Degenhard Bertram von Spee
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Degenhard Bertram von Spee (July 29, 1681–March 11, 1736) was a German nobleman from the Baron von Spee family and an officer in the service of the Electoral Palatinate.[1]
Political and Personal Life
At the age of 22, Degenhard Bertram von Spee entered the military service of the Electoral Palatinate. He served as a colonel of dragoons in the Electoral Palatine Life Guard and commanded a cavalry regiment named after him from 1707 to 1711. During this period, he participated in the War of the Spanish Succession, notably taking part in the Siege of Toulon in 1707 and the Battle of Almenar in 1710, where he was captured.[2]
Spee later rose through the ranks, becoming a Major General and ultimately reaching the rank of Lieutenant General in the Electoral Palatinate army.
Beyond his military career, Degenhard Bertram von Spee also served as an Electoral Palatine Privy Councilor and held the lordship of Altenhof. In 1714, he leased the Düsseldorfer Hof von Holland for 12 years.[3]
After inheriting Heltorf Castle, he expanded it as the future residence of his family. His widow later lived there with their son, Ambrosius Franziskus von Spee, who, in 1739 at the age of nine, was elevated to the Imperial Count (Reichsgraf) by Emperor Charles VI.
Ambrosius Franziskus von Spee became the great-great-grandfather of Admiral Maximilian von Spee, who gained historical significance in German military history. Maximilian von Spee and his two sons perished in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in 1914 during World War I.[4]
Imperial Recognition
In the document granting Ambrosius Franziskus von Spee the title of Count (Graf) on May 9, 1739, Emperor Charles VI praised the merits of his father, Degenhard Bertram von Spee.