Capture of Breisach - Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar

Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, is considered the most important German Protestant military commander of the Thirty Years' War. Born in Weimar on August 16, 1604, Duke Bernhard joined the Protestant troops after a few months of study in Jena and fought at Wiesloch and Wimpfen in 1622. As a general under Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Bernhard held the conquered Rhineland in 1631, participated in the assault on Wallenstein's camp, and, after Gustavus Adolphus's death, retained the battlefield at Lützen. After the loss of Regensburg in 1634, Bernhard suffered a crushing defeat at Nördlingen and lost his Duchy of Franconia. In the following two years, he fought with French allies with varying degrees of success, primarily in Lorraine. In 1638, he defeated the imperial troops at Rheinfelden and, after a siege lasting several months, captured Breisach on December 3, 1638, an event commemorated by this medal. Following the exertions of these campaigns, Bernhard succumbed to a brief illness on July 18, 1639, near Neuenburg am Rhein.