Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (29 May 1594-17 November 1632) was a Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Lutzen in 1632.
Biography[]
Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim was born in Treuchtlingen, Bavaria, Germany on 29 May 1594, and he adopted the Roman Catholic faith in 1614 after seeking knightly adventures in Central and Southern Europe. He went on to serve the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, gaining military experience. At the start of the Thirty Years' War, he served as a Lieutenant-Colonel and distinguished himself at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. In 1622, he became commander of a cuirassier regiment, and, in 1623, he raised troops for Spain's war in Italy and served in Lombardy. In 1626, he suppressed a peasant rebellion in Upper Austria on the orders of Maximilian I of Bavaria, and, in 1628, he was made a count of the empire. He became controversial for his role in the Sack of Magdeburg and for his poor performance at the First Battle of Breitenfeld, but he succeeded in cutting off Swedish reinforcements from joining Gustavus Adolphus' army. During the 16 November 1632 Battle of Lutzen, Pappenheim was mortally wounded by a cannonball while leading a cavalry counterattack, and he died a day later.