Laszlo had a distinguished military career which ended in great         
          sadness for him. As a General of Cavalry he lost many troops during        
          the Austrian occupation of Bosnia-Herzogevina. This had been               
          authorised in the terms of the Peace of San Stefano of 1878 which          
          ended the war between Russia and Turkey. Bosnian Moslems, reinforced       
          by mutinous Turkish regiments, strongly resisted the Austrian troops.      
          The Austrian occupation force, which was small at the outset, had to       
          be reinforced to 150,000 men. It suffered 5,000 casualties. At the         
          official inquiry into the troop losses, Laszlo was completely              
          exonerated and was awarded the Military Cross of the Order of Maria        
          Theresa. However, he never recovered from his experience, dying of an      
          aneurism in 1883 aged only 51.                                             
             Laszlo was said to have been held in great affection by Franz           
          Joseph and by the Empress Elisabeth (he was one of her                     
          "Ehrenkavaliere"). Quite early in Laszlo's military career, Franz          
          Joseph had him sent to Radetzky's army in Italy to ensure that Laszlo      
          was not faced with a conflict of loyalties during the period of            
          greatest difficulty in relations with Hungary during the early years       
          of Franz Joseph's reign. After Laszlo's death, Franz Joseph had his        
          son Friedrich (Frigyes) made a page of the Court so that he could keep     
          an eye on him, and he took a personal interest in Friedrich's              
          education. 
 

Source: Leo van de Pas