Early Life
Piccolomini was born in Florence and received a military education as a young boy. He became a tercio pikeman for the Kingdom of Spain at the age of sixteen.
1618 saw the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War. Piccolomini was appointed captain of a cavalry regiment in Bohemia, sent by the Grand Duke of Tuscany to the emperor's army. He fought with distinction under Count Charles Bucquoy at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 and later in Hungary.
In 1624 he served for a short time again in the Spanish army and then as lieutenant-colonel of Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim's cuirassier regiment in the war with the Milanese. In 1627 he returned to the Imperial service as colonel and captain of the personal guard of Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland. In this capacity Piccolomini fell into disgrace for attempting to export money from people of Stargard in Pomerania. But his dedication and contrition saw him returned to the rank of "Colonel of horse and foot".
In 1629 his younger brother, Ascanio Piccolomini, was appointed Archbishop of Siena which secured the older Piccolomini brother a position of influence in the diplomatic world. Italians were at the centre of diplomacy in Europe (due in no small part to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church) and this was even more so the case for a family that had seen two of its members elected to the papal throne (Pope Pius II and Pope Pius III). Wallenstein made use of his subordinate's capacity for negotiation and intrigue. During the Mantuan War, Piccolomini took a prominent part in the dual role of subtle diplomat and plundering soldier of fortune.
In 1630 came the invasion of Germany by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Piccolomini was captured and held hostage at Ferrara for helping in unauthorised negotiations for peace with the Swedish Empire. Despite his support for Wallenstein, he was not included in the list of promotions when the Duke resumed action against Saxony, Brandenburg, Sweden and France. Thereafter, Piccolomini served as a colonel under Feldmarschallleutnant Heinrich Holk, a Danish officer, in the battle of Lützen and other operations.
Nineteenth century authors were so impressed by Piccolomini's role in the battle of Lützen that they falsely ascribed to him the command of the entire Imperial left wing. He did, though, play a pivotal role at the head of his cavalry regiment; leading numerous cavalry charges against the Swedish army, having five horses shot under him and receiving five painful bruises from musket balls that deflected off his armour.
Read more about this topic: Ottavio Piccolomini
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