Wilhelm von Rath (1585 – 27 April 1641) was a German scholar and a military officer. His name, in the dative case (after "von"), may be rendered as "Rathen".

Biography

Rath was born in Klein-Wülknitz,

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, and came from an old noble family. His parents were Hans von Rath and Anna Voigt Rath. Rath enjoyed a Protestant education and was registered at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

starting the summer of 1601. But he eventually left academia for a career in the military, the high point of which was Rath's appointment as the kriegskommissar, the officer appointed to handle financial matters under Prince Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen. Rath was married to Dorothea von Hackeborn, who bore him a son, Balthasar Wilhelm von Rath, in 1629. In the service of Ludwig I throughout the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

until his death, he was appointed commander of the cavalry (January 10, 1627). In recognition of his military professionalism, Ludwig called him “rough” and “tough” when admitting him to the

Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

, a society dedicated to the standardization of

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 **Ge ...

. Rath distinguished himself with his cavalry at the

Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Battle of Breitenfeld (german: Schlacht bei Breitenfeld; sv, Slaget vid Breitenfeld) or First Battle of Breitenfeld (in older texts sometimes known as Battle of Leipzig), was fought at a crossroads near Breitenfeld approximately 8 km ...

in the Swedish-Protestant victory against the Imperial Catholic troops. He was known for his battle cry, an earlier and more poetic version of “When things get tough, the tough get going": :''Wan das rauhe ist dahin'' :''So die iugent mit sich bringet:'' :''Endert sich der gantze sinn,'' :''Und dan nach dem himmel ringet.'' Rath was killed by war-time marauders near Wieskau, Anhalt-Köthen.

References

:''This article is based in part on material from the German Wikipedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Wilhelm Von 1585 births 1641 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) German Lutherans German untitled nobility 17th-century German military personnel German people of the Thirty Years' War People from Anhalt-Köthen Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire