Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar
Encyclopedia
Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (16 August 1604 – 18 July 1639) was a German
prince and general
in the Thirty Years' War
.
within the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar
, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
.
Bernard received an unusually good education and studied at the University of Jena, but soon went to the court of the Saxon
elector
to engage in knightly exercises. At the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War he took the field on the Protestant
side, and served under Mansfeld at Wiesloch
(1622), under the Margrave
of Baden
at Wimpfen
(1622), and with his brother William at Stadtlohn
(1623). Undismayed by these defeats, he took part in the campaigns of King Christian IV of Denmark
; when Christian withdrew from the struggle Bernhard went to the Dutch Republic
and was present at the famous siege of 's-Hertogenbosch in 1629.
When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
landed in Germany Bernard quickly joined him, and for a short time he was colonel
of the Swedish life horse guard. After the Battle of Breitenfeld
(1631), he accompanied Gustavus in his march to the Rhine and, between this event and the Battle of the Alte Veste
, Bernard commanded numerous expeditions in almost every district from the Moselle
to Tyrol. At the Alte Veste he displayed great courage, and at the Battle of Lützen
(1632), when Gustavus was killed, Bernard assumed the command, killed a colonel who refused to lead his men to the charge, and finally by his furious energy won the victory at sundown.
At first as a subordinate to his brother William, who as a Swedish lieutenant-general succeeded to the command, but later as an independent commander, Bernard continued to push his forays over southern Germany
; and with the Swedish General Gustav Horn he made in 1633 a successful invasion into Bavaria
, which was defended by the imperialist
general count Aldringer. In this year he was granted the former Bishoprics of Würzburg
and Bamberg, being granted the title of Duke of Franconia
. He installed one of his many brothers as Statthalter, and returned to the wars. A stern Protestant, he exacted heavy contributions from the Catholic
cities which he took, and his repeated victories caused him to be regarded by German Protestants as the saviour of their religion. But in 1634 Bernard was severely defeated at Nördlingen
, losing many of the best Swedish army units.
In 1635 Bernard entered the service of France
, which had by then intervened in the war. He was at the same time general-in-chief of the forces maintained by the Heilbronn League
of Protestant princes, and a general officer in the pay of France. This dual position was difficult; in the following campaigns, ably and resolutely conducted as they were, Bernard sometimes pursued a purely French policy, whilst at other times he used French mercenaries
to forward the cause of the princes. From a military point of view his most notable achievements were on the common ground of the upper Rhine, in the Breisgau
.
In his great campaign of 1638, Bernard won the battles of Rheinfelden
, Wittenweiher, and Thann, and captured successively Rheinfelden
, Freiburg
, and Breisach
, the last reputed one of the strongest fortresses in Europe
. Bernard had in the first instance received definite assurances from France that he should be given Alsace
and Hagenau, Würzburg having been lost in the debacle of 1634; he now hoped to make Breisach the capital of his new duchy
.
Bernard's health, however, was deteriorating. He died at Neuenburg am Rhein
at the beginning of the campaign. The governor of Breisach was bribed to transfer the fortress to France. The duke was buried at Breisach, his remains being subsequently removed to Weimar.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
prince and general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Biography
Born in WeimarWeimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
within the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar.-Division of Leipzig:...
, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar , was a Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Jena.-Biography:He was the second son of John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Dorothea Susanne of Simmern....
, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
Dorothea Maria of Anhalt , was by birth a member of the House of Ascania and princess of Anhalt...
.
Bernard received an unusually good education and studied at the University of Jena, but soon went to the court of the Saxon
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
to engage in knightly exercises. At the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War he took the field on the Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
side, and served under Mansfeld at Wiesloch
Battle of Wiesloch
The Battle of Mingolsheim was fought on April 27, 1622, near the German village of Wiesloch, 14 miles south of Heidelberg , between a Protestant army under General von Mansfeld and the margrave of Baden against a Roman Catholic army under Count Tilly.Early in the spring of 1621, mercenary forces...
(1622), under the Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
at Wimpfen
Battle of Wimpfen
The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the Bohemian Revolt period of the Thirty Years' War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen. The forces of the Holy Roman Empire and Catholic League under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated the Protestant forces of General Ernst von Mansfeld and Georg Friedrich,...
(1622), and with his brother William at Stadtlohn
Battle of Stadtlohn
The Battle of Stadtlohn was fought on August 6, 1623 between the armies of Christian of Brunswick and of the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War...
(1623). Undismayed by these defeats, he took part in the campaigns of King Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
; when Christian withdrew from the struggle Bernhard went to the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
and was present at the famous siege of 's-Hertogenbosch in 1629.
When King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
landed in Germany Bernard quickly joined him, and for a short time he was colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of the Swedish life horse guard. After the Battle of Breitenfeld
Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)
The Battle of Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld , was fought at the crossroads villages of Breitenfeld , Podelwitz , and Seehausen , approximately five miles northwest of the walled city of Leipzig on September 17 , or September 7 The Battle of Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld...
(1631), he accompanied Gustavus in his march to the Rhine and, between this event and the Battle of the Alte Veste
Battle of the Alte Veste
The Battle of the Alte Veste was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War. In the late summer of 1632 the army of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus had been besieged by Albrecht von Wallenstein at Nürnberg. The successes of Gustavus Adolphus over General Tilly forced Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand...
, Bernard commanded numerous expeditions in almost every district from the Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
to Tyrol. At the Alte Veste he displayed great courage, and at the Battle of Lützen
Battle of Lützen (1632)
The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, which caused the Protestant campaign to lose direction.- Prelude to the...
(1632), when Gustavus was killed, Bernard assumed the command, killed a colonel who refused to lead his men to the charge, and finally by his furious energy won the victory at sundown.
Southern Germany
The term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...
; and with the Swedish General Gustav Horn he made in 1633 a successful invasion into Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, which was defended by the imperialist
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
general count Aldringer. In this year he was granted the former Bishoprics of Würzburg
Bishopric of Würzburg
The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...
and Bamberg, being granted the title of Duke of Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
. He installed one of his many brothers as Statthalter, and returned to the wars. A stern Protestant, he exacted heavy contributions from the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
cities which he took, and his repeated victories caused him to be regarded by German Protestants as the saviour of their religion. But in 1634 Bernard was severely defeated at Nördlingen
Battle of Nördlingen (1634)
The Battle of Nördlingen was fought on 27 August or 6 September , 1634 during the Thirty Years' War. The Roman Catholic Imperial army, bolstered by 18,000 Spanish and Italian soldiers, won a crushing victory over the combined Protestant armies of Sweden and their German-Protestant allies .After...
, losing many of the best Swedish army units.
In 1635 Bernard entered the service of France
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
, which had by then intervened in the war. He was at the same time general-in-chief of the forces maintained by the Heilbronn League
Heilbronn League
The Heilbronn League was an alliance between Sweden, France, and the Protestant princes of Western Germany against the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War. The treaty forming the League was signed at Heilbronn in Germany on April 23, 1633....
of Protestant princes, and a general officer in the pay of France. This dual position was difficult; in the following campaigns, ably and resolutely conducted as they were, Bernard sometimes pursued a purely French policy, whilst at other times he used French mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
to forward the cause of the princes. From a military point of view his most notable achievements were on the common ground of the upper Rhine, in the Breisgau
Breisgau
Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...
.
In his great campaign of 1638, Bernard won the battles of Rheinfelden
Battle of Rheinfelden
The Battle of Rheinfelden was a military event in the course of the Thirty Years' War, consisting in fact of two battles fought in 1638 to the north and south of the present-day town of Rheinfelden, between a mercenary army led by Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar and an Holy Roman Empire army led by Johann...
, Wittenweiher, and Thann, and captured successively Rheinfelden
Rheinfelden
Rheinfelden is a municipality in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, seat of the district of Rheinfelden. It is located 15 kilometres east of Basel. The name means the fields of the Rhine, as the town is located on the Hochrhein. It is home to Feldschlösschen, the most popular beer in...
, Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, and Breisach
Breisach
Breisach is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway between Freiburg and Colmar — 20 kilometres away from each — and about 60 kilometres north of Basel near the...
, the last reputed one of the strongest fortresses in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Bernard had in the first instance received definite assurances from France that he should be given Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and Hagenau, Würzburg having been lost in the debacle of 1634; he now hoped to make Breisach the capital of his new duchy
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
.
Bernard's health, however, was deteriorating. He died at Neuenburg am Rhein
Neuenburg am Rhein
Neuenburg am Rhein is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 18 km northeast of Mulhouse, and 28 km north of Basel.- References :...
at the beginning of the campaign. The governor of Breisach was bribed to transfer the fortress to France. The duke was buried at Breisach, his remains being subsequently removed to Weimar.