Daniel Rantzau (1529 – 11 November 1569) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

. He was known for his leadership during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck, and Polan ...

. For some years, he fought in Germany and Italy, and also took part in the Danish conquest of

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, Northern Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; da, Ditmarsken; la, label=Medieval Latin, Tedmarsgo) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of ...

in western Holstein during 1559. Rantzau also seems to have been a clear pro-war spokesman before the outbreak of the

with Sweden in 1563.

The Northern Seven Years' War

Rantzau was born at Deutsch-Nienhof in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. He studied at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. A distant relative of

Johan Rantzau Johan (also Johann) Rantzau (12 November 1492 – 12 December 1565) was a German-Danish general and statesman known for his role in the Count's Feud. His military leadership ensured the succession of Christian III to the throne, which brou ...

, Daniel Rantzau was raised in Holstein, and received a solid academic education but preferred a military career. At the start of the

, Rantzau was a sub-commander with the rank of colonel but he distinguished himself in some minor struggles during the first fruitless years. In 1565, he was promoted to commander-in-chief, but his position was weak at the start due to a lack of results on the battlefield. However, in December of the same year Rantzau defeated the Swedish army during the

Battle of Axtorna The Battle of Axtorna or simply Axtorna, was a battle fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and Denmark-Norway 20 October 1565 at Axtorna, a small village in what is today Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County in south-western Sweden. Back ...

, an event which strengthened his position. During the following years, he successfully ravaged Swedish areas and established himself as the most able Danish military leader in spite of the lack of a breakthrough. However, a standing conflict about the pay of the soldiers created serious friction between the Danish noble officers and

Peder Oxe Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek ''petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new na ...

, the

Steward of the Realm Steward of the Realm ( Danish: Rigshofmester) was an office at the Royal Danish Court. With the coronation of Eric VII of Denmark it became an important office, taking over the role of the Seneschal (Danish: Drost) as the de facto prime minister of ...

. From 1567 to 1568, Rantzau carried off what is still considered his main military exploit, his Winter Campaign (''Vinterfälttåget'') through

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

and

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

. During the campaign, he defeated some minor Swedish armies and after having given up an attack on

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, saved his whole army during a risky but successful retreat across the frozen lake

Sommen Sommen () is a lake in the South Swedish highlands lying across the border of the provinces of Östergötland and Småland. Situated about 147 metres above mean sea level, the lake has an area of and has a maximum depth of 60 metres. The lake is ...

. The campaign had no real military results but shook the Swedish defense. In November 1569, during an attack on Swedish-occupied

Varberg Fortress Varberg () is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019. Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wi ...

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...

, Rantzau was killed by a cannonball.

Legacy

Today, although quite overshadowed by his relative Johan Rantzau in public memory, Daniel Rantzau is considered the more brilliant tactician of the two. Military historians in general regard him as one of the few first-rate military leaders of the war from 1563-70.

References

Literature

*''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'', vol. 11, 1982. *''Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon'', vol. 19, 1925. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rantzau, Daniel 1529 births 1569 deaths People from the Duchy of Schleswig University of Wittenberg alumni 16th-century Danish military personnel Danish military personnel killed in action

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

People of the Northern Seven Years' War