Josias Rantzau ( Bothkamp, near Kiel, 18 October 1609 – Paris, 14 September 1650) was a Danish military leader and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

. Josias was the grandson of Paul, the youngest son of Johann Rantzau. He married his Cousin Hedwig Margarethe Elisabeth vor Rantzau, but had no children. As a young man, he served Prince Maurice of Orange and King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

. Later he fought for Sweden, then the Holy Roman Empire, again for Sweden and finally since 1635 for France, where he was noticed at Court for his blond beauty. He commanded troops in the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

, on the Rhine, and in Flanders. In 1633, he successfully defended

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

against the Spanish, but is in general better remembered for his bravery than for his military skills. He was taken prisoner by the Spanish in 1642 at the Battle of Honnecourt, and again in 1643 by Imperial troops at the

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

. On 30 June 1645, he became

and in 1646 Governor of the newly conquered

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

Fortress. During the

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...

, he was arrested by Mazarin and locked up in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

. He was acquitted, but died shortly after being released.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rantzou, Josias von Danish soldiers Marshals of France 1609 births 1650 deaths Josias Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire) personnel Military personnel of the Thirty Years' War