Johann Reichsgraf von Aldringen (sometimes spelled Altringer or Aldringer; 10 December 158822 June 1634) was a

Luxemburger Luxembourgers ( ; ) are an ethnic group native to their nation state of Luxembourg, where they make up around half of the population. They share the culture of Luxembourg and speak Luxembourgish, a West Germanic language. Luxembourgers were ...

who served in the armies of the

Spanish Habsburgs Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In this period the Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its in ...

and later the Austrian Habsburgs, especially during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Biography

He was born in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

in the

Duchy of Luxembourg The Duchy of Luxembourg (; ; ; ) was a Imperial state, state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg became one of the most important political forces in the 14th century, comp ...

,Deutsche Biographie
on the Bavarian State Library’s website (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek), consulted on 14 December 2015 and after travelling as a nobleman's page in France, Italy and the Netherlands, he went to the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. In 1606 he entered the service of Spain, in which he remained until 1618, when he joined the imperial army. Here he distinguished himself in the field and in the cabinet. Made a colonel in 1622, two years later he was employed on the

Council of War A council of war Ernst von Mansfeld Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (; 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander; despite being a Catholic, he fought for the Protestants during the early years of the Thirty Years' War. He was one of the l ...

. He and his constant comrade

Matthias Gallas Matthias Gallas, Graf von Campo und Herzog von Lucera (Count of Campo, Duke of Lucera) (Matteo Gallasso; 17 October 1588 in Trento – 25 April 1647 in Vienna) was an Italian professional soldier during the Thirty Years' War. He distinguished him ...

were ennobled on the same day, and in the course of the Italian campaign of 1630 the two officers married the two daughters of Count d'Arco. Citations: * Brohm, ''Johann von Aldringen'' (Halle, 1882) * Hermann Hallwich, ''Johann von Aldringen'' (Leipzig, 1885) * ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'', ''s.v.'' Gallas, correcting earlier biography of Aldringen in the same work. Aldringer served as Count Rambold Collalto's major-general in this campaign and was present at the taking of Mantua on 18 July 1630 during the War of Mantuan Succession. The plunder of the

duke of Mantua During its Timeline of Mantua, history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of ...

's treasures made Gallas and Aldringer wealthy men. Back in Germany in 1631, he served after Breitenfeld as Tilly's artillery commander, and, elevated to the dignity of count of the Empire, he was present at the battle of the Lech, where he was wounded. When Tilly died of his wounds Aldringer succeeded to the command. Made field-marshal after the assault of the Alte Veste near

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, at which he had been second in command under the Herzog von Friedland (with whom he was a great favourite), he was next placed at the head of the corps formed by Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria to support Wallenstein. In this post his tact and diplomatic ability were put to a severe test in the preservation of harmony between the two dukes. Finally Count Aldringer was won over by the court party which sought to displace the too successful duke of Friedland. After Wallenstein's death Aldringer commanded against the Swedes on the Danube, until being killed during the battle of Landshut (22 July 1634). His great possessions descended to his sister, and thence to the family of Clary and Aldringen.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldringen, Johann von 1588 births 1634 deaths

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Graciou ...

Counts of Austria People from Thionville Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century Spanish military personnel Imperial Army personnel of the Thirty Years' War People of the War of the Mantuan Succession South Netherlandish people of the Thirty Years' War