Beck distinguished himself as chief of staff of General Sigmund Freiherr von Reischach's division in Italy in 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence.

However, in 1861 was both elevated to the Austrian knighthood as a Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown, Third Class, with war decoration for bravery in the face of the enemy and was promoted to major.

During the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 he acted as the emperor's confidential agent at the headquarters of Feldzeugmeister Ludwig von Benedek both before and after the Battle of Königgrätz, and his advice was of great importance, though it was not always followed.

In 1878 Beck was promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant (lieutenant field marshal) and dispatched on a secret mission to represent the emperor at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the Austro-Hungarian troops operating in Bosnia.

In 1881 Beck became chief of the general staff of the Imperial and Royal Army of Austria-Hungary, a position he held for 25 years and in which, as a confidant of the Emperor, he exercised great influence.

He gained a reputation for clear judgment and practical common sense that enabled him to see and judge men and things from a purely objective standpoint.

He was appointed to the House of Lords of the Imperial Council in 1885, and in that year he initiated the creation of a general map of Central Europe, which was later produced at a scale of 1:200,000.

In 1913, Beck received imperial approval to be unite his name with that of the family name of his wife, Baroness Rzikowsky von Dobrschitz, whose male line had died out.

The couple's eldest daughter, Alice (born 1906), married Alfred Schwinner, the legation secretary of the Austrian embassy in Vienna, in September 1929.