Tilly, JOHANN TSEKLAES, COUNT OF

Tilly, JOHANN TSEKLAES, COUNT OF, a famous general of the Thirty Years' War, was born in 1559, at the castle of Tilly in Brabant. Educated by the Jesuits, he learned the art of war in the Spanish service under Parma, next fought in Hungary against the Turks, and was appointed in 1610 by Duke Maximilian of Bavaria to reorganise his army. He was given the command of the Catholic army at the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, and in conjunction with Duke Maximilian gained (8th November 1620) the battle of Prague, which dissipated the ambitious dreams of the Electoral Palatine. During the course of this war he separated, by able strategy, the armies of Mansfeld and of the Margrave of Baden, beat the latter at Wimpfen (6th May 1622), expelled Christian of Brunswick from the Palatinate, defeating him at Höchst (20th June 1622) and at the desperate struggle at Stadtlahn (6th August 1623). Created a count of the empire, he next defeated the king of Denmark at Lutter (27th August 1626), and in conjunction with Wallenstein compelled him to sign the shameful treaty of Lübeck (1629). Next year he succeeded Wallenstein as commander-in-chief of the imperial forces, and took by storm the town of Magdeburg (q.v.; 20th May 1631). The unheard-of atrocities which he allowed the Croats and Walloons of his army to perpetrate on this occasion have cast a foul stain upon his reputation not to be blotted out. From this time fortune deserted him, for his next opponent was the great Gustavus Adolphus, who completely routed him at Breitenfeld (17th September 1631); and, though in the following spring he obtained a slight success over the Swedish general Horn, the king speedily forced him to retreat behind the Lech in Bavaria, and (5th April) forced the passage of the river right in his front, after a desperate conflict, in which Tilly received his death-wound. He was carried to Ingolstadt, where he died, 20th April 1632. Tilly was small and meagre, with fierce eyes and a stern countenance, sober and continent, a despiser of luxury and wealth. His zealous support of the Catholic party was entirely founded upon fanatical zeal for the supremacy of a religion which he regarded with more than monkish devotion.