Curated playlist
Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonWellington's mother called him her "awkward son Arthur." He later defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
- Francis II, Holy Roman EmperorOn August 6, 1806, Francis II ended the Holy Roman Empire with a single signed declaration. He was its last emperor.
- Wilhelm IIWilhelm II, the last German Emperor, spent much of his adult life holding a pair of white gloves in his left hand. The gloves made that arm look longer than it was. He reigned from 1888 to 1918 over a country that had become Europe's…
- Leopold II, Holy Roman EmperorLeopold II abolished the death penalty in Tuscany in 1786. Historians call it the first permanent abolition.
- Franz Joseph IOn the evening of the 21st of November 1916, inside Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Emperor Franz Joseph I gave his valet a final instruction. "Tomorrow morning, at half past three." Those were his last words. He was 86 years old. Franz…
- Paul von HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg left retirement in 1914 and destroyed a Russian army. The battle became known as Tannenberg.
- Charles XIV JohnBernadotte threw his epaulettes on the ground to stop his retreating soldiers. They picked them up and counter-attacked.
- Archduke Charles, Duke of TeschenArchduke Charles of Austria beat Napoleon in 1809 at Aspern-Essling. It was Napoleon's first big pitched-battle loss.
- Gebhard Leberecht von BlücherAt 74, Blücher marched through mud to rescue Wellington at Waterloo. Days earlier, cavalry horses had trampled him.
- Mikhail KutuzovMikhail Kutuzov was shot through the head twice, in almost the same spot. He survived both.