I am looking for information on generals and admirals (period before 1868)

There are no personell files for general officers of the early-modern period. Information therefore needs to be gleaned from a wide range of record groups. This kind of research is extremely time-consuming and cannot be taken on by our staff.

In particular your research will need to focus on the registers of the Hofkriegsrat, the central military authority of the Habsburg Monarchy (until 1848), and on the written records of its successor, the Kriegsministerium (from 1848).

Up to 1768 protocols and indices of the Hofkriegsrat are accessibleonline. For the period prior to c. 1750 the corresponding files have largely been destroyed. Consequently register entries will more often than not be your only source.

Relevant biographical dictionaries such as the Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich (BLKÖ), the Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon (ÖBL) and the Deutsche Biographie provide a useful starting point for your research, at least for the more prominent figures.

For Imperial generals promoted between 1618 and 1655 there is a a valuable online dictionary by Antonio Schmidt-Brentano based on Kriegsarchiv holdings (to be continued).

For the period up to 1918 our website provides lists of generals (1618–1815 and 1816–1918) also by Antonio Schmidt-Brentano which contain basic biographical and career data.

Following the introduction of “Qualifikationslisten” for officers research is much easier for the period from 1868/1870 onwards.