Daniël Van Dopff
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Daniël Wolf baron van Dopf (10 January 1650 – 15 April 1718) was a
Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...
officer and nobleman. He was, among other things, general of the cavalry of the Dutch army during the
War of the 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 E ...
, Quartermaster general of that army, and later commander and governor of the fortress of Maastricht.


Life


Personal life

Daniel Wolfgang ("Wolf") Dopff hailed from a non-noble family from
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
. His father was employed as a
bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
and toll collector of the County of Hanau-Münzenberg. Daniel was educated in Hanau at the Count's ''gymnasium illustre''. He was married with Catharina Maria van Volckershoven.Blok and Molhbuysen, p. 740 They had a son: Fredrik Karel. In 1709 he bought Ruyff Castle in Hendrik-Kapelle, but it is not known whether he renovated or added anything to it. In 1716 he sold the castle again. About the same time he bought the Hartelstein estate near Itteren, which he bequeathed to his son Frederik Karel.Ubachs and Evers, p.215 Van Dopff was also the builder of the Neercanne Castle, which he had erected near the village of
Kanne Kanne (Limburgish: ''Kan'') is a village in the municipality of Riemst in the southeastern part of the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg. As of 2021, the village has 1,162 inhabitants, a significant number of whom have Dut ...
after his appointment as commander. Van Dopff had the old Agimont Castle largely demolished on site and built a pleasure castle in the style of
Dutch classicism Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety of Baroque architecture that flourished in the Dutch Republic and its colonies during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered by Dutch Golden Age painting). ...
, modeled on the Johanniter castle Sonnenburg near
Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (translated literally as Kostrzyn upon the Oder; ; ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, on the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia Lubus ...
, designed by
Pieter Post Pieter Post in 1651. Portrait by Pieter Nolpe, detail of a larger work Pieter Jansz Post (1 May 1608 – buried 8 May 1669) was a Dutch Golden Age architect, painter and printmaker. Biography Post was baptised in Haarlem, the son of a s ...
.Van de Boogard and Minis, pp. 98-99


Career

At the age of 16 Dopff entered the service of the count's army. He later transferred to the army of
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "th ...
. In the disaster year of 1672 he fought on the side of the Dutch Republic against the French armies in the
Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...
. For his gallantry he was decorated with a Brandenburg knighthood, the Ordre de la Générosité . Van Dopff would later include the black, eight-pointed star from this order in his family coat of arms . After this he transferred to the
Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...
. In 1675 he was appointed engineer-fortification master in the regiment Van Sijpesteyn; in 1679 he was already an ''ordinaris''-engineer, one of the highest ranks of
military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
.Morreau (1979), p. 167, noot 3.Minis, pp. 37-41 In 1683, under the command of
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck (31 January 1620 – 19 November 1692) was a German and Dutch Field Marshal and, for the last three years of his life, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg). In 1641, Waldeck ent ...
, he joined the Imperial troops, who managed to lift the Siege of Vienna by the Turks . On 17 October 1685, the
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
granted him the noble title of Reichsfreiherr (baron) for this. The Prince of Waldeck emerged as his lifelong patron. He appointed Van Dopff as his chamberlain, who then regularly stayed in Maastricht, where the prince had been appointed governor of the fortress . Van Dopff was put in charge of the fortifications. Between 1688 and 1690, Van Dopff had four new
bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...
s built on the southwest side of Maastricht to better protect the city against a possible attack by the French during the
Nine Years' War 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 ...
. After Waldeck's death, Van Dopff remained in Maastricht and was even promoted to commander of the fortress in 1694 by the new governor
John Adolphus, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön John Adolphus of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön ( or ''Hans Adolf''; 8 April 1634, Ahrensbök – 2 July 1704 Ruhleben) was the second Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, which had been created by a division of the Duchy of Sc ...
. From 1701 to 1702, just before the start of the War of the Spanish Succession, Fort Sint-Pieter was built on the northern flank of
Sint-Pietersberg Mount Saint Peter (French: ''Montagne Saint-Pierre''; Dutch: ''Sint-Pietersberg''), also referred to as Caestert Plateau, is the northern part of a plateau running north to south between the valleys of the river Geer to the west, and the Meuse t ...
under the leadership of Van Dopff. Under Waldeck's tutelage Van Dopff built up a vast expertise in the field of military
logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
, and he developed a great knowledge of the terrain in the
Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...
, the new
theater of operations In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land, and sea area that is—or that may potentially become—involved in war operations ...
in the
Nine Years' War 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 ...
. King
William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
put great store in his advice. He appointed Van Dopff Quartermaster general, or
Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
of the Dutch States Army in 1694.Van Nimwegen, p. 48 He played the same role for king William as Jules Louis Bolé, marquis de Chamlay and Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis of Puységur played for
Louis XIV of France 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 ...
.Van Nimwegen, p. 77 At the
Battle of Fleurus (1690) The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690 near Fleurus, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, now in modern Belgium, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. A French army led by Marshall Luxembourg defeated an Allied force under ...
he accompanied Waldeck as his chief of staff.Van Nimwegen, p. 198 On the eve of the
Battle of Steenkerque The Battle of Steenkerque, also known as ''Steenkerke'', ''Steenkirk'', ''Steynkirk'' or ''Steinkirk'' was fought on 3 August 1692, during the Nine Years' War, near Steenkerque, then part of the Spanish Netherlands but now in modern Belgium. A ...
in 1692 he was among the generals king William asked for advice on the strategy to follow in a council of war.Van Nimwegen, p. 227 After the death of the Duke of Holstein in 1704, Van Dopff was acting governor of Maastricht for almost ten years. Like the late king William,
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...
and
Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...
profited from Van Dopff's expertise on logistics and military strategy. In the aftermath of the
Battle of Elixheim At the Battle of Elixheim, 18 July 1705, also known as the Passage of the Lines of Brabant during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance, under the Duke of Marlborough, successfully broke through the Fren ...
, Van Dopff clashed with
General Slangenburg Frederik Johan van Baer, Lord of Slangenburg (27 July 1645 – 15 December 1713) was a Dutch States Army officer. He served under William of Orange in the Franco-Dutch War and Nine Years' War. He was to become a controversial figure for his role ...
over the chosen strategy. Slangenburg argued that the Allies should advance towards
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
. Leuven was necessary to secure the logistics of the Allied army if they wanted to capture Brussels and would perhaps have forced Villars to fight, something the Allies wanted. Marlborough felt something for his plan, but told Slangenburg to convince Nassau-Ouwerkerk, the senior Dutch commander, and Van Dopff. Both were against Slangenburg's plan of action. Van Dopff argued that the troops would be too tired and that it would be difficult to construct bridges across the
Gete The Gete (; ) is a river in Belgium which flows south to north. It is a left tributary of the Demer. The Gete is formed by the confluence of the rivers ''Grote Gete'' ("Large Gete") and ''Kleine Gete'' ("Small Gete") near Budingen. From Budinge ...
river in time. This was one of the conflicts in 1705 that would eventually lead to Slangenburg's dismissal. As a Lieutenant General with the cavalry, Van Dopff had an important role during
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 ...
in 1706, which ended in a great victory for the Allies. Later that year he assisted Nassau-Ouwerkerk with the capture of Ostend. In 1708 he supported Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough at the
Battle of Oudenarde The Battle of Oudenarde, also known as the Battle of Oudenaarde, was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession, pitting an Anglo-Dutch force consisting of eighty thousand men under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, Lord Ove ...
in 1708, and in 1709 at the
Battle of Malplaquet The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Taisnières-sur-Hon in modern France, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. A French army of around 75,000 men, commanded by the Duke of V ...
. In the planning of the Allied Campaign of 1709 the allied leaders would have preferred to engage the French army under Claude Louis Hector de Villars, 1st Duke of Villars directly, but Van Dopff advised that this was impossible as long as Villars remained within the line of French fortresses that had been erected after 1708, so they reluctantly opted for the Siege of Tournai (1709).Van Nimwegen, p. 310 In 1710, at the start of the campaign of that year, Van Dopff advised Marlborough to initiate the campaign with the
Siege of Douai (1710) The siege of Douai, which lasted from 22 April 1710 until the capitulation of the garrison under lieutenant-general François Zénobe Philippe Albergotti on 25 June 1710 was part of the Allied Campaign of 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession ...
. That took longer than expected and Van Dopff then advised to besiege either
Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a town in northern France, Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department. Geography Béthune is located in the Provinces of Fran ...
or
Aire Aire may refer to: Music *''Aire'', a song on the album Chicago VII by the group Chicago (band), 1974 * ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987 * ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997 *''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy Places * Aire-sur-la-Ly ...
.Van Nimwegen, pp. 324-326 The campaign of 1710 did not end as the allied leaders and Van Dopff had wished. Van Dopff mostly regretted that the four sieges the allies had conducted in the campaign had exhausted the army. He feared that if the next campaign again would start with a big siege this would be deadly for army morale. He advised Marlborough to assure the troops that the campaign of 1711 would not demand the same heavy sacrifices. This did not mean that he thought the war should be ended. On the contrary he wanted the campaign of 1711 to start even earlier in the next year than the campaign of 1710.Van Nimwegen, pp. 330, 346 In 1712, Maastricht was the base of a large force led by Prince Eugene, which had to push back the French definitively. Van Dopff, together with two others, was sent on reconnaissance and almost managed to reach Paris. The negotiations leading up to the
Peace of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
ended the expedition prematurely. It was not until 1713, after the Treaty of Utrecht, that Van Dopff was officially appointed military governor of Maastricht. The fact that he had to wait so long for this appointment probably had to do with his non-noble background (his predecessors were all born into the nobility). Sicco van Goslinga, one of the aristocrat field deputies who worked with Van Dopff during the war, was probably also not entirely unaffected by this non-noble background and described Van Dopff as follows: In 1717, Van Dopff received the Russian Tsar
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
at his completely renovated country residence
Château Neercanne __NOTOC__ Château Neercanne (also known as ''Agimont'' or ''kasteel Neercanne'') is a restaurant located in Maastricht in the Netherlands. It is a Types of restaurant#Fine dining, fine dining restaurant that was awarded one or two Michelin stars i ...
The tsar visited Fort Sint Pieter and Sint-Pietersberg, among others. According to tradition, Van Dopff caught a bad cold on that occasion, because according to protocol no one was allowed to wear a headgear in the presence of the Russian monarch. Van Dopff died on 15 April 1718 and was buried on 1 May in the choir of St. John's Church, Maastricht.Ubachs and Evers, pp. 151-152


Notes


References


Sources

* * * . * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dopff, Daniël Wolf van 1650 births 1718 deaths Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War Dutch military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession 17th-century Dutch military personnel 18th-century Dutch military personnel Quartermasters Dutch military engineers