Jørgen Rantzau
Jørgen Rantzau (* around 1652 ; † March 10, 1713 in Lübeck ) was a Danish general.
origin
Jørgen Rantzau comes from the noble family Rantzau . His parents were Frantz Rantzau (1620–1676) and his wife Lisbet Rosenkrantz (1631–1657).
Life
He fought in several wars under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough . He already participated in 1691 during the Palatine War of Succession under Marlborough. In 1701 he was made a colonel and in 1705 a major general. In the Battle of Höchstädt (English Battle of Blenheim ) he commanded the 4th Jutland Dragoon Regiment. In the Battle of Oudenaarde on July 11, 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession , he commanded the cavalry under William Cadogan and played an important role in the early stages of the battle. His brother Johann von Rantzau and his nephew Christian von Rantzau accompanied him.
In 1709 Denmark made another attempt to wrest Sweden from Skåne during the Great Northern War . Rantzau returned home and took part in the invasion of Scania under Christian Detlev von Reventlow . At the beginning of the year the Swedes marched against Helsingborg. In the opinion of the Swedish commander Magnus Stenbock, the city was considered the key to Skåne and so the army marched south to cut off the Danish supply lines. Reventlow tried to prevent this and opposed the Swedes
At the beginning of the battle, Reventlow suddenly fell ill and handed the command to Jørgen Rantzau. Rantzau took part personally in the fighting on his east wing and thereby neglected his leadership role. He was also badly wounded from a lung shot. The battle was a heavy defeat for Denmark, for which Rantzau was blamed.
From July to November 1712, Danish troops under Rantzau besieged Wismar without success and withdrew to Holstein on November 7th.
Rantzau died a little later in Lübeck .
family
He married Marsille Gabel (1665-1733). The couple had several children:
- Christian († 1704)
- Charlotte Amalie (* January 12, 1692 - September 22, 1769) ⚭ 1709 Christian Rantzau (* December 6, 1683 - December 8, 1729) from the Rastorf family
literature
- Jørgen Rantzau . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 13 : Pelli – Reravius . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1899, p. 464 (Danish, runeberg.org ).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rantzau, Jørgen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1652 |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 10, 1713 |
| Place of death | Lübeck |