Josias Rantzau ( Bothkamp, near Kiel, 18 October 1609 – Paris, 14 September 1650) was a Danish military leader and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

. Josias was the grandson of Paul, the youngest son of Johann Rantzau. He married his Cousin Hedwig Margarethe Elisabeth vor Rantzau, but had no children. As a young man, he served Prince Maurice of Orange and 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 ...

. Later he fought for Sweden, then the Holy Empire, again for Sweden and finally since 1635 for France, where he was noticed at Court for his blond beauty. He commanded troops in the Franche-Comté, on the Rhine, and in Flanders. In 1633, he successfully defended

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the '' Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing villa ...

against the Spanish, but is in general better remembered for his bravery than for his military skills. He was taken prisoner by the Spanish in 1642 at the

Battle of Honnecourt The Battle of Honnecourt took place on 26 May 1642, during the 1635 to 1659 Franco-Spanish War (1635–59), Franco-Spanish War. A Habsburg Spain, Spanish army led by Francisco de Melo defeated and largely destroyed a Kingdom of France, French f ...

, and again in 1643 by Imperial troops at the Battle of Tuttlingen. On 30 June 1645, he became

and in 1646 Governor of the newly conquered Dunkirk Fortress. During the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

, he was arrested by Mazarin and locked up in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

. He was acquitted, but died shortly after being released.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rantzou, Josias von Danish soldiers Marshals of France 1609 births 1650 deaths

Josias Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...

Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire Military personnel of the Thirty Years' War