Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, 2nd Count of Bucquoy (, , full name in , ) (9 January 1571,

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

– 10 July 1621,

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; ) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km fr ...

) was a military commander who fought for the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

and for 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 ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Career in the Spanish Army of Flanders

Bucquoy was born in

on 9 January 1571, son of Maximilian de Longueval, 1st Count of Bucquoy. He began serving in Spanish forces in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

as a teenager, and was a colonel at the age of 26. He fought in the Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600), the

Siege of Ostend The siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War (1585), Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish Empire, Spanish force under Archduke Albert (1559–1621), Archduke Albrecht besieg ...

(1601–1604) and distinguished himself as General of the Artillery in the Frisian campaigns of

Ambrosio Spinola Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569 – 25 September 1630) was an Italian military leader and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. ...

. In 1606 he married Maria Maddalena Biglia, daughter of a Milanese nobleman in the entourage of the Archduke Albert and in 1607 they had a son named Charles Albert. In 1610 he was ambassador extraordinary to France, to convey the condolences of Archdukes Albert and Isabella on the murder of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

. In 1613 he became a knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. As a mark of special favour the commandery in the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava (, ) was one of the Spanish military orders, four Spanish military orders and the first Military order (society), military order founded in Kingdom of Castile, Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bu ...

that he had to renounce upon entering the Golden Fleece, was transferred to his son. That year also saw his appointment as Grand Bailiff (or governor) of the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut ( ; ; ; ), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, Belgium, Mons (), n ...

Commander of the Imperial Army

He travelled to Bohemia to represent Archduke Albert at the Diet of Budweis in January 1614.Rahl, 29 Shortly after his election, Emperor Matthias invited Bucquoy to take charge of the Imperial Army and he accepted the post in August 1614. He happened to be on leave in the Habsburg Netherlands when on 23 May 1618 the Second Defenestration of Prague triggered the

Bohemian Revolt The Bohemian Revolt (; ; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian Estates of the realm, estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both religious and power dispu ...

. Bucquoy returned to Vienna in August and took command of the imperial forces raised to put down the revolt. Short of soldiers, supplies and money, his first campaign came close to disaster more than once. Defeated by Count

Jindřich Matyáš Thurn Count Jindřich Matyáš of Thurn-Valsassina (; ; ; 24 February 1567 – 26 January 1640), was one of the leaders of the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II. He took part in events that led to the Thirty Years' War, and after ...

on 9 November in the Battle of Lomnice, he was unable to save the besieged town of Pilsen. While his army encamped in its winter quarters around Budweis, Thurn's surprise march on Vienna was only halted by the severity of winter. After receiving reinforcements provided by Archduke Albert, Bucquoy's campaign of 1619 did much to reverse the fortunes of the war. On 10 June he defeated

Ernst von Mansfeld Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (; 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander; despite being a Catholic, he fought for the Protestants during the early years of the Thirty Years' War. He was one of the l ...

in the Battle of Sablat, thereby forcing the Bohemians to abandon their siege of Budweis. He also commanded the imperial forces during the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

on 8 November 1620. As a result of his successes, Emperor Ferdinand II gave him estates at Nové Hrady, Rožmberk and Libějovice. These estates remained in the family until 1945. Bucquoy was killed during the siege of Neuhäusel Fortress ''(Hungary: Érsekújvár, Latin: Novum Castrum, today Nové Zámky, Slovakia)'' on 10 July 1621. One of his commanders, Torquato Conti, attempted to retrieve his body from the battlefield but was captured. Conti was later released and replaced Bucquoy as a commander of Imperial forces. His funeral, with full honours, took place in the Franciscan Church, Vienna, on 31 July 1621.

References

Bibliography

*Rahl, Charles. ''Les Belges en Bohême'' (Brussels, Leipzig and Ghent, 1850). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucquoy, Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of 1571 births 1621 deaths People from Arras 17th-century military personnel People from the Spanish Netherlands South Netherlandish people of the Thirty Years' War Knights of the Golden Fleece Imperial Army personnel of the Thirty Years' War Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Flemish nobility Stadtholders of Hainaut 17th-century nobility