Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein ( ; ; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634 ) , also von Waldstein , was a Bohemian military leader and politician , who offered his services , and an army of 30 , 000 to 100 , 000 men during the Thirty Years ' War ( 1618 – 48 ) , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II . He became the supreme commander of the armies of the Habsburg Monarchy and a major figure of the Thirty Years ' War . An imperial generalissimo by land , and Admiral of the Baltic Sea from 21 April 1628 , who had made himself ruler of the lands of the Duchy of Friedland in northern Bohemia , Wallenstein found himself released from service on 13 August 1630 after Ferdinand grew wary of his ambition . Several Protestant victories over Catholic armies induced Ferdinand to recall Wallenstein , who again turned the war in favor of the Imperial cause . Dissatisfied with the Emperor ' s treatment of him , Wallenstein considered allying with the Protestants . However , he was assassinated at Cheb in Bohemia by one of the army ' s officials , Walter Devereux , with the emperor ' s approval . Early life . Wallenstein was born on 24 September 1583 in Heřmanice , Bohemia , into a poor Protestant branch of the Waldstein ( Wallenstein , Valdštejn ) family who owned Heřmanice castle and seven surrounding villages . His mother Markéta ( née Smiřická of Smiřice ) died in 1593 , his father Wilhelm ( Vilém ) in 1595 . They had raised him bilingually – the father spoke German while his mother preferred Czech – yet Wallenstein in his childhood had a better command of Czech than of German . The religious affiliation of the parents was Lutheranism and Utraquism . After the death of his parents , Albrecht for two years lived with his maternal uncle , Jindřich Slavata of Chlum and Košumberk , a member of the Unity of the Brethren ( Bohemian Brethren ) , and adapted his uncle ' s religious affiliation . Uncle sent him to the brethren ' s school at Košumberk Castle in Eastern Bohemia . In 1597 , Albrecht was sent to the Protestant Latin school at Goldberg ( now Złotoryja ) in Silesia , where the then German environment led him to hone his German language skills . While German became Wallenstein ' s everyday language , he is said to have continued to curse in Czech . On 29 August 1599 Wallenstein continued his education at the Protestant University of Altdorf near Nuremberg , Franconia , where he was often engaged in brawls and épée fights , leading to his imprisonment in town prison . Already in February 1600 , Albrecht left Altdorf for his Grand Tour through the HRE , France and Italy , where he studied at the universities of Bologna and Padua . Wallenstein thus was in command of the German , Czech , Latin and Italian languages , was able to understand Spanish , and had some skills in French . Wallenstein then joined the army of the Emperor Rudolf II in Hungary , where he saw , under the command of Giorgio Basta , two years of armed service ( 1604 – 1606 ) against the Ottoman Turks and Hungarian rebels . In 1604 , his sister Kateřina Anna married the leader of Moravian Protestants Karel the Older of Zierotin . He studied at University of Olomouc ( matriculated 1605 ) . In 1606 , he came into contact with the Olomouc Jesuits , and converted to Catholicism in the same year . The decision to convert may have had its roots in his friendship with the Jesuits , the Counter - Reformation policy of the Habsburgs which effectively barred Protestants from being appointed to higher offices at court , in Bohemia and in Moravia , and the impressions he gathered in Catholic Italy . However , there are no sources indicating the reason for Wallenstein ' s conversion , except for a subjunctive anecdote by his contemporary Franz Christoph von Khevenmüller about Virgin Mary saving Wallenstein ' s life when he fell from a window in Innsbruck . Wallenstein later would owe allegiance to the Imperial Habsburg Monarchy as a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece . In 1607 , upon recommendation by his brother - in - law Zierotin and another relative Adam of Waldstein , often mistakenly referred to as his uncle , Wallenstein was made chamberlain at the court of Matthias , and later also chamberlain of archdukes Ferdinand and Maximilian . In 1609 , Wallenstein married Czech Lucretia of Víckov , née Nekšová of Landek , rich widow of Arkleb of Víckov owning the towns of Vsetín , Lukov , Rymice and Všetuly / Holešov ( all in eastern Moravia ) . She was three years older than himself , and he inherited her estates after her death in 1614 . He used his wealth to win favour , offering and commanding 200 horses for Archduke Ferdinand of Styria for his war with Venice in 1617 , thereby relieving the fortress of Gradisca from Venetian siege . He later endowed a monastery in her name , and had her reburied there . In 1623 , Wallenstein married Isabella Katharina , daughter of Count Harrach . She bore him two children , a son who died in infancy and a surviving daughter . Examples of the couple ' s correspondence survive . Both marriages made him one of the wealthiest men in the Bohemian Crown . Thirty Years ' War . The Thirty Years ' War began in 1618 when the estates of Bohemia rebelled against Ferdinand of Styria and elected Frederick V , Elector Palatine , the leader of the Protestant Union , as their new king . Wallenstein associated himself with the cause of the Catholics and the Habsburg dynasty . Sympathizing with the Bohemians , he used his position as commander of the troops of the Moravian estates to escape with the Moravian treasure - chest to Vienna . There , however , the authorities told him that the money would go back to the Moravians — but he had shown his loyalty to Ferdinand , the future Emperor . Wallenstein equipped a regiment of cuirassier s and won great distinction under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval , Count of Bucquoy in the wars against Ernst von Mansfeld and Gabriel Bethlen ( both supporters of the Bohemian revolt ) in Moravia . Wallenstein recovered his lands ( which the rebels had seized in 1619 ) and after the Battle of White Mountain ( 8 November 1620 ) he secured the estates belonging to his mother ' s family and confiscated tracts of Protestant lands . He grouped his new possessions into a territory called Friedland ( Frýdlant ) in northern Bohemia . A series of successes in battle led to Wallenstein becoming in 1622 an imperial count palatine , in 1623 a prince , and in 1625 Duke of Friedland . Wallenstein proved an able administrator of the duchy and also sent a large representation to Prague to emphasize his nobility . In order to aid Ferdinand ( elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1619 ) against the Northern Protestants and to produce a balance in the Army of the Catholic League under Johann Tserclaes , Count of Tilly , Wallenstein offered to raise a whole army for the imperial service following the " bellum se ipsum alet " principle , and received his final commission on 25 July 1625 . Wallenstein ’ s success as a military commander brought him fiscal credit , which in turn enabled him to receive loans to buy lands , many of them being the former estates of conquered Bohemian nobles . Wallenstein also used his credit to grant loans to Ferdinand II , who then repaid him through lands and titles . Wallenstein ' s popularity soon recruited 30 , 000 ( not long afterwards 50 , 000 ) men . The two armies worked together over 1625 – 27 , at first against Mansfeld . Having beaten Mansfeld at Dessau ( 25 April 1626 ) , Wallenstein cleared Silesia of the remnants of Mansfeld ' s army in 1627 . At this time he bought from the emperor the Duchy of Sagan ( in Silesia ) . He then joined Tilly in the struggle with Christian IV of Denmark , and afterwards gained as a reward the Duchies of Mecklenburg , whose hereditary dukes suffered expulsion for having helped the Danish king . This awarding of a major territory to someone of the lower nobility shocked the high - born rulers of many other German states . Wallenstein assumed the title of " Admiral of the North and Baltic Seas " . However , in 1628 he failed to capture Stralsund , which resisted the Capitulation of Franzburg and the subsequent siege with assistance of Danish , Scottish and Swedish troops , a blow that denied him access to the Baltic and the chance of challenging the naval power of the Scandinavian kingdoms and of the Netherlands . Though he succeeded in defeating Christian IV of Denmark in the Battle of Wolgast and neutralizing Denmark in the subsequent Peace of Lübeck , the situation further deteriorated when the presence of the Imperial catholic troops on the Baltic and the Emperor ' s " Edict of Restitution " brought King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden into the conflict . He attempted to aid forces of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth under Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski , which were fighting Sweden in 1629 ; however , Wallenstein failed to engage any major Swedish forces and this significantly affected the outcome of the conflict . Over the course of the war Wallenstein ' s ambitions and the exactions of his army had made him a host of enemies , both Catholic and Protestant princes and non - princes . Ferdinand suspected Wallenstein of planning a coup to take control of the Holy Roman Empire . The Emperor ' s advisors advocated dismissing him , and in September 1630 envoys were sent to Wallenstein to announce his removal . Wallenstein gave over his army to General Tilly , and retired to Jičín , the capital of his Duchy of Friedland . There he lived in an atmosphere of " mysterious magnificence " . However , circumstances forced Ferdinand to call Wallenstein into the field again . The successes of Gustavus Adolphus over General Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld and on the Lech ( 1632 ) , where Tilly was killed , and his advance to Munich and occupation of Bohemia , demanded action . In the spring of 1632 , Wallenstein raised a fresh army within a few weeks and took to the field . He drove the Saxon army from Bohemia and then advanced against Gustavus Adolphus , whom he opposed near Nuremberg and after the Battle of the Alte Veste dislodged . In November , came the great Battle of Lützen , in which Wallenstein was forced to retreat but in the confused melee , Gustavus Adolphus was killed . Wallenstein then withdrew to winter quarters in Bohemia . In the campaigning of 1633 , Wallenstein ' s apparent unwillingness to attack the enemy caused much concern in Vienna and in Spain . At this time the dimensions of the war grew more European . Wallenstein had , in fact , started preparing to desert the Emperor : he expressed anger at Ferdinand ' s refusal to revoke the Edict of Restitution . Historic records tell little about his secret negotiations ; but rumors told that he was preparing to force a " just peace " on the Emperor " in the interests of united Germany " , at the same time hesitating — as he used to do in other respects — and trying to stay loyal to the Emperor as far as possible . With this apparent " plan " he entered into negotiations with Saxony , Brandenburg , Sweden , and France . But , apparently , the Habsburgs ' enemies tried to draw him to their side . In any case , he gained little support . Anxious to make his power felt , he at last resumed the offensive against the Swedes and Saxons , winning his last victory at Steinau on the Oder in October . He then resumed negotiations . Treachery and death . In December Wallenstein retired with his army to Bohemia , around Plzeň . Vienna soon definitely convinced itself of his treachery , a secret court found him guilty , and the Emperor looked seriously for a means of getting rid of him ( a successor in command , the later emperor Ferdinand III , was already waiting ) . Wallenstein was aware of the plan to replace him , but felt confident that when the army came to decide between him and the Emperor the decision would be in his favour . On 24 January 1634 the Emperor signed a secret patent ( shown only to certain of Wallenstein ' s officers ) removing him from his command . Finally an open patent charging Wallenstein with high treason was signed on 18 February and published in Prague . Losing the support of his army , Wallenstein now realized the extent of his peril , and on 23 February with a company of some hundred men , he went from Plzeň to Cheb , hoping to meet the Swedes under Duke Bernhard . After his arrival at Cheb , however , certain senior Scottish and Irish officers in his force assassinated him on the night of February 25 . To carry out the assassination , a regiment of dragoons under the command of an Irish Colonel Butler and the Scots colonels Walter Leslie and John Gordon first fell upon Wallenstein ' s trusted officers Adam Trczka , Vilém Kinsky , Christian Illov and Henry Neumann whilst the latter banqueted at Cheb Castle ( which had come under the command of John Gordon himself ) , and massacred them . Trczka alone managed to fight his way out into the courtyard , only to be shot down by a group of musketeers . A few hours later , an Irish captain , Walter Devereux , together with a few companions , broke into the burgomaster ' s house at the main square where Wallenstein had his lodgings ( again courtesy of John Gordon ) , and kicked open the bedroom door . Devereux then ran his halberd through the unarmed Wallenstein , who , roused from sleep , is said to have asked in vain for quarter . The Holy Roman Emperor may not have commanded the murder , nor even desired it , but he had given free rein to the party who he knew wished " to bring in Wallenstein , alive or dead . " After the assassination , he rewarded the murderers with honour and riches . Wallenstein was buried at Jičín . Significance and legacy . The Czech National Museum produced a large exhibition about Wallenstein at the Wallenstein Palace in Prague ( current seat of Senate ) from 15 November 2007 till 15 February 2008 . He is also the subject of Schiller ' s play trilogy " Wallenstein " . One of the episodes in Erich Kästner ' s " The 35 May " depicts Wallenstein in his afterlife being engaged in a fierce war with Hannibal and emphasizes both generals ' callous disregard for the lives of their soldiers - underlining Kästner ' s pacifist views . Wallenstein is also a main figure in Alfred Döblin ' s eponymous novel from 1920 . Wallenstein ' s particular genius lay in recognizing a new way for funding war : instead of merely plundering enemies , he called for a new method of systematic " war taxes " . Even a city or a prince on the side of the Emperor had to pay taxes towards the war . He understood the enormous wastage of resources that resulted from tax exactions on princes and cities of defeated enemies only , and desired to replace this with a " balanced " system of taxation ; wherein both sides bore the cost of a war . He was unable to fully realize this ambition ; and in fact his idea led to the random exploitation of whole populations on either side , until finally , almost fifteen years after his death , the war had become so expensive that the warring parties were forced to make peace . In any case , Wallenstein ' s idea inspired many , among them , Colbert , to " pluck the goose with a minimum of screeching " . Composer Bedřich Smetana honored Wallenstein in his 1859 symphonic poem " Wallenstein ' s Camp " , which was originally intended as an overture to a play by Schiller .