Johan von Fircks (died January 3, 1667) was a Danish officer. He was the son of the

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

landowner Magnus von Fircks and his wife Anna von Syberg.Johan v. Fircks. 1891. ''Dansk biografisk leksikon'', vol. 5: ''Faaborg–Gersdorff''. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, p. 166.
/ref> Von Fircks became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Danish army in 1641. That same year he married the widow of Ditlev Rantzau til Clewitz, Anna van der Wisch, a daughter of Johan van der Wisch. Later he served at Åby in Norway and Blansgård in

Sundeved Sundeved is a peninsula on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. It lies between Åbenrå Fjord and Als Fjord to the north, Alssund to the east and Flensborg Fjord to the south. The westernmost part of the city of Sønderborg is ...

. In 1645 he served in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

under Hannibal Sehested with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

as a cavalry commander, and in 1648 he was made commander of the regiment at Båhus. That he was considered an experienced officer familiar with war is indicated by the fact that

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...

called him home from Norway in order to take part in the negotiations with the diet at

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

in February 1657, when it had nearly been decided to go to war against Sweden.Lange, Christian C. A., & E. A. Thomle. 1891. ''Norske rigs-registranter tildeels i uddrag'', vol. 12: ''1657–1660''. Christiania: Brøgger og Christie. In April that same year he was appointed deputy commander of the Norwegian army under

Iver Krabbe Iver Krabbe (March 22, 1602 – October 30, 1666) was a Danish nobleman, military officer, and governor-general in Norway. Biography Iver Krabbe was born at Övedskloster Manor in the province of Scania in eastern Denmark, the son of Tage Krabb ...

. He distinguished himself in the campaign, and he was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and named commander at

Fredrikstad Fortress Fredrikstad fortress (''Fredrikstad festning'') was a fortification in Fredrikstad, Norway. It was the base of the Østfold Regiment, with defence related responsibilities for the east side of Oslofjord. History Fredrikstad Fortress was construct ...

in 1663,Berrum, Hans. 1902. ''Norges posthistorie, 1647-1719'', vol. 1. Kristiania: J. W. Cappelen, p. 81. where he died.

References

External links

''Dansk biografisk leksikon'': Johan v. Fircks.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fircks, Johan von Danish military officers People from Fredrikstad 1667 deaths Norwegian Army generals