Matthias Gallas

Matthias Gallas (1588–1647) was born in Trento and first served Spain and the Catholic League, fighting at Stadtlohn in 1623. In the Mantuan War he won at Villabuona and sacked Mantua in 1630, then became one of Wallenstein's foremost generals and helped remove him in 1634.

He was chief architect of the Imperial victory at Nördlingen and three times served as acting supreme commander. In 1637 he drove the Swedes to the Baltic coast, but in 1644 they cut off his supplies and he lost almost his entire army. He died in Vienna in April 1647 after a failed operation.