250px, Philipp von Mansfeld
Philipp von Mansfeld (1589 - 8 April 1657), was Graf von (
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: ...
of)
Mansfeld
Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...
,
Vorderort and
Bornstedt who commanded troops during 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 first fought on the side of the
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
under his second cousin, was captured, changed allegiance and raised a navy for General
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
. Later, he commanded troops as ''
Feldmarschall
''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 ...
.
[The ''30 Years War'' in biographies, chronicles and reports:](_blank)
''Philip (V.) Graf Mansfeld-Vorderort-Bornstedt''
Family
Mansfeld was born in 1589, the son of Bruno, Count of Mansfeld-Vorderort and his wife, Christine of
Barby and
Mühlingen
Mühlingen is a town in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...
.
In 1611 Mansfeld married
Maria von Mansfeld-Hinterort and they had six children:
*Anna Caroline von Mansfeld-Vorderort who married Franz von Gallas and later Karl Heinrich
von Zierotin
*Georg Albert von Mansfeld-Vorderort who married Barbara Magdalena von
Mansfeld-Hinterort and inherited his father's titles.
*Susanne Polyxena Catharina von Mansfeld-Vorderort who married Matyás Arnost Berchtold de Uhercic and later Julius Leopold, Count of Hoditz and
Wolframitz[Their descendant Joseph Albert married Sophie, daughter of ]Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Johann Adolf I, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels (2 November 1649, in Halle – 24 May 1697, in Weissenfels), was a duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt and member of the House of Wettin.
He was the first son of Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, and h ...
*Franziska Margarethe von Mansfeld-Vorderort who married Friedrich von
Zedlitz
Zedlitz is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. The town has a municipal association with Münchenbernsdorf
Münchenbernsdorf is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated approximately ...
*Maria Clara von Mansfeld-Vorderort
*Ferdinand von Mansfeld-Vorderort
Upon her death, Mansfeld married, in 1630,
Margaretha Catharine von Lobkowicz Margaretha is the standard Dutch form of the feminine given name Margaret as well as a common form of it in Sweden. In daily life, many use a short form, like ''Gré'', '' Greet'', '' Greta'', '' Grietje'', '' Marga'', '' Margo'', ''Margot'', ''Marg ...
but had no further children.
Military career
Mansfeld first served under
Ernst von Mansfeld
Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (german: Peter Ernst Graf von Mansfeld; c. 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander who, despite being a Catholic, fought for the Protestants during the early years of the ...
and the
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
during 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 ...
. The two were, in fact, second-cousins; Mansfeld's grandfather and Ernst von Mansfeld's father were half-brothers.
[They shared a grandfather and great-grandfather, respectively] Ernst von Mansfeld had originally fought on the side of the
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Leopold V, Archduke of Austria
Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria (October 9, 1586 – September 13, 1632) was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria, and the younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand II, father of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria. ...
, but conflicts with the Archduke had driven him to join the side of the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
s.
Capture and abjuration
In 1622, Ernst von Mansfeld's troops faced the army of
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's ...
at the
Battle of Mingolsheim
The Battle of Mingolsheim (german: Schlacht bei Mingolsheim) was fought on 27 April 1622, near the German village of Wiesloch, south of Heidelberg (and south of Wiesloch), between a Protestant army under General von Mansfeld and the Marg ...
. They were victorious but during Tilly's final push, Mansfeld's troops were overwhelmed and he was captured along with a number of other senior officers. Questioned about his relationship to his commanding officer, Mansfeld suggested he was a true ''Graf von Mansfeld''; "ich bin der rechte, vnd der ander nicht" (''"I am the true, the other is not"'') - a reference to his second-cousin's illegitimate birth.
General
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
inquired as to whether he might be persuaded to join (or, in fact, rejoin) 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 ...
. Mansfeld agreed and joined Wallenstein's forces.
Mansfeld's navy at Wismar
250px, ''Der Alte Hafen'' (The Old Harbour) at Wismar.
In 1628, Wallenstein sent Mansfeld to raise a
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
at
Wismar
Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...
, on the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
.
The local
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
was persuaded to give Mansfeld some abandoned buildings, part of an old
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
and an empty yard. Over the following year he ''"brought together, in fact, a not insignificant naval force"''
consisting of various vessels either bought from local merchants and converted, or captured and reconfigured. The force included a number of ''
Orlogsschiff'', including two built from scratch
[The word ''Orlogsschiff'' translates to ''rigger ship''; probably the later-style (more substantially rigged) galleons rather than the even-later ]full-rigged ship
A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three se ...
, and two captured
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 ance ...
sailing barges.
The Danes tried to halt Mansfeld's progress by attacking Wismar in April 1628 and again in June, each time blocking the
harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
entrance with barges and bombarding the town with
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
fire from larger ships. The Danes terrorized the town by sending smaller armed
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
s into the harbour to capture fishermen. Mansfeld's compound suffered significant damage but his tiny makeshift "navy" was able to drive the Danes back out to sea. The Danes moved to nearby
Poel
Poel () or Poel Island (german: Insel Poel), is an island in the Baltic Sea. It forms the natural northern and eastern boundaries of the Bay of Wismar on the German coast. The northern coast of the island is also on the south side of the large gu ...
where they captured several ''Wismarsche'' fishermen, took them to Denmark, and imprisoned them in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
until the town paid a ransom of 100
guilders
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...
per captive.
The Danes continued to
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
the harbour while Mansfeld continues to build his navy. In 1629, 7 warships from
Danzig, send by the Polish king
Sigismund Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632
N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...
joined the force. On 22 May 1629, the
Treaty of Lübeck
Treaty or Peace of Lübeck ( da, Freden i Lübeck, german: Lübecker Frieden) ended the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War (Low Saxon or Emperor's War, Kejserkrigen). It was signed in Lübeck on 22 May 1629 by Albrecht von Wallenstein a ...
was signed, effectively bringing an end to Danish involvement in 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 ...
.
After the Treaty of Lübeck
For a brief period toward the end of 1629, Mansfeld and
Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
Julius Henry (9 April 1586 – 20 November 1665) was duke of Saxe-Lauenburg between 1656 and 1665. Before ascending to the throne he served as Field Marshal in the imperial army.
Life Before regency
Born at Wolfenbüttel, he was a son of Duke ...
were briefly sent to relieve a failed general near
Memel.
[Encyclopædia Britannica (1823) p.142 (Sweden)]
After the Treaty of Lübeck and the withdrawal of the Danes, Mansfeld's navy continued to defend the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
coastline of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
against the forces of the
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
but fighting was limited to small
skirmish
Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an ir ...
es. In 1630, King
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
landed in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
, to the East of Mansfeld's forces in Wismar. The Duchy of Pomerania capitulated and
Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania
Bogislaw XIV (31 March 1580 – 10 March 1637) was the last Duke of Pomerania. He was also the Lutheran administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Cammin.
Biography
Bogislaw was born in Barth as a member of the House of Pomerania. He was the thir ...
, and his councillors negotiated the
Treaty of Stettin with Adolphus.
In 1632, Mansfeld was appointed ''
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 ...
of the
Infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
''. The following year, on 16 November 1633 Mansfeld was appointed, ''
Feldmarschall
''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 ...
''.
Conflict with the Count Palatine of Neuburg
400px, A view of 17th century Borken, Hesse
In 1634, Mansfeld commanded troops in smaller conflicts around
Borken and
Bönninghausen and his troops caused trouble for villagers and townfolk in
neutral
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...
regions loyal to
Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg
Wolfgang Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (4 November 1578 in Neuburg an der Donau – 14 September 1653 in Düsseldorf) was a German Prince. He was Count palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich and Berg.
Life
Wolfgang Wilhelm's parents were Ph ...
. In
Windeck
Windeck is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg, approx. 35 km east of Bonn and 35 km west of Siegen. Many think the municipality is named after the ruined cast ...
, 3000
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 ...
troops looted various
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
es and moved on to
Overath
Overath (; ) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Overath is located about 25 km east of Cologne, in the Bergisches Land. Despite the reclassification as a 'Stadt' (town, though the ...
, where the church was robbed. Mansfeld's
generals
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...
and
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 ...
s used the opportunity to ''"fill their pockets at the expense of the country"''.
The Count feared Mansfeld's troops would eventually make it to
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
and increased the
garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
there.
The soldiers were, though, soon brought under control and the Count demanded
restitution
The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery, in which a court orders the defendant to ''give up'' their gains to the claimant. It should be contrasted with the law of compensation, the law of loss-based recovery, in which a court o ...
for damage caused to
crops
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...
,
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
and property. Mansfeld paid a portion of the claim and records to suggest he remained held in high regard for his skills as a
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...
. But the damage, in the broader sense, had already been done and in October, Mansfeld was relieved of his command and ordered to pay further compensation.
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (who later became
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
), who had been appointed ''Supreme Commander'' at the death of
General Wallenstein, was also given command of Mansfeld's troops as ''
Feldmarschall
''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 ...
''.
Conflict in Driedorf and Herborn
After the
Battle of Nördlingen to the South, Mansfeld was given command of a smaller force
[The translation is not particularly clear - it could well be that the troops were Mansfeld's own troops (from the towns of which he was Graf/Count) or mercenaries paid directly by Mansfeld himself] which he took, in 1635, to
Braunfels
Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road.
Geography
Location
The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwest ...
and then to
Driedorf
Driedorf is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Driedorf lies from 416 to 642 m above sea level on a tableland in the high Westerwald.
Mademühlen
Mademühlen has about 1,000 inhabitants and lies in the "H ...
to counterattacks and looting by
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
troops and
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
. After Driedorf was looted and set alight, Mansfeld marched toward
Herborn where there was heavy fighting. Sporadic fighting continued through the first half of 1635 and damage to nearby towns was extensive. Eventually, commanders from either side were convinced to come together in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and negotiate a form of regional truce.
See also
*
List of Field Marshals of the Holy Roman Empire
This is a list of those who were granted the rank of ''Feldmarschall'' by the Holy Roman Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, 1512–1806.
16th century
* 1542 – Johann Hilchen von Lorch (1484–1548)
* 1557 – Adam von Tr ...
*
House of Mansfeld
The House of Mansfeld was a princely German house, which took its name from the town of Mansfeld in the present-day state of Saxony-Anhalt. Mansfelds were archbishops, generals, supporters as well as opponents of Martin Luther, and Habsburg admini ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfeld, Philipp Von
1589 births
1657 deaths
Philipp
Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
"Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews.
Surname
* Adolf Philipp (1864â ...
Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire