Georg von Derfflinger (20 March 1606 – 14 February 1695) was a field marshal in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

of Brandenburg-Prussia during and after 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 battle ...

(1618–1648).

Early years

Born 1606 at

Neuhofen an der Krems Neuhofen an der Krems is a municipality in the district Linz-Land in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Geography Neuhofen lies in the middle of the triangle formed by the cities of Linz, Wels, and Steyr. About 10 percent of the municipality ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, into a family of poor

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

peasants, Derfflinger had to leave his home due to religious persecution under the Catholic

Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

in the course of the Counter-Reformation. He probably fought side-by-side with insurgent Bohemian nobles led by Jindřich Matyáš Thurn and served in the armed forces of various Protestant combatant powers, at first in the Saxon army, but most of the time in that of Sweden. Until the 1648 Peace of Westphalia he distinguished himself as an able and daring cavalry leader and gained a reputation for brilliance and bravery, which in 1654 persuaded Elector

Frederick William of Brandenburg Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...

to offer Derfflinger a senior position in his army.

Personality

Derfflinger was supposedly a notorious drunkard who constantly drank

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neu ...

, but his fondness for alcohol did not impede his military abilities. His marriage in 1646 to an heiress of the Brandenburg nobility had already secured him a number of possessions, which he was able to augment with estates granted to him for his military exploits. A lifelong soldier, Derfflinger had no formal education, but was entrusted by the Elector with numerous important military tasks and played a central role in the reform of the Brandenburgian cavalry and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. He had a very stormy relationship with Frederick William and argued with him incessantly, at one point quitting. In order to gain back the Elector's employ, he wrote down a list of incredible demands, which included a clause stipulating that no man charge into battle ahead of him and that he take a certain percentage of plunder and captured officers from every engagement. Georg von Derfflinger

Brandenburg service

In 1674, Derfflinger was elevated to a ''

Reichsfreiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

'' by Emperor Leopold I. A year later, he was decisive in defeating the Swedes and driving them out of Brandenburg. He impersonated a Swedish officer (a feat he was able to do because he had served in the armies of Sweden), and was able to convince the Swedes to open the gates of

Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the ...

, allowing him and 1,000 nearby dragoons to storm the fortress. He was also a commander in the Battle of Fehrbellin, where he won a decisive victory over the Swedes under Charles XI, who were occupying Brandenburg, pillaging the countryside, and abusing the locals. His last military campaign was in 1690 against King

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

, when he was 84 years old. Derfflinger died at his estates in Gusow.

Legacy

The Imperial German Navy's battlecruiser SMS ''Derfflinger'' was named after him.

References

Bibliography

* Gerd-Ulrich Herrmann, ''Freiherr von Derfflinger'', Stapp-Verlag 1997, . * Citino, Robert M. ''The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years War to the Third Reich''. University Press of Kansas. Lawrence, KS, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Derfflinger, Georg von 1606 births 1695 deaths 17th-century German people 17th-century Austrian people Field marshals of Prussia Austrian untitled nobility Prussian nobility German people of Austrian descent People from Linz-Land District People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg German people of the Thirty Years' War