Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (german: Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar; 16 August 160418 July 1639) was a German prince and

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

Biography

Born in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

within the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and

Dorothea Maria of Anhalt Dorothea Maria of Anhalt (Dessau, 2 July 1574 – Weimar, 18 July 1617), was by birth a member of the House of Ascania and princess of Anhalt. After her marriage, she became Duchess of Saxe-Weimar. Dorothea Maria was the sixth daughter of Joachim ...

. Bernard received an unusually good education and studied briefly at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, but soon went to the court of Duke John Casimir of Saxe-Coburg to engage in knightly exercises. At the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War he took the field on the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

side, and served under

Mansfeld Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...

Wiesloch Wiesloch (, locally ; South Franconian: ''Wissloch''), is a town in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 13 kilometres south of Heidelberg. After Weinheim, Sinsheim and Leimen it is the fourth largest town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kre ...

(1622), under the

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Em ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar. Geography Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the Riv ...

(1622), and with his brother William at

Stadtlohn The city of Stadtlohn ( nds, Stadlaun), which has 20,746 inhabitants (Dec. 2020),
Stadt Stadtlohn, accessed ...

(1623). Undismayed by these defeats, he took part in the campaigns of King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

. After a severe defeat in

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

in 1627, Bernhard left Danish service and went to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. There he was present at the famous

Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the ''siege of Bois-Le-Duc''Markham pp. 435-38 was an action in 1629, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in which a Dutch and English army captured the city 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 Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the Swedish life horse guard. After the

Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Battle of Breitenfeld (german: Schlacht bei Breitenfeld; sv, Slaget vid Breitenfeld) or First Battle of Breitenfeld (in older texts sometimes known as Battle of Leipzig), was fought at a crossroads near Breitenfeld approximately 8 km ...

, he accompanied Gustavus in his march to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and, between this event and the

Battle of the Alte Veste The Battle of the Alte Veste was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War. Background In the late summer of 1632 the army of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus met Albrecht von Wallenstein near Nürnberg. The successes of Gustavus Adolphu ...

, Bernard commanded numerous expeditions in almost every district from the Moselle to

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. 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 Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, which was defended by the

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

general Count Aldringer. In this year he was granted the former Bishoprics of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

and Bamberg, being granted the title of Duke of

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

. He installed one of his many brothers as

Statthalter In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

, and returned to the wars. A stern Protestant, he exacted heavy contributions from the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 suffered a great defeat at

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was b ...

, losing the best of the Swedish army. In 1635 Bernard entered the service of France, which had by then intervened in the war. He held a difficult dual position; 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 his own cause. From a military point of view his most notable achievements were on the common ground of the upper Rhine, in the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

. In his great campaign of 1638, Bernard won the battles of Rheinfelden, Wittenweiher, and Thann, and captured successively Rheinfelden,

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, and

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') 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 ...

, 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 Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and Haguenau, 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 Neuenburg am Rhein ( High Alemannic: ''Neiburg am Rhi'') is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Geographical location Neuenburg is elevated on the right bank of the Altrhein on a ...

at the beginning of the campaign. The governor of Breisach Jean Louis d'Erlach was bribed to transfer the fortress to France. Bernard was temporarily buried at Breisach, his remains were carried to Weimar not until 16 years later.

References

;Attribution * This cites: ** J. A. C. Hellfeld, ''Geschichte Bernhards des Grossen, Herzogs v. Saxe-Weimar'' (Jena, 1747) ** B. Röse, ''Herzog Bernhard d. Grosse von Saxe-Weimar'' (Weimar, 1828–1829) **

Droysen Johann Gustav Bernhard Droysen (; ; 6 July 180819 June 1884) was a German historian. His history of Alexander the Great was the first work representing a new school of German historical thought that idealized power held by so-called "great" men. ...

, ''Bernhard v. Weimar'' (Leipzig, 1885). *

Biography

References

Further reading