Matthias Gallas

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Matthias Gallas
Signature Matthias Gallas.PNG

Matthias Gallas (born October 17, 1588 in Trient , Italy ; † April 25, 1647 in Vienna ), Italian Matteo Gallasso , from 1632 Count von Gallas to Castle Campo and Freyenthurn (on Martarella), was an imperial general in the Thirty Years' War . His military career developed quickly and successfully in the first half of the war in the army of Commander-in-Chief Wallenstein . Gallas was instrumental in the conspiracy against Wallenstein. The imperial court in Vienna was informed of all events in the army of Wallenstein through letters from Gallas, who was appropriately rewarded as an informant after the murder of Wallenstein.

In the second half of the war, Gallas' career under Emperor Ferdinand III. (HRR) very changeable. In addition to great successes, such as the victory over the Swedes in the Battle of Nördlingen and the appointments as Commander in Chief of the Army, there were failures through no fault of their own, B. During the winter campaign in Lorraine in 1636, when the army was severely decimated by disease. But there were also mistakes by Gallas, which led to the loss of entire army units and to dismissal as commander in chief and earned him the disparaging designation "spoiler". In the older historical literature, the authors usually cite the lack of education and competence of Gallas as the cause, although they do not neglect to point out the well-known drunkenness of Gallas and his "women stories" as an explanation. The more recent historical literature on the course of the war in the period after the Peace of Prague , in which the so-called military failures of Gallas took place, abstains from judgmental statements on the person of Gallas. Instead, it is shown that the rights of co-determination of the imperial estates as stipulated in the Peace Treaty of Prague with regard to the financing, supply and billeting of an army unit had changed so much that it had become very difficult for the respective military leader to have a large army without losses and without departures through desertion especially in winter in unfavorable weather conditions.

As a general, Gallas never lost a battle, as he no longer led his troops to Nördlingen. He did not want to risk his armies recklessly in battle and yet he could not prevent his armies from perishing repeatedly because he complained about the untenable conditions during his campaigns, but always obediently followed the will of the imperial court. Presumably he drew his lessons from the fate of Wallenstein, which the refusal to lead certain campaigns had finally cost his head.

ancestry

Older sources incorrectly name September 16, 1584 as the date of birth. Matthias Gallas came from a family of the Tridentine nobility, first mentioned in a document with Odalricus de Campo and his son Fridericus on July 22, 1163 and the first name Gallasio de Castel in the 15th century Campo in the name form "di Gallasso" took over as a family name.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Gallasso de Castel Campo belonged to the lower feudal aristocracy of Judicaria , the valley landscape northwest of Lake Garda . His family had received the Campo castle as a fief from the prince-bishops of Trento . Matthias Gallas's father, Pancrazio di Gallasso at Campo Castle on Martarella, died after 35 years of military service on July 22, 1612, according to another source in 1611, with the rank of imperial general sergeant in Tyrol . He was married to Annunziata Marcanti di Gandina, daughter of Octavio Marcanti di Gandina and Euphemia von Taxis.

Military career

Matthias Gallas, contemporary portrait ( Army History Museum Vienna)

First steps and bohemian war

Little reliable information is known about Matthias Gallas, born in Palazzo Galasso in Trento, and about his youth and early military career - as is the case with almost all second-rate military leaders of this time. He completed his first campaign with the Spanish army in Flanders and then fought in Savoy in 1616 and 1617 . When the Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia in 1618, Gallas was stationed as a captain and commandant of the Riva fortress on northern Lake Garda, the Austrian fortress protecting Trento on the border with Italy. There, on March 30, 1618, Captain Aldringen, 4 years his junior, was assigned to him. Both immediately made themselves available for the planned campaign in Bohemia against the Protestant rebels. Gallas chose to serve in the army of the German Catholic League and became colonel in a foot regiment.

Gallas won his first awards in August 1623 in the battle of Stadtlohn , near the Dutch border, where the far superior League army under Tilly almost completely destroyed the fleeing army of the Protestant general Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel . Gallas also gained recognition during the siege and capture of the heavily fortified, prosperous trading town of Krempe in Holstein, which was under the influence of King Christian IV of Denmark , by an army under Wallenstein's command in November 1628.

At the beginning of 1629 Gallas exchanged his service in the Bavarian League Army with the service in the Imperial Army under Wallenstein, where Aldringen was also active. The change was connected with a promotion to general sergeant and caused trouble with the previous employer, the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria, because of improper behavior.

Aerial view of Mantua / Lombardy
Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace) in Mantua

Italian campaign to Mantua

In September 1629 Wallenstein tried in vain to prevent Emperor Ferdinand II from participating in the War of Succession in Mantua . Wallenstein feared a weakening of the imperial troops in the empire, because he feared an intervention of the Swedes, the endangerment of his new duchy of Mecklenburg and an open confrontation with the potential enemy France. But the will of the emperor could not be broken, because because of his marriage to Eleanor of Mantua he had hopes for the inheritance of Mantua. In the end, Wallenstein had to agree to the sending of troops to Northern Italy. Under the command of Gallas and Aldringen, both as general field sergeants , two corps were marched to Italy to the Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Collalto there. They were accompanied by Piccolomini , the commander of Wallenstein's bodyguard. On the way to Northern Italy, Gallas and Aldringen married the sisters Isabella and Livia from the noble family of the Counts Arco at Arco Castle on Lake Garda .

When he arrived in Italy, Collato fell ill. The three imperial officers took command and captured Mantua in July 1630 . The city and the ducal palace were heavily looted for days, with Gallas, Aldringen and Piccolomini enriching themselves immensely from the palace's treasures. They had jewels, paintings, statues, ostentatious furniture, tapestries, gold services and silver items transported home with several truckloads. At the same time in December 1630 in Vienna Wallenstein was recalled by the emperor as commander in chief of the imperial army and after the successful Mantua campaign, Gallas gained reputation and relationships both at the imperial court in Vienna and in the army officer corps.

Swedish War until the end of 1632

With the Peace of Cherasco in June 1631, the War of Succession around Mantua ended so late that Gallas and Aldringen and their troops, as Wallenstein had feared, did not return from Italy in time for the advance of the Swedish troops under King Gustav Adolf after its landing in Pomerania in July 1630. They also came too late to prevent the heavy defeat of the troops of the Catholic League under Tilly in the Battle of Breitenfeld on September 17, 1631. Aldringen came with his corps as far as Leipzig and was able to hide his troops in the Thuringian Forest from the victorious Swedes. Gallas, who had been raised to the rank of imperial count after his return , directed his corps to Eger and, as Feldzeugmeister, took command of the remaining imperial portion of the defeated army of the Catholic League to protect Bohemia .

Wallenstein - Albrecht von Waldstein
Old fortress from the southwest

Because of the threatening military situation, Emperor Ferdinand II asked Wallenstein, who had been released a year ago, in December 1631 to set up a new army and to take over the command as Commander-in-Chief, initially for a limited period and after the agreement of Göllersdorf in April 1632 for an unlimited period. Wallenstein received extended powers and appointed Gallas and Aldringen to be field witnesses. In September 1633 he appointed Gallas lieutenant general and thus his deputy. Apparently, Wallenstein considered Gallas to be the most capable and (or) the one who was most devoted to him after his appointment as deputy, despite known weaknesses. Wallenstein gave Gallas great freedom of choice in questions of possible military support for Tilly, who was retreating south with the Bavarian league army after the heavy defeat at Breitenfeld. Despite many requests from the Bavarian Elector Maximilian to protect Bavaria, Wallenstein and Gallas stayed with the imperial army in Bohemia because they still considered the Swedes, who had already triumphantly entered Nuremberg, to be too strong to attack them. Wallenstein already thought Bayern lost and Gallas became his teammate by agreeing to Wallenstein's very cautious defensive strategy. The aim of this strategy was to secure Bohemia by stationing the army newly established by Wallenstein and to threaten both Sweden's allies, Saxony and Nuremberg. The Saxon troops allied with the Swedes were unsettled by the imperial army in Bohemia and remained tied up in Saxony. Nuremberg as a supply base for the Swedes could also be threatened. The Swedes, who had advanced as far as Munich after winning the Battle of Rain am Lech in April 1632 and devastated Bavaria in the process, were to be forced to leave Bavaria again because of the threat to their routes of retreat. This strategy typical of Wallenstein, which Gallas also gladly followed later, was successful from a military point of view, but met with incomprehension and rejection from those affected by the effects, because Bavaria was not saved from destruction and looting despite many requests. After arriving in Munich, the Swedes had to withdraw to the north again after a short time and thus to where they were expected by Wallenstein and Gallas with the imperial army.

From June 1632 the armies of Gustav Adolf, Wallenstein and Gallas faced each other in the army camp near Nuremberg for several weeks. While Wallenstein had secured supplies for the army as a precaution, there was a great shortage of food in the Swedish army, including for horses. When Gustav Adolf was forced to make a decision in September, the battle at the Alte Veste took place , at a location that Wallenstein had selected and prepared for the battle. The Swedish army could not win here, suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat. After the battle, the imperial army withdrew to the north in order to find winter quarters in the enemy's land on the way back to Bohemia, in the Electorate of Saxony, an ally of the Swedes. This was another threat to the Saxon allies of the Swedes, to which Gustav Adolf had to react.

Gallas was a keen observer of the strategy Wallenstein used to lead the army. With a partial army of 12,000 men as vanguard, he was given the task of securing the Elbe front on the way to Bohemia in Meissen, and of looking for and acquiring quarters in Saxony. Supported by Holk , Bohemia was to be kept free from Saxon troops. After the withdrawal of Gallas, the Swedes decided to follow the imperial troops in an express march, caught up with them quickly, but could not surprise them because they were discovered by chance. In November 1632 there was the battle of Lützen , in which Gallas did not take part and in which Gustav Adolf was killed. After the battle, which ended without a decision and which Wallenstein threatened to lose for a short time, the imperial army left Saxony together with the Gallas army and moved to Bohemia. In Prague, as a non-participant in the battle, Gallas was given the unpleasant task, with the help of officers Holk and Ilow, of arresting twelve imperial officers who had deserted during the battle of Lützen. They were in a process in which u. a. Colloredo and Piccolomini acted as judges, sentenced to death ( Prague blood court ). The judges and many officers tried very hard to obtain remedies from Wallenstein. Wallenstein, however, remained adamant. Gallas was not involved, which turned out to be an advantage for him. The relentless behavior of Wallenstein was remembered by many officers and was used by his opponents in the officer corps in the subsequent conspiracies against Wallenstein to organize resistance against him. Gallas, on the other hand, drew on a leap of faith in the officer corps

The year of the conspiracy against Wallenstein 1633

Arnim as a general from Electoral Saxony
Franz Albrecht of Saxe-Lauenburg

During the first half of 1633 the main army of Wallenstein was inactive in Bohemia, which led to a burden on its own population and encouraged displeasure against Wallenstein at the imperial court in Vienna. The regiments of Gallas, who had been appointed lieutenant general, were also inactive in Silesia not far from the opposing Saxon army under the supreme commander in chief Arnim and the newly appointed, agile field marshal Franz Albrecht von Sachsen-Lauenburg . As a former participant in the Mantua campaign, Franz Albrecht knew Gallas and had also developed such a special relationship with Wallenstein during his earlier service that in the course of 1633, with the consent of the hesitant Arnim, he began armistice negotiations with Gallas and Wallenstein, some of which turned into drinking bouts . The agreements reached were not permanent and aroused suspicion at the imperial court, especially since Wallenstein also had other contacts with former Bohemian rebels and the Protestant diplomat Kinsky who worked for Saxony, which the imperial court suspected . The Saxon general Arnim also remained suspicious because, despite ongoing negotiations, Wallenstein also threatened Saxony with a military advance carried out by Heinrich von Holk .

The vague notions of an armistice finally vanished when on October 11, 1633 Wallenstein and Gallas captured Steinau an der Oder in a lightning offensive in Silesia . There the Swedish commander Thurn was first captured, but then released again after he had surrendered all of the Silesian fortresses. The imperial court was outraged about the release of the former leader of the Bohemian uprising against Emperor Ferdinand II, which brought Wallenstein again and increasingly into disrepute with the emperor. Gallas, however, still did not believe in a defection of Wallenstein from the emperor.

Unmolested by Gallas and Wallenstein, the Swedes invaded Bavaria again in the second half of 1633 and in November 1633 conquered Regensburg, which was occupied by Bavarian troops, under the orders of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar . Despite all of Maximilian's requests and protests, Wallenstein continued to hold back his troops in Bohemia and Silesia because, from his point of view, the threat to Bohemia had increased significantly after the battle of Hessisch Oldendorf lost by imperial troops in July 1633 . In order to show his good will, Wallenstein had made troops available to secure the Danube Strait near Passau and placed them under the Bavarian general Aldringen. He saw Austria as protected and his task as commander in chief of the imperial troops as fulfilled. The defense of Bavaria was for him the task of the Bavarian elector and was left to the army of Aldringen.

The imperial court in Vienna was informed of all events in Bohemia and in the army of Wallenstein through letters from Gallas and Octavio Piccolomini , who also corresponded with Aldringen. At the end of 1633, the resentment against Wallenstein at the court of the emperor in Vienna had become so strong that the emperor decided to somehow get rid of Wallensteins if one could be sure of the loyalty of the army. For this purpose, the emperor was dependent on the assessment and cooperation of Gallas, Piccolomini and Aldringen and left them to carry out his decision. They were ready to cooperate, assured the emperor of their loyalty and hoped for perks after the fall of Wallenstein.

The emperor had a good opportunity to openly proclaim his imperial mistrust after he became aware of the Pilsen lapel, a promise of loyalty that Wallenstein demanded and received from 49 of his high-ranking officers in Pilsen on January 12, 1634, without promising loyalty to the emperor has been. This action by Wallenstein, in which Gallas and Piccolomini did not take part, could be interpreted as treason by the emperor and he issued a decree on January 24, 1634 to dismiss Wallenstein. Gallas was asked to consult with Piccolomini on how to get Wallenstein dead or alive. The imperial order led to the dismissal of Wallenstein, cleverly prepared by Gallas and Piccolomini and announced in Prague on February 18, combined with the instruction to all officers to only obey orders from Gallas in future. On February 20, 1634, Wallenstein made another attempt to ensure the officers' loyalty. Piccolomini had secretly left Pilsen on February 15th. Gallas had followed him to get Aldringen but never came back himself. When fewer than 30 officers signed the signature requested by Wallenstein, the remaining Field Marshals Trčka and Ilow , who were devoted to Wallenstein, and his brother-in-law Kinsky, who worked for Wallenstein's diplomatic emissary, decided to flee to Eger together. There, on February 25, 1634, Wallenstein was murdered, organized by Gallas and Piccolomini on behalf of the emperor and carried out by the imperial officers Leslie , Butler and Gordon . All those involved in the conspiracy and also the murderers were later richly rewarded and Gallas received the largest share of all those involved. The dominions Friedland (northern Bohemia, in the Jizera Mountains foothills) and Reichenberg (largest city in northern Bohemia) were transferred to him from the possession of Wallenstein , valued at 500,000 guilders.

Swedish War 1634 to late 1635

After the murder of Wallenstein, the eldest son of Emperor Ferdinand II, then Archduke Ferdinand, King of Hungary was appointed commander in chief of the troops of the imperial army in April 1634 at the age of only 26. Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria approved the appointment of his nephew, who had been married to Maria Anna of Spain since 1631 . The new Commander-in-Chief Archduke Ferdinand had agreed with his cousin, the Spanish Cardinal Infante Ferdinand of Spain, who were well trained in the art of war, plans to unite the Imperial and Spanish armies on the Upper Rhine, which were now to be implemented. In the rank of lieutenant general, Gallas was placed at his side as deputy and liaison to the officers of the imperial army. Piccolomini became Gallas' deputy and organizer in building the army. Both deputies were a good and successful pairing after the crisis for the rebuilding of the army. Despite his well-known drunkenness, Gallas was considered jovial and friendly and was very popular with the officers. Piccolomini had energy and organizational talent, had already earned military service and was assertive.

Recapture of Regensburg

On May 17, 1634, the newly established imperial army in Pilsen was mustered by the new Commander-in-Chief Archduke Ferdinand and Lieutenant General Gallas. The army consisted of 40,000 men, of which 15,000 were to remain in Silesia under Field Marshal Colloredo . 25,000 men were earmarked for the planned campaign to Württemberg. On the approach, Regensburg, which had been occupied by the Swedes since November 1633, was to be recaptured with the help of 20 heavy siege guns. Gallas commanded the advance guard, which met on May 26, north of Regensburg on the north bank of the Danube, with the Bavarian League army with 8,000 men under General Aldringen . After two months of siege, the two united armies succeeded in recapturing Regensburg at the end of July 1634 . The surrender offered by Gallas to the Swedish commander Lars Kagg was accepted on July 26th. A Swedish relief army under commanders Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar and Gustaf Horn , which was supposed to prevent the reconquest of Regensburg, was busy from July 22nd to 30th with the conquest and sacking of the neighboring city of Landshut . The commanders learned too late that Regensburg had already surrendered by this time. Gallas had ensured that Regensburg was perfectly sealed off, thus achieving a complete blackout of the news and thus achieving a first major military success.

Defeat of the Swedes in the Battle of Nördlingen

After Regensburg had been retaken, the imperial-Bavarian troops marched immediately to Franconia and Württemberg. The Swedish headquarters were there in Donauwörth and the planned unification with the approaching Spanish army was to take place there. The swift withdrawal of the enemy armies forced the Swedish relief army to pursue them immediately, but the Swedish troops lost a lot of time on the march back in the rain after a change in weather, many horses and had high material losses. Exhausted, their troops did not reach Augsburg until August 6th and could not prevent the capture of their garrison town Donauwörth by imperial troops on August 16th.

On August 18, 1634, the imperial Bavarian army under Gallas began the siege of the city of Nördlingen , which had been occupied by Sweden two years earlier, and was only rarely disturbed by Swedish units. On September 3, 1634, the expected Spanish army arrived. Several assault attacks on Nördlingen ordered by Gallas were repulsed. Then the armies of both sides began to withdraw troops and to look for and take positions for the foreseeable battle near Nördlingen . In cooperation with the Spanish troops, Gallas managed on September 5, 1634, to contain the surprisingly early, violent and successful cavalry attacks of the Swedish army under Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar. When the fighting stopped at midnight, the strategically important Albuch hill was held by the imperial Spanish troops despite the loss of some important positions and was even expanded with entrenchments during the night. In a nightly emergency meeting of all commanders in Archduke Ferdinand's carriage, on the advice of Gallas, measures were ordered which - as it turned out the next day - were suitable for defending Albuch Hill as a strategically important position so effectively that all Swedish attacks failed .

On the second day of the battle, Gallas and two Spanish generals commanded the imperial cavalry. With a good overview, he made sure that reserves were properly set up and available for the Albuch Hill, which was attacked and contested for hours by the Swedish infantry under Gustaf Horn , as well as the containment of the wild cavalry attacks initiated by Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar. In the final phase of the battle, when the totally exhausted Swedish infantry began to withdraw from Albuchhügel, imperial Spanish regiments on the orders of Gallas used the critical situation of the withdrawing Swedish infantry regiments to launch a main attack. The attack led to a disorderly dissolution of the withdrawing Swedish formations and ended in a chaotic escape when the Swedish cavalry under Bernhard von Weimar, also forced to retreat on the orders of Gallas, collided with the withdrawing Swedish infantry.

Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar

Looking back at the preparation, course, and end of the battle, it is understandable that Gallas was referred to as the real father of the battle . With the still reigning Emperor Ferdinand II and also with the incumbent Commander-in-Chief and later (from 1637) Emperor Ferdinand III , he earned a trust that could hardly be shaken for a long time.

However, the following consideration is equally justified: Gallas, who, like his teacher Wallenstein, was always skeptical when it came to fighting a battle, was forced to his luck in the case of the Battle of Nördlingen by Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar, because it It is difficult to explain the recklessness with which Bernhard insisted on starting the battle despite being drastically outnumbered, and with what heroism, or even outrageous recklessness, he led his cavalry into the fighting and, in the end, into chaos. In the months after the total defeat of the Swedes, south-western Germany with the Duchy of Württemberg and the Upper Rhine initially came under the influence of the emperor and his Spanish relatives again. The access route to the Spanish Netherlands had improved for the army of the Spanish Cardinal Infante Ferdinand .

One consequence of the total defeat of the Swedes was the peace treaty of Prague , in which the alliance between the Electorate of Saxony was changed from the Swedes to the emperor's side. The treaty brought about major strategic changes that resulted in the open entry of France into the war on the side of Sweden. The French Chancellor Cardinal Richelieu could no longer limit himself to financial support from the Swedes. France was forced to intervene in the war with its own troops on the side of the Swedes. In May 1635, France declared war on Spain and, on September 18, also on the Habsburg Emperor.

France, however, had a great shortage of experienced mercenaries and generals. This was expressed in 1635 by the then 24-year-old, later great French general Turenne , when he drew a comparison between France and the German Empire of the Habsburgs after the victory of the Habsburgs near Nördlingen and also praised Gallas. In a similar sense, he put Gallas on a par with other great generals by saying that France could not lead successful campaigns against the Habsburgs because the Habsburgs had the best generals at their disposal, such as B. Matthias Gallas, Werth and Karl von Lothringen , while the great French and Swedish generals Montmorency († 1632), Schomberg († 1632), and Gustav II. Adolf († 1632) are all dead .

Swedish-French War

From the Upper Rhine to Lorraine

After the conclusion of the Prague Peace Treaty at the end of May 1635 and after France declared war on Emperor Ferdinand II , a new phase of the war began, the Swedish-French War (1635–1648). During this phase of the war, some German allies continued to fight on the side of France and Sweden. B. the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel and the Principality of Calenberg . But the decisive factor for the further course of the war was the army, which Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar formed after the defeat at Nördlingen from the remnants of the Swedish armies and was financed by France. After the death of Bernhard (July 1639) this army, in which Swedish and German mercenaries and officers served, also called the "Weimaraner" , was led by Johann Ludwig von Erlach and sold to France in October 1639.

After the establishment of his army, the "Weimaraner" initially operated on the Upper Rhine and in 1635 were even quite successful in cooperation with a French army under Cardinal de La Valette . After France declared war on Spain (May 1635), France's declaration of war on the emperor in September 1635 came as no surprise. Even without a declaration of war there would have been an invasion of France, because both Emperor Ferdinand and Elector Maximilian of Bavaria saw a campaign against France as the " Haubtwerck " in 1636 . The French were supposed to be gripped by Duke Karl in Lorraine as early as 1635, from the south by attacking the Rhine near Breisach and from the north by attacking the Rhine near Philippsburg. The hesitant Gallas was accused of default. It became clear for the first time that for Gallas, who had learned the craft of war at Wallenstein, a cornerstone of his war-craft beliefs was to be skeptical of rambling, grand plans. He justified his skeptical attitude by saying that "he did not consider it advisable to chase after a person or an idea and thereby leave the situation in Germany unstable ". Gallas' concerns were justified, because after the peace treaty in Prague the new alliance relationships in the territory of the Reich were not yet fully foreseeable. Gallas' concerns were only partially taken into account, because in the background an attack on France had already been agreed with Spain - which of course still supported the war of the German Habsburgs with many subsidies . It was now planned that an imperial army under Gallas should cross the Rhine and secure Alsace and Lorraine on the left bank of the Rhine and look for winter quarters there. Gallas could hardly reject this, because it was clear to him that the areas on the right bank of the Rhine south of Worms had been plundered so drastically by the imperial troops after the expulsion of the Swedes as a result of their defeat at Nördlingen that no army could have survived the winter there.

On the way to Lorraine in July 1635, Gallas tried in vain to conquer the West Palatinate city of Zweibrücken . The city was successfully defended by Colonel Reinhold von Rosen from Weimar and a French army under Cardinal La Valette. Another attack in October of the same year succeeded against it. The city, this time defended by French troops, was left to plunder by the imperial troops in return for the assurance of a free retreat. In search of winter quarters at the end of September, the numerically far superior imperial army under Gallas, with 20,000 men, pursued a French army retreating to Lorraine together with the Weimarans, which, because of its inferiority, tried to reach the fortified Lorraine towns of Wallerfangen (today in the district of Saarlouis an der Border with France) or Metz . It came to the battle of Wallerfangen , in which the French troops fought off the imperial under Gallas and were able to withdraw to Metz with losses.

Gallas, who wanted to strengthen his troops and had his army meet with the army of Charles IV of Lorraine on October 18, had also opted for winter quarters in the Lorraine border area. He himself chose Zabern on the left bank of the Rhine in northern Alsace as his quarter, while in southern Alsace with the cities of Belfort and Montbéliard he dominated the Vosges Gap and the access to France.

There were no permanent quarters or regular supplies in the swampy area. As far as the area around Metz, the entire Saar area was exposed to raids by various troops in the winter months of 1635/36. Most of the mercenaries from Gallas, who had brought 20,000 men to Lorraine, perished in the winter of 1635/36 due to the cold, epidemics and insufficient food. Even a newly formed, twice as strong French army in magnificent uniforms, which marched up surprisingly, was so demotivated by the environmental conditions that there was no fighting. For weeks the two armies faced each other and were decimated by disease and moisture. Fights were not possible because the horses were up to their stomachs in the water.

From Lorraine to Paris?

Gallas was to gain a foothold with the army in Lorraine in order to be able to threaten France from the south in 1636. This project was part of a strategy initiated by Emperor Ferdinand III. and his cousin, the Spanish Cardinal Infante Ferdinand of Spain , and was then also supported by the Bavarian Elector Maximilian . An attack on Paris from the north with three armies operating together was planned. The starting point of the northern attack was the Spanish Netherlands . To support the Spanish troops stationed there under Thomas de Savoie-Carignan , an imperial army under Piccolomini had already been sent to northern France, reinforced by Bavarian cavalry under Johann von Werth . In 1636 they forced the crossing over the Somme , penetrated together into northern France and in August 1636 conquered the French border fortress Corbie 100 km north of Paris. In Paris it came to popular uprisings against the Chancellor Richelieu

It was planned that a simultaneous threat from Paris from the south from Lorraine or from Burgundy would help the attack from the north on Paris to be successful. However, it was not planned that the opposing, numerically inferior army of Bernhard von Sachsen Weimar, also operating in Lorraine and Burgundy, could become such a strong opponent of the imperial army under Gallas in 1635/36 that the attack planned for 1636 from the south on Paris did not take place. Gallas himself later commented: If he had not experienced it himself, he would have never imagined that Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar would ever succeed in rebuilding an army after the total defeat in the Battle of Nördlingen, which, on top of that, could wear down the numerically far superior imperial army and then even wipe it out completely in the following year 1636 .

The imperial commander-in-chief Archduke Ferdinand had hoped that Gallas would be able to advance to Bassigny west of the Vosges in winter in order to acquire better quarters in the enemy territory. In reality, the weather and fortified cities of the French opponents made a possible winter campaign such a difficult undertaking that Gallas did not want to risk his troops in it. By February 1636 the food supply of the troops had become so bad that Gallas only left 5 infantry regiments in Obernai , Molsheim and Zabern, supported by 2 cavalry regiments. He sent the remaining 13 regiments, 11 of them cavalry, back across the Rhine.

Gallas was not a fan of the emperor's wishes and orders, which were dominated by the demands of the Spanish minister Olivares and his envoy Oñate to attack Paris. As lieutenant general, Gallas also had the opportunity to subtly thwart imperial orders. Very cleverly he consolidated his reputation and his position in the army as incorruptible by openly rejecting all material benefits offered by the Spanish ambassador Oñate to make him compliant. Gallas was the typical example of a military man with a strong corps spirit and an aversion to civilians. As a superior, he always endeavored to bind his officers to himself by not making solitary decisions, but instead relying on collective deliberations to avoid individual blame later. His private life ("Weiberwirtschaft") gave rise to rumors and his drunkenness, already known under Wallenstein, had survived and was well known. From his role model Wallenstein he had received the military-strategic attitude of being a hesitant who tried to avoid major battles, especially outside of the Reich, and always wanted to act cautiously. The first minister of the Emperor Trauttmansdorff characterized this attitude very mildly and sympathetically: "Although he will never risk anything, he would never have bad intentions." According to this assessment, Lieutenant General Gallas could not be trusted to do the for the campaign from south to Paris planned for summer 1636 would not begin.

The French themselves determined the starting point of Gallas' campaign in France with their attack on the Spanish Free County of Burgundy in May 1636. The Free County, which had been neutralized in Franco-Habsburg conflicts since the Peace of Cambrai in 1529, had thankfully rejected a possible imperial troop mission on May 12th, but still on May 27, French troops had marched in under the command of the elder Condé and had begun the siege of the capital, Dole . Now imperial help was urgently desired and from June onwards numerous associations set off for Hochburgund, including most of the cavalry planned for Gallas under Rudolf von Colloredo and Guillaume de Lamboy as well as the Duke of Lorraine, who had only recently joined the Spanish army in Flanders, who led his riders from there across French territory. In August these troops also succeeded in pulling the French siege army out and relieving Dole. The French troops were not pursued, however, and could, among other things, be sent to Picardy to reinforce the defense there against the Spanish imperial advance. At the same time, most of the Burgundian state contingent returned home, as the region wanted to return to neutrality.

Gallas himself had to deal in the meantime with the advance of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar into northern Alsace, who had conquered Pfalzburg and Saarburg in the spring of 1636 . For this purpose, Gallas moved into a camp near Drusenheim , but ultimately made no attempt to relieve Zabern, which was besieged by Bernhard. Zabern surrendered on July 16, 1636 after five repulsed assault attacks by the French army. Gallas had refused a relief attack on the grounds that there was little chance of success because of outnumbered numbers. It was typical for him that he had his decision ratified by all generals in his army and wrote a memorandum that was sent to the emperor. At this point in time, some of the imperial troops had already moved to Burgundy or were still in Germany, where Hanau was besieged without success until June 13th .

In mid-August, Galla's remaining main army, which consisted almost entirely of infantry, finally crossed the Rhine. The first purpose of his campaign, the support of the Spanish Free County, had by then already done. The Burgundians wanted to get rid of the imperial army and were reluctant to supply them with provisions. Gallas' army moved from Dole to the Champlitte area , northwest of the Saône valley , in September . Opposite him stood in the northwest, separated by the river Vingeanne at Montsaugeon, a French army under Bernhard von Weimar, which the rest of Condé's previous siege army had joined. With a successful attack, Gallas would have opened the way to Champagne and thus potentially to Paris, but Gallas did not feel superior to the enemy army and had a council of war held on September 19, during which only Lamboy and the Burgundian Achilles de Soye were held by his generals voted for an attack. Gallas therefore decided to pursue a "left-hand strategy" which Archduke Ferdinand had expressly kept open to him, which was directed away from Paris and towards less defended enemy territory in the direction of Lyon . To do this, the fortified places on the Saône had to be conquered first.

To this end, the Gallas army secretly set out from Champlitte on October 20 to capture the town of Saint-Jean-de-Losne on the Saône, held by French troops . Gallas wanted to develop this city into a bridgehead to carry horses and artillery across the river. The French defenders of the city were reinforced by French troops under Josias Rantzau . Three assault attacks on the city failed. In addition, heavy rain had turned the glacis of the city fortifications into a quagmire, which made further attacks hopeless. On November 1, 1636, Gallas gave up the siege and even had to leave a large part of the artillery behind for the enemy when he withdrew.

In the end nothing had been achieved and the campaign to Paris had failed without even advancing in that direction. Gallas saw his fundamental views on warfare confirmed. His confidante, the Swiss Colonel Sebastian Zweyer , who was in contact with the imperial court in Vienna, agreed with him and expressed the hope: “ That one should slowly begin to recognize that it would be difficult to wage war outside the country as long as the house itself burns and is in danger ”. However, the view that Gallas would have sabotaged the planned campaign to Paris is not correct. In accordance with his fundamentally critical attitude towards military missions abroad and his hesitant nature, Gallas did not want the campaign to France, but ultimately the campaign was prevented solely by the conditions prevailing in Lorraine and Burgundy in the autumn and winter of 1635/36 and in 1636 . Bad weather, a lack of quarters and a lack of east-west waterways for supplies and ammunition supply across the Rhine, as well as a lack of local food made a successful campaign to France impossible. The emperor, on the other hand, only knew the numbers of mercenaries and referred to the numerical superiority. Gallas doubted the numbers on paper and held up to the imperial councilor Trauttmansdorff: " The enemy lies in fixed quarters, while his troops crawl around as the blind and are in the terrible and vicious moorish paths, since no one can move around ".

At the same time as the French campaign was broken off in the south, breaking off the attack in the north had to be considered, because the heavy defeat of a Saxon-imperial army in the battle of Wittstock against a Swedish army under Johan Banér in northern Germany on October 4th had consequences that made it necessary for the troops to return to Reich territory. The demolition was finally decided when, after a 6-week siege of Corbie by French troops supported by a popular army, the northern border fortress of Paris, which had been conquered by Spanish troops, had to be abandoned on November 14, 1636. The solidarity of the French people with their troops, admired even by the imperial, confirmed Gallas in his from the start skeptical attitude to the French campaign: In the fight against France one must consider the attitude of the French, which he described as the " continuous Constantia of the French, where it is Fatherland concerns "

The march to the Baltic Sea (1637)

In June 1637 Gallas was received by the Saxon Elector Johann Georg I for an extensive drinking binge. His ability to drink made a great impression on the elector. The task to be solved militarily was to drive out the Swedish army that had invaded Saxony the previous year after their great victory in the Battle of Wittstock . The emperor wanted a decisive victory that would drive the Swedes out of the empire completely. After the Prague peace treaty with the Saxons as the new allies, the emperor had the illusion that he could drive the Swedes out of the empire with a single great effort. He overestimated the abilities of both Gallas, who despite his drunkenness still had his trust, but also the strength of the Imperial Saxon army. The army had already achieved initial success in driving the Swedes out of Saxony, but much remained to be done. The Swedish army under the command of Banér stood at Torgau. To the north, imperial troops had occupied the cities of Magdeburg and Wittenberg and blocked the shortest route for the Swedish army to march back to their bases on the Baltic coast in Pomerania near Pretzsch in Saxony-Anhalt. For the Swedish army, therefore, the only way back east across the Oder was possible. At the end of June 1637, both armies began a race on parallel routes to the places where the rivers Elster , Spree and Oder crossed . On the first, approx. 250 km long section to the Oder, Gallas was faster with the imperial army. He reached the Oder crossing at the fortress Landsberg on the Oder sooner than the Swedes and blocked the crossing.

The Swedish army, which had left parts of its vehicle fleet behind in order to be able to use the draft horses as riding horses, did not reach Landsberg until July 5, 1637. In order to reach the Baltic coast despite the blockade, Banér considered crossing the nearby Polish border, but what did it do? was a provocation of the Polish king and was considered risky. Banér solved the problem in a tricky manner by only letting the train including his wife's carriage pull north across Polish territory. He himself moved west with the army on the Oder, found a ford across the Oder and reached the Swedish base in Stettin before Gallas could catch up with him. With luck but also with skill, Banér had escaped the collective power of the imperial army and the Swedes had reached their known as impregnable quarters on the Baltic coast without major losses. These Swedish quarters on the Baltic Sea could only have been fought with support from the sea, with the help of the fleet of the Danish King Christian IV . Therefore, the imperial side relied on the increasingly imperial-friendly attitude of the Danish king and on his support in the fight against the common enemy Sweden.

Fight on the Baltic coast

For the imperial army, which was in Brandenburg and Pomerania after the race on the Baltic Sea, new major problems arose towards the end of 1637. Attempts by Gallas to penetrate into Pomerania failed. Baner was not to be caught - so it said in a report. Gallas had to limit himself to enclosing Banér and his army, which was supplied from Sweden via the Baltic Sea, behind the Peene .

The disappointing outcome of the campaign brought Gallas a lot of criticism, especially since he had failed to inform the emperor of the poor results in good time. Gallas was already threatened with recall in Vienna when some military successes brought relief. A coup d'état at Tribsees led to the change of a Scottish regiment of the Swedes to the imperial side and a battle near Loitz brought 1,000 prisoners, among whom the future general Carl Gustaf Wrangel was almost among them . In winter the city and castle Wolgast and Demmin were conquered and the grain found on Usedom was completely harvested.

Return from the Baltic Sea, no supplies but defeats

The central problem for the imperial army with an approximate initial strength of around 11,000 riders and 10,000 foot soldiers became the question of quarters and supplies in the following winter months. The army, which had been in the field for a long time, was not in the enemy's land, which could be safely plundered. The army had to be supplied and given quarters in the land of the allied electorate of Brandenburg according to the new rules of the Peace of Prague . The Elector of Brandenburg had a say, and his country had already been plundered by the Swedes and had his own army to support. In Brandenburg there were neither quarters nor supplies. Attempts to get supplies from Poland also failed due to high monetary demands. The supply from Silesia and Bohemia worked poorly or did not materialize because the land route was unsafe everywhere and the Oder was not navigable. Attempts to solve the problem by offering large amounts of money to the principalities spared from quarters or by making compulsory payments from the imperial cities did not bring a quick solution either. Negotiations continued unsuccessfully until April of the following year.

In the course of the winter many mercenaries died or deserted and ran over to the enemy of the better paid. In March 1638, many rumors about alleged peace wishes of the Swedes, who in negotiations with Franz Albrecht von Sachsen-Lauenburg had allegedly even been prepared to be bought out of the empire, also ended. Things turned out differently and in the Treaty of Hamburg on March 6, 1638, the Swedes extended their alliance with France. The war continued and the central problem of housing and supplies remained. There were even riots by peasants who brought their supplies to safety and showed Swedish troops secret ways to attack the imperial army.

In the course of 1638 Gallas returned to Bohemia with the almost worn out Imperial Army. He initially retained his command of the army, but earned the nickname "Der Heerverderber" among the mercenaries, to which he lived up to in the following years with another defeat. Even after the campaigns and battles that followed, one can say in retrospect: The Gallas campaign of 1637/8 was the central phase of the war for the imperial warfare. With its failure, the emperor's chances of an early victorious end to the war had finally vanished.

The campaign to Denmark ends in disaster

In 1644 Gallas led the imperial troops to Holstein as part of the Torstensson War in order to provide assistance to the allied Danes against the Swedes. He began his campaign with some delay and far fewer soldiers than hoped, when he crossed the Elbe on July 6th with 12,000 to 14,000 men near Tangermünde . Gallas reached the Swedish-occupied Boizenburg on July 18 ; his garrison had holed up in a tower with which they were blown up after ten days by the imperial. On July 27th Gallas reached Mölln , from where he wanted to get provisions and wait for reinforcements from the Verden bishop Friedrich , son of the Danish king, because he once again considered the enemy army under Torstensson to be superior. King Christian IV of Denmark asked Gallas on August 5th to move to the Kiel Fjord , where the Swedish fleet had been trapped by the Danish fleet since July 22nd after its defeat in the sea ​​battle on the Kolberger Heide . Gallas did not leave immediately, but initially continued to wait for the belated reinforcement, which meant that he did not reach the Kiel Fjord until August 11th. Instead of being shot at from two sides, the Swedish fleet was able to leave the fjord on August 9th due to a change in the weather. On August 13, Gallas took Kiel , but was outwitted by his opponent Torstensson, who was able to bypass the imperial army unnoticed towards the south with the Swedish army on a secret route ( Stapelholmer Weg ). On August 18, the Swedish army reached Neumünster and had thus gained a head start on the way south to the areas in central Germany that were largely exposed by imperial troops. Inferior to the cavalry, Gallas could hardly put the Swedes in pursuit.

On the further retreat up the Elbe, forced by the Swedes, through areas in which the Swedish army had already made the supply situation more difficult through looting, Gallas lost large parts of the army entrusted to him for the last time when he was initially enclosed at Bernburg and his army at the onset of early winter At the end of October the provisions ran out. Gallas managed to break out into Magdeburg on November 21 or 22 . Magdeburg was a well-stocked fortress of the Saxon ally, but the local commander refused to share the supplies intended for his occupation with the imperial in the face of an impending Swedish siege. Since there was no food for the horses in the vicinity of the city, Gallas sent the cavalry on with 4,000 riders, some of whom were captured under Enkevort in the battle of Jüterbog . The rest of the riders escaped to Oberlausitz under the command of Bruays . Gallas stayed in Magdeburg at the beginning of December according to his own statements, 4,000 infantry, 200 riders and 1,500 horsemen without horses, which by the end of December melted down to 1,500 healthy and 1,200 sick people. In a final outbreak, Gallas' sub-commander Hunolstein led 1400 foot soldiers who were still able to march together with the last cavalry and 12 field guns from Magdeburg on January 7, 1645, because Gallas himself was sick. Hunolstein led the rest of the infantry without incident via Wittenberg to Bohemia. Gallas did not leave until after his recovery and arrived in Prague on February 16, allegedly with no sign of Imperial disfavor. Nonetheless, Gallas was condemned to watch afterwards when an army assembled head over heels with reinforcements from Hungary and Bavaria was severely defeated under the orders of Hatzfeldt in the battle of Jankau . To ward off the subsequent invasion of the Swedes into Lower Austria , Leopold Wilhelm of Austria was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army and thus Gallas's successor.

Gallas as a stopgap

Gallas was once again given command of the imperial troops in December 1646, after his successor Leopold Wilhelm was outmaneuvered by Swedes and French in his last campaign and he was to become governor of the Spanish Netherlands in the following year . Because of his sickness, Gallas resigned from command in March 1647 shortly before his death. Peter Melander von Holzappel succeeded him in his office .

Awards

He was a landlord on Friedland , Reichenberg , Smirschitz and Horzeniowes . On March 10, 1632 he was raised to the rank of imperial count . In 1635 he was named " Duke of Lucera " (Apulia) and "Grandee of Spain".

family

Gallas was married twice. In 1630 he married Isabella von Arco (1608–1632 the daughter of Count Sigismund von Arco ). She died childless. Her sister Livia was married to General Johann von Aldringen .

Then with Dorothea Anna Countess von Lodron († May 23, 1666 in Mährisch Kromau ), the daughter of Philipp Jakob Graf von Lodron and the Victoria Countess von Collalto and San Salvatore. The couple had the following children:

  • Franz Ferdinand (1635–1697), Duke of Lucera, Imperial Major General ∞ Countess Johanna Emerentia Gaschin von Rosenberg (1646–1735)
  • Anton Pankraz (* 1638; † 1699), Imperial Colonel, commander of the Gallas Dragoon Regiment
  • Ignatz Felix (* 1643; † Jung)
  • Maria Viktoria (* 1640; † April 30, 1687) ∞ Count Johann Wilhelm Kolowrat-Krakovský (* 1638; † May 7, 1690), Chancellor
  • Theresia Anunciata ∞ Count NN von Nachodt

After the death of her husband Ferdinand Johann von Liechtenstein (1622–1666), the widow married the son of Gundaker von Liechtenstein .

reception

Through the imperial resolution of Franz Joseph I of February 28, 1863 Matthias Gallas was added to the list of the "most famous warlords and generals of Austria worthy of everlasting emulation" , in whose honor and memory there was also a life-size statue in the general hall of that time The newly established Imperial and Royal Court Weapons Museum (today: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien ) was built. The statue was created in 1867 by the sculptor Thomas Seidan (1830–1890) from Carrara marble and was dedicated by Emperor Franz Joseph himself.

The dramaturge Ludwig Stark mentioned Matthias Gallas in his Historisches Festspiel, premiered in 1897, which addressed the non-violent surrender of the imperial city of Dinkelsbühl to the Swedes on May 11, 1632. Mayors and councilors expected from Gallas, it says there, "That he will lend us his closer powers." Because this expectation was disappointed, the accusation is in the room that Gallas, as imperial lieutenant general, did not come to the aid of the imperial city of Dinkelsbühl. The festival is still performed annually at the Dinkelsbühler Kinderzeche .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Robert Rebitsch: Matthias Gallas and the liquidation of Albrecht von Wallenstein. In: Innsbruck historical studies. Issue 23/24 (2004), p. 336.
  2. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 403-417 .
  3. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 214-215 .
  4. ↑ see: Roman von Procházka : Genealogical handbook of extinct Bohemian gentry families. Neustadt an der Aisch 1973, ISBN 3-7686-5002-2 , p. 94: Gallas (from Castel Campo)
  5. ↑ see: Thurn und Taxis
  6. ↑ see: The coats of arms of the Bohemian nobility. (= J. Siebmacher's large book of arms, volume 30). Neustadt an der Aisch 1979, ISBN 3-87947-030-8 , p. 116 at Clam-Gallas and Clam-Martinic
  7. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 655 .
  8. ↑ CV Wedgewood: The 30 Years War . Cormoran Verlag GmbH licensed edition 1999, Paul List Verlag, Munich 1967, p. 258 .
  9. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 794 .
  10. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 822 f .
  11. ^ Klaus-Peter Rueß: Regensburg in the Thirty Years War. Military strategies, processes and events in the years 1631–1634. In: Bernhard Lübbers (Hrsg.): Catalogs and writings of the State Library Regensburg. Volume 16. Morsbach Verlag, Regensburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-96018-052-4 , pp. 61-85.
  12. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 841 f .
  13. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 863, 871, 882 .
  14. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 902 ff .
  15. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 1033 .
  16. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 945, 946-950 .
  17. ↑ CV Wedgewood: The 30 Years War . Cormoran Verlag GmbH licensed edition 1999, Paul List Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-517-09017-4 , p. 305-307 .
  18. ^ A b Christian Pantle: The Thirty Years' War. When Germany was on fire . Propylaen Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-549-07443-5 , p. 166−171 .
  19. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 1121 ff .
  20. ↑ CV Wedgewood: The 30 Years War . Cormoran Verlag GmbH licensed edition 1999, Paul List Verlag, Munich 1967, p. 309-311 .
  21. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 1021-1026 . ;
  22. ↑ Golo Mann: Wallenstein . S. Fischer Verlag GmbH Licensed edition of the German Book Association, Frankfurt Main 1971, p. 1157 .
  23. ↑ CV Wedgewood: The 30 Years War . Cormoran Verlag GmbH licensed edition 1999, Paul List Verlag, Munich 1967, p. 301 .
  24. ↑ CV Wedgewood: The 30 Years War . Cormoran Verlag GmbH licensed edition 1999, Paul List Verlag, Munich 1967, p. 316 .
  25. ↑ name = Eng1> Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. The battle of Nördlingen - turning point of the Thirty Years War. Verlag Späthling, Weißenstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-926621-78-8 , pp. 77-84.
  26. ↑ Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. The battle of Nördlingen - turning point of the Thirty Years' War. Verlag Späthling, Weißenstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-926621-78-8 , pp. 95-136.
  27. ^ Carl J. Burckhardt: Richelieu. Great power politics and death of the cardinal . tape 2 . Georg DW Callwey, Munich 1966, p. 419 .
  28. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for State Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 21-22 .
  29. ↑ Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. The Thirty Years' War in Franconia Swabia and the Upper Palatinate 1631–1635. Späthling, Weißenstadt 2007, ISBN 978-3-926621-56-6 , pp. 268, 289 .
  30. ^ Carl J. Burckhardt: Richelieu. Great power politics and death of the cardinal . tape 3 . Georg DW Callwey, Munich 1966, p. 72 .
  31. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for State Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 46-56 .
  32. ^ A b Carl J. Burckhardt: Richelieu. Great power politics and death of the cardinal . tape 3 . Georg DW Callwey, Munich 1966, p. 241-243 .
  33. ↑ Josef Reich: The successful defender of the city. In: The Rhine Palatinate. July 12, 2018, accessed June 18, 2020 .
  34. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 59 .
  35. ↑ a b C. V. Wedgewood: The 30 Years War . Cormoran Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-517-09017-4 , pp. 349-355.
  36. ^ Christian Pantle: The Thirty Years' War. When Germany was on fire . Propylaen Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-549-07443-5 , p. 207 f .
  37. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 86-92 .
  38. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 103-105 .
  39. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 115-116 .
  40. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 131-132 .
  41. ^ Karl Menzel :  Bernhard, Duke of Saxony-Weimar . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 2, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, pp. 439-450.
  42. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 133-134 .
  43. ↑ a b Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 139-142 .
  44. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 163 .
  45. ^ Christian Pantle: The Thirty Years' War. When Germany was on fire . Propylaen Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-549-07443-5 , p. 223 f .
  46. ↑ a b Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 164-181 f .
  47. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 440 .
  48. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 382-383 .
  49. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 386-395 .
  50. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 409-417 .
  51. ↑ Joseph Bergmann : Medals on famous and distinguished men. Volume 2, p. 313f, (digitized version )
  52. ↑ Maria Viktoria ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.genealogieonline.nl
  53. ↑ Jan Václav Kolovrat family tree
  54. ↑ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. The museum and its representative rooms . Kiesel Verlag, Salzburg 1981, ISBN 3-7023-0113-5 , p. 32.

Remarks

  1. ↑ This statement by Turenne does not take into account the general Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar , who signed the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in October 1635. de facto became a French general and achieved great victories for France. He was very successful in the fight against Habsburg and it should be shown that Gallas found his master in Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar (J. Burckhardt vol. III p. 252.)

Web links

Commons : Matthias Gallas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Gallas, Matthias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Imperial General in the Thirty Years War
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1588
PLACE OF BIRTH Trent
DATE OF DEATH April 25, 1647
Place of death Vienna