Carl Rudolf (29 May 1667, in

Neuenstadt am Kocher Neuenstadt, usually known as Neuenstadt am Kocher (; and until as late as 1800 also known as Neuenstadt an der großen Linde) is a town in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany with 9,600 inhabitants. It consists of Neuenstadt, the village ...

– 17 November 1742, in

) was the last Duke of

Württemberg-Neuenstadt Württemberg-Neuenstadt was the name of two branch lines of the ducal House of Württemberg in the 17th and 18th century. It was named after the town of residence, Neuenstadt am Kocher, Neuenstadt. First branch line The first branch line of th ...

, army commander in Danish service and Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire.

Life

Carl Rudolf was the youngest son of

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

, who had founded the Württemberg-Neuenstadt branch in 1649, and his wife Clara Augusta von Braunschweig. The young Duke studied in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

and

Strassburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. His Grand Tour brought him to Geneva, the south of France, the court of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, London and northern Germany.

Military career

Already in 1687 he raised a Württemberger Regiment, to support the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

in their

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in Greece. Carl Rudolf personally led a company of 150 men and fought during two years in

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

and Negroponte, until he was shot in the chest during the Siege of Negroponte. He survived, but the bullet remained in his lungs for the rest of life. When Carl Rudolf returned to Württemberg in the beginning of 1690, the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

had already started. Carl Rudolf entered in Danish service and went to Ireland to support the Protestant William of Orange against the deposed Catholic King

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. The commander of the Danish troops was Carl Rudolf's elder brother Ferdinand Wilhelm. Both brothers fought in the victorious

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

. In 1692 both brothers fought the French in Flanders and participated in the battles of Steenkerke and

Neerwinden Neerwinden () is a village in Belgium, located in the Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Landen, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Flanders. The village gives its name to two great historical battles. The first, the Battle of Neerwind ...

. When the war ended in 1697, the Danish King sent them to present-day Ukraine, where they supported the Polish-Saxon troops in the

Polish–Ottoman War (1683–1699) The Polish–Ottoman War or the War of the Holy League was the Polish side of the conflict otherwise known as the Great Turkish War. The conflict began with a Polish victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, and ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz, ...

against the Turks. In 1700 they fought in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

against Sweden, but Denmark was forced to retreat from the war in the same year. One year later the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

broke out, where France was opposed by a British-Dutch-Habsburg coalition. Denmark supported the coalition and Carl Rudolf was sent at the head of an army of 12,000 men to the Netherlands. For his actions in 1702, he was made a member of the highest Danish honour, the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

. In 1704 he led the Danish troops in the

Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (; ; ) fought on , was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted G ...

. In the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand AllianceAustria, England, and the Dutch Republicthe battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of K ...

(1706) and Malplaquet (1709) he distinguished himself and played an important part in both victories.
By the end of the war, he was in command of the entire

Danish Army The Royal Danish Army (; ; ) is the land-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures, equipment and training method ...

. In the meanwhile, Denmark had reentered the

and Carl Rudolf was ordered to take Stralsund from the Swedish, which he accomplished in 1715 after a long siege.

Ruler in Neuenstadt

In 1716 Carl Rudolf's eldest brother Frederick August died. He had ruled Neuenstadt since 1682. Because Frederick August had left no male successors, and the second brother Ferdinand Wilhelm had died in 1701, the Duchy passed to Carl Rudolf. After 25 years in service, he left the Danish army and returned home. In 1734 he was recalled once more as

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

to defend the

Upper Rhine Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge, Basel, Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine P ...

against the French in the

War of Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of th ...

. In 1737, the Duke of the main line of the house of Württemberg, Carl Alexander, died unexpectedly in Stuttgart. His son Carl Eugen was only 9 years old, and Carl Rudolf was appointed Regent. Carl Alexander had left the Duchy in a disastrous financial state and was hated by the population. To prevent an uprising, Carl Rudolf accused the Jewish Finance-minister,

Joseph Süß Oppenheimer Joseph Süß Oppenheimer ( – February 4, 1738) was a German banker who was court Jew for Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, managing several of his enterprises. Throughout his career, Oppenheimer made scores of powerful enemies, some ...

, and had him executed. Shortly after, Carl Rudolf passed on the Regency to Carl Friedrich of Württemberg-Oels, for health reasons. Carl Rudolf died of

catarrh Catarrh ( ) is an inflammation of mucous membranes in one of the airways or cavities of the body, usually with reference to the throat and paranasal sinuses. It can result in a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling ...

in November 1742, and was buried in the Nikolauskirche in Neuenstadt am Kocher. Carl Rudolf never married, but lived together with Marie Therese de La Country. They had no children.

References

External links

ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carl Rudolf, Duke of Wurttemberg-Neuenstadt 1667 births 1742 deaths 18th-century dukes of Württemberg 18th-century regents People from Neuenstadt am Kocher Wurttemberg-Neuenstadt, Carl Rudolf, Duke of Field marshals of Germany Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland Military personnel of the Kingdom of Württemberg Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Sons of dukes Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg