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Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (May 29,
1594 - November 17, 1632), imperial field marshal
in the Thirty Years' War, was born at the little
town of Pappenheim on the Altmühl, in Bavaria,
the seat of a free lordship of the empire, from
which the ancient family to which he belonged
derived its name.

He was educated at Altdorf and at university of
Tübingen|Tübingen, and subsequently travelled in
southern and central Europe, mastering the various
languages, and seeking knightly adventures. His
stay in these countries led him eventually to
adopt the Roman Catholic faith (1614), to which he
devoted the rest of his life. At the outbreak of
the great war he abandoned the legal and
diplomatic career on which he had embarked, and in
his zeal for the faith took service in Poland and
afterwards under the Catholic League
(German)|Catholic League.

He soon became a lieutenant-colonel, and displayed
brilliant courage at the battle of the White
Mountain near Prague (November 8, 1620), where he
was left for dead on the field. In the following
year he fought against Ernst, Graf von
Mansfield|Mansfeld in western Germany, and in 1623
became colonel of a regiment of cuirassiers,
afterwards the famous Pappenheimers. In the same
year, as an ardent friend of Spain, the ally of
his sovereign and the champion of his faith, he
raised troops for the Italian war and served with
the Spaniards in Lombardy and the Grisons. It was
his long and heroic defence of the post of Riva on
the Lake of Garda which first brought him
conspicuously to the front.

In 1626 Maximilian I of Bavaria, the head of the
League, recalled him to Germany and entrusted him
with the suppression of a dangerous insurrection
which had broken out in Upper Austria. Pappenheim
swiftly carried out his task, encountering a most
desperate resistance, but always successful; and
in a few weeks he had crushed the rebellion with
ruthless severity (actions of Efferdingen,
Gmünden, Vocklabruck and Wolfsegg, 15th-30th
November 1626). After this he served with Johan
Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly|Tilly against Christian
IV of Denmark, and besieged and took
Wolfenbüttel. His hope of obtaining the
sovereignty and possessions of the evicted prince
was, after a long intrigue, definitely
disappointed.

In 1628 he was made a count of the empire. The
siege and storm of Magdeburg followed, and
Pappenheim, like Tilly, has been accused of the
most savage cruelty in this transaction. But it is
known that, disappointed of battle of
Wolfenbüttel|Wolfenbüttel, Pappenheim desired
the profitable sovereignty of Magdeburg, and it
can hardly be maintained that he deliberately
destroyed a prospective source of wealth. At any
rate, the sack of Magdeburg was not more
discreditable than that of most other towns taken
by storm in the 17th century.

From the military point of view Pappenheim's
conduct was excellent; his measures were skilful,
and his personal valour, as always, conspicuous.
So much could not be said of his tactics at the
Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)|battle of
Breitenfeld, the loss of which was not a little
due to the impetuous cavalry general, who was
never so happy as when leading a great charge of
horse. The retreat of the imperialists from the
lost field he covered, however, with care and
skill, and subsequently he won great glory by his
operations on the lower Rhine and the Weser in
rear of the victorious army of Gustavus Adolphus.
Much-needed reinforcements for the king of Sweden
were constantly detained by Pappenheim's small and
newly-raised force in the north-west.

His operations were far-ranging and his restless
activity dominated the country from Stade to
Cassel, and from Hildesheim to Maastricht. Being
now a field marshal in the imperial service, he
was recalled to join Albrecht von
Wallenstein|Wallenstein, and assisted the
generalissimo in Saxony against the Swedes; but,
was again despatched towards Cologne and the lower
Rhine. In his absence a great battle became
imminent, and Pappenheim was hurriedly recalled.
He appeared with his horsemen in the midst of the
Battle of Lützen (1632)|battle of Lützen
(November 16, 1632). His furious attack was for
the moment successful. As Prince Rupert|Rupert at
battle of Marston Moor|Marston Moor sought Oliver
Cromwell|Cromwell as his worthiest opponent, so
now Pappenheim sought Gustavus. At about the same
time as the king was killed, Pappenheim received a
mortal wound in another part of the field. He died
later the same day or early the next morning en
route to Leipzig, where his body was embalmed at
the Pleissenburg fortress.
==Notes==
German title Graf
References
*Kriegsschriften von baierischen Officieren I. II.
V. (Munich, 1820);
*Hess, Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim
(Leipzig, 1855);
*Ersch and Grüber, Allgem. Encyklopädie, III. II
(Leipzig, 1838);
*Wittich, in Allgem. deutsche Biographie, Band 25
(Leipzig, 1887), and works there quoted.
----
1911