Bernard of Saxe-Weimar

Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (German: Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar; 16 August 1604 – 18 July 1639) was a duke of Saxe-Weimar and a politically active Protestant general during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48). Known as one of the most capable field commanders of his age, he secured several notable victories against the forces of the Austrian Habsburgs, which strengthened both his reputation and the strategic position of the Protestant armies.

Having first served in the armies of the Rhenish Palatinate, Baden, and Denmark, Bernard joined the Swedish king Gustavus II Adolphus in 1631 and rose from colonel of the royal guards to general. After Gustavus was killed at the Battle of Lützen (1632), Bernard took command and helped secure a Protestant victory, earning the duchy of Franconia for his later successes against Wallenstein. Following a crushing defeat at Nördlingen (1634) and the loss of his territories, he entered French service in 1635 in return for lands in Alsace, and his capture of Rheinfelden, Freiburg, and Breisach (1638) broke the Habsburg–Spanish grip on France. He died suddenly in 1639, and Cardinal Richelieu absorbed his army and territories into the French crown.