Carl Rudolf (29 May 1667, in

Neuenstadt am Kocher Neuenstadt, usually known as Neuenstadt am Kocher (; and until as late as 1800 also known as Neuenstadt an der großen Linde) is a town in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany with 9,600 inhabitants. It consists of Neuenstadt, the village ...

– 17 November 1742, in

) was the last Duke of

Württemberg-Neuenstadt Württemberg-Neuenstadt was the name of two branch lines of the ducal House of Württemberg in the 17th and 18th century. It was named after the town of residence, Neuenstadt am Kocher, Neuenstadt. First branch line The first branch line of th ...

, army commander in Danish service and Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire.

Life

Carl Rudolf was the youngest son of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

, who had founded the Württemberg-Neuenstadt branch in 1649, and his wife Clara Augusta von Braunschweig. The young Duke studied in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

and

Strassburg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eur ...

. His

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

brought him to Geneva, the south of France, the court of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, London and northern Germany.

Military career

Already in 1687 he raised a Württemberger Regiment, to support the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

in their

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in Greece. Carl Rudolf personally led a company of 150 men and fought during two years in

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

and Negroponte, until he was shot in the chest during the Siege of Negroponte. He survived, but the bullet remained in his lungs for the rest of life. When Carl Rudolf returned to Württemberg in the beginning of 1690, the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

had already started. Carl Rudolf entered in Danish service and went to Ireland to support the Protestant William of Orange against the deposed Catholic King

James II of England James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Gloriou ...

. The commander of the Danish troops was Carl Rudolf's elder brother Ferdinand Wilhelm. Both brothers fought in the victorious

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...

. In 1692 both brothers fought the French in Flanders and participated in the battles of Steenkerke and

Neerwinden Neerwinden is a village in Belgium in the province of Flemish Brabant, a few miles southeast of Tienen. It is now part of the municipality of Landen. The village gave its name to two great battles. The Battle of Neerwinden (1693), first battle w ...

. When the war ended in 1697, the Danish King sent them to present-day Ukraine, where they supported the Polish-Saxon troops in the

Polish–Ottoman War (1683–1699) Polish–Ottoman War (1683–1699) or the War of the Holy League refers to the Polish side of the conflict otherwise known as the Great Turkish War. The conflict begun with a great Polish victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, and ended with ...

against the Turks. In 1700 they fought in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

against Sweden, but Denmark was forced to retreat from the war in the same year. One year later the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

broke out, where France was opposed by a British-Dutch-Habsburg coalition. Denmark supported the coalition and Carl Rudolf was sent at the head of an army of 12,000 men to the Netherlands. For his actions in 1702, he was made a member of the highest Danish honour, the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

. In 1704 he led the Danish troops in the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (german: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt, link=no; french: Bataille de Höchstädt, link=no; nl, Slag bij Blenheim, link=no) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied v ...

. In the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon ar ...

(1706) and Malplaquet (1709) he distinguished himself and played an important part in both victories.
By the end of the war, he was in command of the entire

Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

. In the meanwhile, Denmark had reentered the

and Carl Rudolf was ordered to take Stralsund from the Swedish, which he accomplished in 1715 after a long siege.

Ruler in Neuenstadt

In 1716 Carl Rudolf's eldest brother Frederick August died. He had ruled Neuenstadt since 1682. Because Frederick August had left no male successors, and the second brother Ferdinand Wilhelm had died in 1701, the Duchy passed to Carl Rudolf. After 25 years in service, he left the Danish army and returned home. In 1734 he was recalled once more as

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

to defend the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...

against the French in the

War of Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their ...

. In 1737, the Duke of the main line of the house of Württemberg,

Carl Alexander , image = Held Carl Alexander Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach@Weimar Schlossmuseum.jpg , image_size = , caption = , succession = Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , reign = 8 July 1853 – 5 January 1901 , predecessor = ...

, died unexpectedly in Stuttgart. His son

Carl Eugen Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

was only 9 years old, and Carl Rudolf was appointed Regent. Carl Alexander had left the Duchy in a disastrous financial state and was hated by the population. To prevent an uprising, Carl Rudolf accused the Jewish Finance-minister,

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer (1698? – February 4, 1738) was a German Jewish banker and court Jew for Duke Karl Alexander of Württemberg in Stuttgart. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some of whom conspired to b ...

, and had him executed. Shortly after, Carl Rudolf passed on the Regency to Carl Friedrich of Württemberg-Oels, for health reasons. Carl Rudolf died of

catarrh Catarrh is an exudate of inflamed mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body, usually with reference to the throat and paranasal sinuses. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling o ...

in November 1742, and was buried in the Nikolauskirche in Neuenstadt am Kocher. Carl Rudolf never married, but lived together with Marie Therese de La Country. They had no children.

References

External links

ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carl Rudolf, Duke of Wurttemberg-Neuenstadt 1667 births 1742 deaths 18th-century dukes of Württemberg 18th-century regents People from Neuenstadt am Kocher Wurttemberg-Neuenstadt, Carl Rudolf, Duke of Field marshals of Germany Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Military personnel of Württemberg Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Sons of monarchs Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg