Jørgen Rantzau (1652–1713) was a Danish Major general who fought several campaigns under

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was a Briti ...

Biography

Jørgen Rantzau came from a military family. He was the son of Colonel Frantz Rantzau of Estvadgård (ca. 1620-1670) and the younger brother of Major General Johan Rantzau (1650-1708). In 1678, Rantzau became Lieutenant Colonel, in 1682 Colonel and in 1691 Lieutenant commander in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. In 1701, he became

Brigade commander A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

and in 1705 he became General major. He fought under Marlborough in 1691 during 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 ...

. At 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 ...

, he commanded the 4th Jydske Dragoon Regiment. At the

Battle of Oudenaarde 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, he commanded the cavalry in the

vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

under British army officer

William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan General William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan, ( – 17 July 1726) was a British army officer, diplomat and Whig politician. He began his military career during the Williamite War in Ireland in 1689 and ended it with the suppression of the Jacobit ...

and played an important role in the early stages of the battle. The collaboration between the older and more experienced Rantzau under the younger, less experienced Cadogan is an example of the congruence in Marlborough's multinational army. In 1709,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

re-entered 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 Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and Rantzau returned to Denmark to participate as

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in the invasion of

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

under

Christian Detlev Reventlow Christian Detlev, Count von Reventlow (21 June 1671 – 1 October 1738) was a Royal Dano-Norwegian Army officer and diplomat. Biography He was the son of Conrad, Count Reventlow, chancellor of Denmark, and his first wife, Anna Margarethe Gab ...

. This led to the Battle of Helsingborg (1710). Just prior to the battle, Reventlow was taken ill and had to yield command to Jørgen Rantzau. The battle was a decisive Swedish victory and marked the end of any realistic hopes for Denmark to recover the Scanian territories. Subsequently Rantzau was given command of the blockade corps confronting the Swedish fortifications around the city of

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

. However he became ill and had to be brought to Lübeck. He died on 10 March 1713 at

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantzau 1652 births 1713 deaths People from Skive Municipality Danish military personnel of the Great Northern War Jorgen