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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Bernhard Biography BERNHARD, DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAR (1604-39). A celebrated German general. He was born in Weimar, the youngest of the eleven sons of John III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. On the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War he took the side of Protestantism against the Emperor and first distinguished himself in 1622 at Wimpfen. Subsequently he became colonel in the army of Christian IV of Denmark and took part in the bold expedition of Mansfield through Silesia to Hungary. He joined Gustavus Adolphus in 1630 and became one of the most famous leaders in the Thirty Years' War. He was conspicuous in the attack upon Wallenstein's position at Nuremberg in 1632 and won the indecisive victory at Lützen, having assumed the command after the death of Gustavus Adolphus. One of his most splendid achievements was the taking of Ratisbon in 1633. In 1634 Bernhard and the Swedish general, Horn, suffered a terrible defeat at Nördlingen. When Richelieu took up the cause of the Protestants, Bernhard was enabled to maintain a large force by means of a French subsidy. In 1638 he opened the most brilliant campaign of his career, the crowning success of which was the conquest of Breisach. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. III (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 186. |