He was born in
Vienna on 1 April 1780. He was the youngest son of the Imperial Field Marshal
Prince Karl Borromäus of Liechtenstein (1730–1789) and his wife
Princess Maria Eleonora von Öttingen-Öttingen (1745–1812). He was the brother of
Joseph Wenzel (1767–1842), a priest in Salzburg and
Moritz (1775–1819), a Field Marshal-Lieutenant. Alois Gonzaga began, like his father and brothers, a military career in the Imperial army in 1798 as a lieutenant. He participated in the
War of the Second Coalition as an
Oberleutnant, was promoted to
Hauptmann, participated in the
Campaign in Switzerland (1799) and was promoted to
Major to lead the "Regiment No. 12" in 1800. In the campaign of 1801, he was wounded at
Schongau, Bavaria and taken prisoner by the French. After the peace and his promotion to
Lieutenant colonel, he was awarded the "Knight's Cross" of the
Order of Maria Theresa on 18 August 1801. During the
War of the Third Coalition, he was a colonel and on 20 October 1805, he was taken again prisoner by the French together with the entire Imperial army, after the
Battle of Ulm. In 1809 he was promoted to
Major general and Franz I made him
Inhaber of his "Regiment No. 12" for life. He participated as a brigade commander in the 1809 campaign in Bavaria and on the Danube. Alois Gonzaga was severely wounded at the
Battle of Teugen-Hausen and was immediately sent to Vienna for treatment. Emperor Franz personally went to his hospital bed and gave him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Maria Theresa. In 1812, Alois Gonzaga commanded a brigade and distinguished himself in battle. In 1813, as a
Lieutenant field marshal, he commanded an army division and fought at
Dresden and
Leipzig. In 1814, he was commander of an Army corps in France, with which he
took Besançon after a siege of almost 4 months. In 1815, he commanded the Austrian reserve corps. After the war, he was close to the Emperor and in December 1826 became commanding general in Moravia and from July 1829 until his death, commanding general in Bohemia. On 21 October 1830, he was promoted to
Feldzeugmeister and Emperor Franz made him a knight of the Austrian
Order of the Golden Fleece. Alois Gonzaga of Liechtenstein died unmarried in
Prague at the age of 53 on 4 November 1833. ==References==