Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim ( May 29 , 1594 – November 17 , 1632 ) was field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years ' War . Biography . Pappenheim was born in 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 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 . The experience gained in the service in the Polish army ( especially in the way of fighting cavalry ) will soon be able to take advantage of fighting on the side of the Catholic League . He soon became a lieutenant - colonel , and displayed great courage and ability 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 Mansfeld in western Germany , and in 1622 became colonel of a regiment of cuirassiers . In 1623 , 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 peasant rebellion 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 , Vöcklabruck and Wolfsegg , 15 – 30 November 1626 ) . After this he served with Tilly against Christian IV of Denmark , and besieged and took Wolfenbüttel . His hope of obtaining the sovereignty and possessions of the evicted prince of Brunswick - Wolfenbüttel 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 Wolfenbüttel , Pappenheim desired the profitable sovereignty of Magdeburg , and it can hardly be maintained that he deliberately destroyed a prospective source of wealth . From a military point of view Pappenheim ' s conduct was excellent ; his measures were skillful , and his personal valour , as always , conspicuous . So much could not be said of his tactics at the 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 Kassel , and from Hildesheim to Maastricht . Being now a field marshal in the imperial service , he was recalled to join 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 ( November 16 , 1632 ) . His furious attack was for the moment successful . As Rupert at Marston Moor sought 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 . Legacy . His name forms the key part of the Czech , Flemish , Dutch , Scandinavian , and German colloquialism ; " I know my fellow Pappenheims " ( " ich kenne meine Pappenheimer " ) . It is used to imply tongue - in - cheek that someone has , is or will be acting in a way that is completely expected . The sentence originally held a positive connotation and referred to the determination of Pappenheim ' s horsemen . Friedrich Schiller used the modified sentence " Daran erkenn ' ich meine Pappenheimer " in his " Wallenstein " trilogy . The form of rapier called the pappenheimer , is named after him according to " Webster ' s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language : Deluxe Edition . "