Hans Schack (28 October 1608 – 27 February 1676) was a member of the north German noble family Schack, who after many years in French service, entered the Danish service, made major contributions during the war with Sweden, and loyally supported Frederick III when he overthrew the Danish constitution. He became a Danish field-marshal, commander-in-chief of the Danish army, member of the Board of State, and of the

Danish Privy Council The Council of State (, , ) is the privy council of the Kingdom of Denmark. The body of advisors to the Danish monarch, the council is a formal institution, with largely ceremonial functions. Chaired by the monarch, the council comprises all cabi ...

, and made a Danish count.

Early career

As a young man, Schack began his military career by serving in the Danish army during the early years of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. He entered Swedish service in 1630, and thence in French in 1635, becoming

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 of ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

1642, and later ''

maréchal de camp ''Maréchal de camp'' (sometimes incorrectly translated as field marshal) was a general officer rank used by the French Army until 1848. The rank originated from the older rank of sergeant major general ( French: ''sergent-major général''). Se ...

''. In 1651 Schack retired from the French service to his estates in

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a '' reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme so ...

, where he remained until 1656, when he became military commandant of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

.Schøller, C.E.A (1901). "Schack, Hans". ''Dansk Biografisk Lexikon''. Kjøbenhavn, Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, vol. 15, pp. 21-28
Retrieved 2016-12-04.
Retrieved 2016-12-04. ttp://denstoredanske.dk/Dansk_Biografisk_Leksikon/Forsvar_og_politi/Officer/Hans_Schack,_greve Rockstroh, K. C. "Hans Schack, greve". ''Den Store Danske.'' Gyldendal.Retrieved 2016-12-04.

Danish service

Faced with imminent war with Sweden, the Danish government wanted to recruit the experienced and reputed Schack for a senior position in the Danish army. In order to satisfy Schack's demand for a permanent position, he was in 1658 appointed

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, colonel of horse and foot, and made a member of the War Council. He also became

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

as a Danish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, receiving two estates in

life tenancy In common law and statutory law, a life estate (or life tenancy) is the ownership of immovable property for the duration of a person's life. In legal terms, it is an estate in real property that ends at death when ownership of the property may ...

; Riberhus and

Møgeltønder Møgeltønder () is a small town in Denmark, located in Møgeltønder Parish and Tønder Municipality in the southwestern corner of the Danish peninsula of Jutland 5 kilometres north of the Danish-German border and 4 kilometres west of Tønder. ...

(the later

Schackenborg Castle Schackenborg Castle ( da, Schackenborg Slot, ) is a château located in Møgeltønder, Southern Jutland. From 1993 until 2014, it was the private residence of Prince Joachim of Denmark, the second son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. History Ori ...

). As military governor, Schack commanded Copenhagen during the Swedish siege of 1659. For his successful defence of the city, he was rewarded with promotion to

field-marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. In the fall of the same year, Schack led the Danish forces to victory over the Swedes at the

battle of Nyborg The Battle of Nyborg was a battle fought between Sweden and the combined forces of Denmark, Dutch naval forces under Michiel de Ruyter, troops of Brandenburg-Prussia, and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth forces under Stefan Czarniecki. The battl ...

. When the

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

broke out, Schack was commander-in-chief of the Danish army (after the king), but his poor health did not let him participate in the campaign and he died before the second campaign season had started.Christian den femtes rosenborgtapeter fra den skaanske krig, Gudmund Boesen, Copenhagen 1949, p.12

Political role

Schack was a popular figure in Copenhagen, not only as a defender of the city against the Swedes, but as a defender of its privileges. In 1660 he was

co-opted Co-option (also co-optation, sometimes spelt coöption or coöptation) has two common meanings. It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintai ...

to the Danish '' Rigsråd'', in spite of being a recently naturalized foreigner. When Frederick III in the same year overthrow the Danish constitution, and created an

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

, Schack was, together with Hannibal Sehested, the King's main supporter in the ''Rigsråd'', persuading the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

to support the regime change. The King needed loyal supporters in the government, and Schack was in 1660 appointed to ''Rigsfeltherre'' (commander-in-chief of the Danish army), and made president of the Board of War, a member of the Board of State, and ''Stiftsbefalingsmand'' of Ribe stift. In 1670 he was also appointed a member of the ''Gehejmekonseil'' (Privy Council), which that year was created as a successor to the ''Rigsråd''. Within the new government, he was the leading proponent of the military party, in opposition to Sehested and the Treasury, and an efficient administrator of military affairs. As a reward, he was in 1661 given Møgeltønder in

fee simple In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., perm ...

, and became one of the first

enfeoff In the Middle Ages, especially under the European Feudalism, feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a Fealty, pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions o ...

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s, ''Lensgreve'', when the King in 1671 created that dignity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schack, Hans 1608 births 1676 deaths Field marshals Danish generals French generals 17th-century Danish people Danish nobility 17th-century Swedish military personnel French military personnel of the Thirty Years' War 17th-century German military personnel Burials at Trinitatis Church Schack family