Hans Wilhelm von Hunolstein

Johann Wilhelm von Hunolstein (; 24 April 1599 – 29 July 1664), also known as Hunoltstein or Hunoldstein, was a professional soldier in Lorrain, Bavarian and Imperial military service during the Thirty Years' War. Since 1643, he was part of the General Staff of the Imperial supreme commanders Gallas and Melander, and commanded himself the entire infantry of either the Imperial or the Bavarian field army. He often personally commanded dangerous missions like rescuing the remnants of the ruined Imperial army that had supported Denmark in the Torstenson War. In the last military campaign of the war in 1648, he became the main commander of the Bavarian army. Afterwards, he briefly held the post of supreme commander of the forces of the Kölner Allianz, a predecessor of the League of the Rhine, and served as military commander of Silesia for the Habsburgs during the Second Northern War. Life and career Born as second son of Wilhelm von Hunolstein († 1607) and Anna Maria von Landsberg († 1636) in Château-Voué in the Duchy of Lorraine, he was initially designated for an ecclesiastical career and studied at Pont-à-Mousson. His family was an Hunsrückian knightly house that originated from Castle Hunolstein in Morbach. In 1614, he was appointed as capitular of Trier but he resigned his post in 1623 to focus on his military career. His elder brother Jean-Marceloff († 1639) left him the possession of the castle of Château-Voué to administrate it in Johann Wilhelm's absence.