TILLY, JOHANN TZERCLAES, COUNT OF 1632), general of the Catholic League in the Thirty Years' War, was born in 1559 at the château of Tilly in Brabant. He was des tined for the priesthood and received a strict Jesuit education. But, preferring the career of a soldier, he entered a Spanish foot regiment about 1574 as a volunteer, and in the course of several campaigns rose to the command of a company. This being re duced, he again became a simple pikeman, and as such he took part in the famous siege of Antwerp by Parma. He distinguished himself by his bravery, and the duke of Lorraine gave him the governorship of Dun and Villefranche, which he held from 1590 to 1594. Henry IV. attempted unsuccessfully to induce him to enter the service of France. Somewhat later he left the Spanish service for that of Austria to fight against the Turks. In 1602 he became colonel in the imperial army, and raised a regiment of Walloon infantry which he commanded in the assault on Buda pest, receiving a severe wound. In 1604 he was made general of artillery; having shown great capacity and devotion to the emperor and the Catholic religion, he was made a field-marshal in 1605. In 1610 he left the service of the emperor to enter that of Maximilian, duke of Bavaria, the head of the Catholic League.
With the victory of the White Mountain (1620) the new army and its leader became celebrated throughout Germany and the subsequent campaigns (see THIRTY YEARS' WAR) established their reputation. The battle of Hochst (1622) won for Tilly the title
of count.
The defeat of King Christian was soon followed by the inter vention of Gustavus Adolphus. The opening stages of the cam paign did not display any marked superiority of the Swedes. At this time Tilly was commander of the imperial forces as well as of his own army. The first great contest was for the possession of Magdeburg (1631). Tilly has been blamed for the atroci ties which accompanied the sack of this town after its fall (May 2o). Yet his personal exertions saved the cathedral and other religious buildings from pillage and fire. Four months later Tilly and Gustavus, the representatives of the old and the new art of war, met at Breitenfeld (q.v.). The victory of Gustavus was complete, though the imperial general, although severely wounded, drew off his men in good order. On the Lech, a few months later, Gustavus was again victorious, and Tilly received a mortal wound. He died on April 3o, 1632, in Ingolstadt.
See 0. Klopp, Tilly im 3o-jiihrigen Krieg (Stuttgart, 1860 ; K. Wittich, Magdeburg, Gustav Adolf and Tilly; also memoir of Tilly in Aug.l deutsche Biographie; Keym-Marcour, Johann Tzerclaes, Graf v. Tilly; Villermont, Tilly, ou La Guerre de trente ans (Tournay, 1859).