Hermann of Baden-Baden

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Hermann Margrave of Baden (born October 12, 1628 in Baden , † October 30, 1691 in Regensburg ) was a military and diplomat in the imperial service. He was Field Marshal and President of the Court War Council . Most recently he was principal commissioner at the Reichstag in Regensburg.

Hermann Margrave of Baden

Early years

He was the fifth son of Margrave Wilhelm von Baden and his mother Katharina Ursula (née Hohenzollern-Hechingen).

As a later son he was intended for the clergy and was the holder of canon positions in Cologne and Paderborn . Accordingly, he was brought up in the Catholic spirit. He attended the Jesuit school in Dillingen . His attempt to be accepted as a knight in the Order of St. John failed. After all, he also held canon positions in Strasbourg , Salzburg and Augsburg . At times he was in discussion as the Polish king as a possible successor to Johann Casimir . For this reason he gave up his canon positions in 1661.

Because his hopes for the Polish throne were not fulfilled, he turned to military service. In 1663 he was in command of the troops of the Burgundian Empire in the fight against the Ottomans in Hungary.

War of devolution

In 1665, despite protests from Louis XIV, he was in command of an Austrian auxiliary force in the Spanish Netherlands .

In 1667, after the war of devolution began, he tried to win supporters in the empire for Spain. On behalf of the Spanish governor Marquis von Castel Rodrigo, he traveled to Berlin to negotiate an alliance with Spain against France with Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg . After the apparently successful completion of this mission, Hermann von Baden returned to Brussels . An agreement was concluded there, but it had no effect because the elector allied himself with France in December 1667.

Dutch War

When the Dutch War was foreseeable in 1671 , Hermann von Baden played a key role in negotiations about an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden . A deal was prevented by court intrigues, reinforced by French bribes.

After the outbreak of the war he served under Raimondo Montecuccoli as general field master and commander of the artillery. He fought on October 4, 1674 together with Alexander de Bournonville in the battle of Holzheim . At Mühlhausen on December 29th and at Türkheim on January 5th, 1675 they were defeated and had to cross the Rhine with their troops . In 1675 he defended the Breisgau . But he couldn't prevent Turenne from advancing across the Rhine.

Hermann von Baden put a strong garrison in Offenburg . This could hold up against Vauban . He himself took part in the siege of Haguenau . Later he had Zabern bombarded, stopped fighting on the orders of Montecuccoli and went with his troops to the winter quarters.

Since 1676 he was under the command of Duke Charles V of Lorraine . Together with this he was able to prevent the French from strengthening the troops in Philippsburg . Together with Friedrich VI. von Baden-Durlach , Hermann von Baden took part in the successful siege of Philippsburg . Also in 1677 he fought under the Duke of Lorraine. In 1678 he was temporarily in command in Strasbourg until he had to give up the post due to illness.

Siege of Vienna

After the Peace of Nijmegen , Hermann von Baden worked as the emperor's envoy at various courts. He was in Berlin around 1680, but had no success with the mission. As the successor to Montecuccoli, Hermann von Baden became President of the Court War Council in 1682. In 1683 he went to Hungary to make preparations for the Turkish war .

Hermann von Baden was appointed field marshal and was the leading minister of Leopold I. He had insisted in vain that Vienna should not be stripped of troops. When the Turkish troops approached to siege the city , he asked the emperor to be able to stay in the city. Leopold only granted him one night before he was supposed to travel to Linz . During this time he had some defensive preparations made. As the emperor's envoy, he took part in the great council of war with the Polish King John III on September 3 . Sobieski and the other allies took part. Some of his suggestions have been implemented. He then took on a leading position under the Duke of Lorraine.

In the battle of the Kahlenberg he was initially positioned next to the Polish king and then let the imperial troops, intended as a reserve, advance down the mountain and attack the Turks head-on. He captured numerous trophies, which he later bequeathed to his nephew Ludwig Wilhelm von Baden-Baden ("Türkenlouis").

Turkish war

After the victory and the start of the counter-offensive, Ofen was besieged in vain for a long time. The commanders there wanted to break off the siege. In October 1684 the Emperor sent Hermann von Baden to Ofen at the instigation of the Duke of Lorraine, who was a competitor at the time. He took on a task that was hopeless from the start and was only able to save the remains of the army.

In 1687 Antonio Caraffa accused Hermann von Baden of making common cause with the Hungarian rebels. His nephew Ludwig Wilhelm stood up for him. Hermann von Baden became governor of Raab and was present on December 9, 1687 at the coronation of Archduke Joseph as Hungarian king in Pressburg . Due to conflicts with the Duke of Lorraine over the supreme command in Hungary, Hermann von Baden was replaced as President of the Court War Council. From 1688 he was the imperial principal commissioner at the Reichstag in Regensburg. He died there of a stroke and was buried in Regensburg.

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personal data
SURNAME Baden-Baden, Hermann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Baden, Hermann Margrave of (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Margrave of Baden, Field Marshal and President of the Court War Council
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1628
PLACE OF BIRTH to bathe
DATE OF DEATH October 30, 1691
Place of death regensburg