Johann Jakob von Bronckhorst (Burg Anholt, 12 February 1582 –

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, 19 October 1630), named ''Graf Anholt'', was Count of Bronckhorst-Batenburg. He was an fieldmarshal in 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 ...

Life

He was the second son of Jacob of Bronckhorst-Batenburg (1553–1582) and Gertrud of Myllendonk (1552–1612). He studied in Lorraine and did a Grand Tour of Italy. In 1603, like his father, he entered the Spanish army. After the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...

in 1609, he became a colonel in the Austrian army. His commander

Leopold V, Archduke of Austria Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria (9 October 1586 – 13 September 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. ...

, appointed him in his

Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

and made him commander of a Regiment. He fought in the Thirty Years' War in 1618, and also participated in 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 ...

in 1620. As a reward, he became count in 1621 and Field Marshal the following year. In 1622/23 he fought in

Westfalen Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

against

Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel Christian the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (20 September 1599 – 16 June 1626), known as ''der tolle Halberstädter'' (the daredevil from Halberstadt), was a German Protestant military leader during the early years of the Thirty Years' War ...

and Peter Ernst von Mansfeld, which he pushed back into

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

. He played an important role in the victory in the

Battle of Stadtlohn The Battle of Stadtlohn was fought on 6 August 1623 between the armies of the Electoral Palatinate and of the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War. The League's forces were led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, the Protestants by ...

, as commander of the vanguard. In 1624 he participated in the Siege of Breda under

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. ...

, and fought later under Tilly in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

against the Danes. In the Winter of 1627/28 he took up winter quarters in East Frisia. In 1628 he became a Knight in 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 ...

, and in 1629 he became Governor of the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and of

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

. In 1630 he died in Freiburg from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Family

Johann Jakob married, on 6 November 1618, Maria Cleopha von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, daughter of

Charles II, Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Charles II, Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (; 1547 – 8 April 1606) became Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1576 and remained so until his death. He was the fifth but second surviving son of Charles I, Count of Hohenzollern, and Anna, d ...

and Elisabeth von Pallandt-Culemborg. They had two children: * Johanna Katharina Isabelle (1627-1685) who married, in 1641, Jacques Philip of Croÿ-Millendonck (died 1683). Their son was Fieldmarshal Charles Eugène de Croÿ. * Dietrich

References

External links

Biography
(pdf; 103 kB) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronckhorst-Batenburg, Johann Jakob von 1582 births 1630 deaths Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Army personnel of the Thirty Years' War Knights of the Golden Fleece Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt