Josip Šišković

Josip Šišković (in foreign sources: József Siskovics; Josef Siskowitz; Joseph Siskovich; 2 July 1719 – February 4, 1783) was a Habsburg senior military officer and official of Croatian origin, a member of the Šišković noble family residing in Bačka. He held the rank of artillery general of the imperial army of the Habsburg monarchy and the title of count. In over forty years of his career, he participated in the many battles and wars waged by the Monarchy during the 18th century. In them he distinguished himself with exceptional knowledge, ability and courage, so he received a number of decorations for his merits, including the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa and the Commander's Cross of the same Order (1765). He also received political and government appointments. Origin and family

According to available sources, Josip Count Šišković was born on 2 July 1719 in Szeged in southern Hungary (then the Kingdom of Hungary as part of the Habsburg monarchy), into a wealthy family of Bunjevci Roman Catholics . His parents were Andrija (Hungarian: András) Šišković, city councilor (senator), and Marija (Mária) Šišković, née Šarec (Hungarian Sárecz, sometimes Sáracs, Sáracz, Seraty or similar). He was the youngest child in a large family, having two more brothers and 4 sisters. He married relatively late (9 January 1759), at the age of forty to Baroness Barbara Harruckern (born 19 November 1739). There were no children in that marriage.

Military career He joined the Habsburg Imperial Army at the age of nineteen, and at the beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) he was part of the newly-formed so-called Haller's infantry. His battalion was sent in May 1742 to the territory of present-day Slovakia, to the area of the towns of Košice, Levoča and Prešov. In July of the same year, she was transferred to Petrovaradin in Srijem. Already in 1742, Šišković received the rank of captain.

In the spring of 1744 his battalion was on the battlefields of Bavaria, and in 1745 it was stationed in Vienna. On 19 December 1745, Josip Šišković was promoted to major, and his unit was then sent back to Petrovaradin. However, he soon embarked on a long journey to the Netherlands, where he arrived in mid-April 1745. For the next two years, the battalion took part in battles against the French and Prussians in northwestern Europe (e.g., the Battle of Roucoux, the Battle of Lauffeldt, etc.). At the end of 1748, the battalion returned from the northwest and stationed in the garrison in Prague. In 1769 he became the chief inspector general of the Habsburg army for the border areas of the Monarchy Military Frontier and was involved in the process of its reorganization.

On 13 October 1775, he was granted the county, and at the same time was appointed military commander of Galicia. Four years later, on 30 April 1779, he was transferred to the post of military commander of Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) based in Prague.

Josip Count Šišković died at the age of 64 in Prague on 4 February 1783. According to some sources, the date of his death is different, so it is stated that he died on 18 December 1783, or 28 December of the same year. His body was buried in the chapel of St. Sigismund of Burgundy in the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague, where his tombstone can still be seen today.

See more List of Croatian soldiers Orders, decorations, and medals of Croatia