Franz Freiherr von Mercy (or Merci), Lord of Mandre and Collenburg (c. 1597 – 3 August 1645), was a German field marshal in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

who fought for the Imperial side and was commander-in-chief of the Bavarian army from 1643 to 1645. In that role, he destroyed a French army at

Tuttlingen Tuttlingen ( Alemannic: ''Duttlinga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, ''Möhringen'' and ''Eßlingen'' are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen. Tuttlingen is located in Swabia ea ...

(1643), stalemated another at Freiburg (1644), destroyed a third French army at Herbsthausen (1645) and was killed at the Second Battle of Nördlingen (1645).

Biography

Early life and career

Franz von Mercy was born at Longwy around 1597. His parents were Pierre Ernest de Mercy († 1619), governor of Longwy and Chamberlain of Duke

Charles III of Lorraine Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark. In 1545, his father died, and ...

, and Anne du Hautoy. He entered military service most likely in the army of the Catholic League around the beginning of the

and changed over to imperial service later on. In 1625 he held the rank of captain in the regiment of Hannibal von Schauenburg and in 1626 he was mentioned as chamberlain of Archduke Leopold V of Tyrol.Pechtl, Andreas (2009): ''Nochmals Grimmelshausens „tapferer General" Franz von Mercy. Anmerkungen und Ergänzungen zum Beitrag von Martin Ruch.'' Simpliciana, XXXI, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 479–504. By 1630 he had attained the rank of ''Obristwachtmeister'', and after distinguishing himself at the first Battle of Breitenfeld, where the Imperial army was destroyed and Mercy wounded, he commanded a regiment of foot with the rank of '' Obrist'' on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

. He repelled a Swedish attack led by Gustaf Horn on

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was t ...

in 1633. For his brother Ludwig (born 1614), who died of his injuries at the age of 19 on 6 October 1633 shortly after the last attack by the Swedes, Franz von Mercy had an artistic bronze epitaph made in the Konstanz Minster, which is still preserved today. On 2 March 1634, Mercy was taken prisoner in a battle near Thann against the Rhine Count

Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen Otto Louis of Salm, Wild- and Rhinegrave of Kyrburg and Mörchingen (13 October 1597 – 6 October 1634, Speyer) was a Swedish general during the Thirty Years' War. He was governor in the Alsace and Commander of the Swedish troops in the Upper ...

. He was exchanged and from April onward he defended Rheinfelden against a Swedish siege, surrendering on 29 August after running out of food. He became a general with the rank of ''

General-Feldwachtmeister ''Generalfeldwachtmeister'' is a historical military rank of general officer level in the armies of the German and Scandinavian countries, corresponding to the rank of ''maréchal de camp'' in France. A Generalfeldwachtmeister ranked above a brig ...

'', and in 1635, 1636 and 1637 took part in further campaigns under command of Duke

Charles IV of Lorraine Charles IV (5 April 1604, Nancy – 18 September 1675, Allenbach) was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 until his death in 1675, with a brief interruption in 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, Nicholas Franc ...

on the Rhine and

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019. In 1636 the Imperial army stationed in Lorraine and Burgundy under Matthias Gallas planned an attack on

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

from the south, but was stopped by French troops under

Bernard of Saxe-Weimar Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (german: Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar; 16 August 160418 July 1639) was a German prince and general in the Thirty Years' War. Biography Born in Weimar within the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, Bernard was the eleventh son of Johan ...

. In the course of these campaigns Mercy took part in the siege of

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it i ...

and in the successful relief of the French-besieged Dole in 1636. He besieged Héricourt unsuccessfully from 2 to 26 January 1637 and in June 1637 was defeated by Bernard at

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...

with the loss of 1,000 men.

Bavarian general

In September 1638, the elector of Bavaria made him ''Generalfeldzeugmeister'' in the army of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, then the second largest army in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. During 1639, he screened the Imperial siege of Hohentwiel Castle under field marshal Geleen against attacks from the

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

. Confronted with a French-Weimarian incursion of the Lower Palatinate under the Duke of Longueville, Mercy and Geleen turned north, crossed the Rhine at

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer lie ...

and entrenched themselves in front of Longueville's army. In November, Longueville entered the Rheingau but was soon pushed back by Mercy and Geleen who ended their campaign with regaining Alzey and

Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not wi ...

. The following year, Mercy took part at the campaign of the main Imperial army under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and

Ottavio Piccolomini Ottavio Piccolomini, 1st Duke of Amalfi (11 November 1599 – 11 August 1656) was an Italian nobleman whose military career included service as a Spanish general and then as a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire. Early life Ottavio was bor ...

against the Swedes under Johan Banér. Mercy helped prevent the Swedes from invading Franconia. Repelling the Swedes and their allies to

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the L ...

, the Imperials and Bavarians laid in camp near

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...

for weaks in the immediate vicinity of their opponents. As both sides avoided a major battle, the Archduke concluded his campaign with capturing Höxter at the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

river in October. Mercy himself returned to south-west Germany in late autumn. In 1642 he received the command of the Bavarian troops in

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

. In the course of the year he drove the opposing troops from Swabia and parts of the Breisgau. He was appointed a member of the Fruitbearing Society by

Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Louis I of Anhalt-Köthen (german: Ludwig I., Fürst von Anhalt-Köthen; 17 June 1579 in Dessau – 7 January 1650 in Köthen), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the unified principality of Anhalt. From 1603, he was ruler o ...

. Mercy was now considered one of the foremost soldiers in Europe, and was made '' Generalfeldmarschall'' on 31 May 1643. In 1643 he prevented the Weimarian army under the French Marshal Guébriant from invading Bavaria. As the successor to Johann Joachim von Wahl, who was in poor health, he also assumed command of the entire Bavarian army. He destroyed the French Marshal Rantzau's Weimarian army at the

Battle of Tuttlingen The Battle of Tuttlingen was fought in Tuttlingen on 24 November 1643 between the French army in Germany led by Marshal Josias Rantzau, composed of French soldiers and the so called ''Weimarans'' or ''Bernhardines'', German troops once in serv ...

(24–25 November), capturing the marshal and 7,000 men. In 1644, Mercy opposed the French armies, now under the Great Condé and the

Vicomte de Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

. He captured Freiburg and subsequently held it in an inconclusive but bloody

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

in August. On 2 May 1645, he defeated Turenne at

Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim (; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian: ''Märchedol'') is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recognized spa town since 1926, B ...

. Later in 1645, fighting once more against Condé and Turenne, Mercy was killed by a musket ball at the Battle of Nördlingen (or Allerheim) on 3 August while leading reinforcements to the focus of the action. On the spot where he fell, a memorial stone with the inscription ''Sta, viator, heroem calcas!'' ( la, "Halt, traveler; you tread upon a hero!") was set up, allegedly at Condé's instruction. His body was first brought to Donauwörth on an artillery wagon and then to

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...

the next day, where he was buried in the Church of Saint Maurice. The French Marshal Gramont, who had been captured at the battle, reports of the exuberant reception that Mercy received from the people of the city who had hurried to the gates. He was very popular and highly regarded in Ingolstadt, where he had been the fortress commander and governor.

Marriages and issue

Mercy was married three times. His first wife was Anna Margareta Bonn von Wachenheim who died around 1628 and made Mercy her sole heir. In 1630, Mercy married Anna Margareta von Schauenburg († 1636), a daughter of Johann Rainer von Schauenburg, the Landvogt of

Ortenau The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black For ...

. They had at least one daughter, Claudia (1631 – 1708) who later married Graf Bonaventura von Fugger (1619 – 1693), the first son of Otto Heinrich Fugger. The last wife of Franz von Mercy was Maria Magdalena von Flachsland who gave birth to most of his children, including three sons and one daughter who survived their childhood. All sons joined either the Austrian or the bavarian military. The first son Max Leopold inherited Mercy's own Bavarian

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

and later became imperial Generalfeldwachtmeister. The second son Peter Ernst von Mercy died in Austrian service deadly wounded in the Siege of Buda 1686, his son was Count Claude Florimond de Mercy, generally recognized as the last male descendant of Franz von Mercy. The third son Ferdinand Franz died in 1683 as commander of the Bavarian fortress of Ingolstadt.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercy, Franz Freiherr von 1590s births 1645 deaths Barons of Germany Bavarian generals Generals of the Holy Roman Empire German military personnel killed in action German people of the Thirty Years' War Military personnel of the Thirty Years' War People from Longwy People from the Duchy of Bavaria