imperial army reconquered the territories and freed Duke Bianchi. He died at Sauerbrunn near Rogateč, Styria where he had moved temporarily to avoid a cholera epidemic that was ravaging Mogliano; the remains of the body were translated to his villa in 1864.
