Description
Herend Hadik Hussar Porcelain Figure. No cracks, chips, or restorations. 9" tall<br><br>Count András Hadik de Futak (Hungarian: gróf futaki Hadik András; German:<br>Andreas Graf Hadik von Futak; Slovak: Andrej Hadík; 16 October 1710 – 12 March<br>1790) was a Hungarian nobleman[1] and Field Marshal[2] of the Habsburg Army. He<br>was Governor of Galicia and Lodomeria from January 1774 to June 1774, and is the<br>father of Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak. He is famous for capturing the Prussian<br>capital Berlin during the Seven Years' War.<br><br>Early life<br>András Hadik, son of a lesser noble family, was born on October 16, 1710, in<br>Csallóköz (then Kingdom of Hungary, now Žitný ostrov in Slovakia) or in<br>Kőszeg,[3] Kingdom of Hungary. He had Hungarian,[4][5][6][7] Luxembourgian[6]<br>and German[6] ancestors. According to another source, he was of Hungarian ethnic<br>origin, but the name "Hadik" is a diminutive from the Slovak appellative had<br>("snake"), the family was thus of Slovak extraction.[8] Contrary to this belief,<br>Hadik himself had no knowledge of the Slovak language.[9] Alternative theories<br>also suggest his Tartar or Cherkess ancestry.[10]<br><br>His father, Mihály Hadik (d. 1733) was a cavalryman. His mother, Franciska Hardy<br>had a German background.[6] András Hadik volunteered for the Ghilányi Hussar<br>regiment when he was 20, and at 22 he was given the rank of officer and became<br>the standard bearer in the Dessewffy Hussar regiment in the Habsburg army. Hadik<br>fought in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738) and the Austro-Turkish<br>War, 1737-1739. In 1738 Hadik was promoted to the rank of captain.<br><br>Military successes<br>During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) he gained fame for his<br>actions against the Prussians at the city of Neisse (Nysa, now Poland) using<br>surprise attacks and tricks under the unwritten laws of the so-called "small<br>war," relying on the excellent training of his light cavalry hussars. During the<br>war he served under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine and was promoted to the<br>rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1744 he gained the rank of Commanding Colonel of<br>his own hussar regiment, then near the end of the war in 1747 he attained the<br>rank of General and was appointed commander of a cavalry brigade.<br><br>Early in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), Hadik executed the most famous hussar<br>action in history: when the Prussian King Frederick was marching south with his<br>powerful armies, the Hungarian general unexpectedly swung his 5,000 force of<br>mostly hussars around the Prussians and took their capital Berlin. The city was<br>spared for a negotiated ransom of 300,000 thalers,[2] which he distributed among<br>his troops. For this feat, Hadik was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. He<br>was also awarded the Großkreuz of the Maria Theresia Order<br>figshelf
