Georg von Derfflinger
{{Short description|Brandenburg–Prussian general (1606–1695)}}
{{lead too short|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox military person
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|name =Georg von Derfflinger
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|image =Georg von Derfflinger.png
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|birth_date ={{Birth date|1606|3|20|df=y}}
|death_date ={{Death date and age|1695|2|14|1606|3|20|df=y}}
|birth_place =Neuhofen an der Krems, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
|death_place =Gusow, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Holy Roman Empire
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|allegiance =15px Saxony (until 1632)
15px Sweden (until 1648)
15px15px Brandenburg-Prussia (from 1654)
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|serviceyears ={{circa}} 1625–1690
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|battles =Thirty Years' War
Scanian War
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Georg von Derfflinger (20 March 1606 – 14 February 1695){{Cite book |last=Fontane |first=Theodor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yh0ZJjNgxoC&q=Georg+von+Derfflinger+1606 |title=The Stechlin |date=1995 |publisher=Camden House |isbn=978-1-57113-024-2 |language=en|page=337}} was a field marshal in the army of Brandenburg-Prussia during and after the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648).
Early years
Born 1606 at Neuhofen an der Krems in Austria, into a family of poor Protestant peasants,{{Cite book |last=Kandt |first=Kevin E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HovZCgAAQBAJ&q=Georg+von+Derfflinger+1606 |title=Schlüteriana III: Studies in the Art, Life, and Milieu of Andreas Schlüter |date=2015-11-06 |publisher=Lukas Verlag |isbn=978-3-86732-183-9 |language=en|page=32}} Derfflinger had to leave his home due to religious persecution under the Catholic Habsburg dynasty 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 to offer Derfflinger a senior position in his army.
Personality
Derfflinger was supposedly a notorious drunkard who constantly drank schnapps, but his fondness for alcohol did not impede his military abilities.{{Cite book |last=Citino |first=Robert M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mClEAAAQBAJ&q=Georg+von+Derfflinger+drunkard |title=The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich |date=2005-11-17 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-1624-4 |language=en|page=30}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Urban |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWLNDwAAQBAJ&q=Georg+von+Derfflinger+marriage |title=Matchlocks to Flintlocks: Warfare in Europe and Beyond, 1500–1700 |date=2011-12-13 |publisher=Casemate Publishers |isbn=978-1-78159-942-6 |language=en}} 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. 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.
Brandenburg service
In 1674, Derfflinger was elevated to a Reichsfreiherr 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, allowing him and 1,000 nearby dragoons to storm the fortress.Silfverstolpe, Carl. Historiskt Bibliotek (1875–1880), tredje delen. pp. 284–288. 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, 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.{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IP9FMR22l48C&q=Georg+von+Derfflinger+1606 |title=Warships: Inside & Out |date=2011-12-15 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |isbn=978-1-4488-5981-8 |language=en|page=38}}
References
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Bibliography
- Gerd-Ulrich Herrmann, Freiherr von Derfflinger, Stapp-Verlag 1997, {{ISBN|3-87776-178-X}}.
- Citino, Robert M. The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years War to the Third Reich. University Press of Kansas. Lawrence, KS, 2005. {{ISBN|0-7006-1410-9}}
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Category:17th-century German people
Category:17th-century Austrian people
Category:Field marshals of Prussia
Category:Austrian untitled nobility
Category:German people of Austrian descent
Category:People from Linz-Land District