Dietrich Ottmar von Erwitte

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Dietrich Ottmar von Erwitte († September 17, 1631 in the Battle of Breitenfeld ) was a Bavarian general sergeant during the Thirty Years' War .

Life

He came from the old Westphalian noble family von Erwitte . He was married to Gertrud von Eller zu Oefte since 1629. Their son was the future abbot of Werden Ferdinand von Erwitte .

Shortly after the beginning of the Thirty Years' War, von Erwitte was a lieutenant colonel in the service of Pfalz-Neuburg and city governor of Lippstadt . On behalf of the Catholic League , he was commissioned to recruit a cavalry unit of 500 soldiers on horseback. As a colonel in the Bavarian service, von Erwitte fought as the commander of a cavalry regiment under Tilly . He took part in the Bohemian campaign and in the battles against Peter Ernst II of Mansfeld , Christian of Braunschweig , the Margrave of Baden and against Christian IV of Denmark . In the battle of the Barenberge near Lutter, he commanded four cavalry regiments on the left wing of the League's army.

In the various campaigns he was often entrusted with independent commands. After Christian von Braunschweig's troops penetrated the town of Geseke at the beginning of 1622, for example , they were driven out by von Erwitte. As a result, he defended the city and survived an eight-day siege. As a reminder of this, the praise procession is held every year in Geseke.

In the battle of Breitenfeld he fought against the Swedes in the rank of sergeant-general on horse and commander of the Bavarian cavalry under Pappenheim . He was standing on the left wing, which was strongly pressed by the Swedes. Von Erwitte died in this battle.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ City history Geseke ( Memento from February 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ When the "great Christian" invaded Westphalia ( Memento from March 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

literature

personal data
SURNAME Erwitte, Dietrich Ottmar von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bavarian general sergeant during the Thirty Years' War
DATE OF BIRTH 16th century or 17th century
DATE OF DEATH September 17, 1631
Place of death Battle of Breitenfeld