Overview
Joseph Maria Frederick Wilhelm of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Duke in Saxony (; 5 October 1702 – Hildburghausen, 4 January 1787), was a German officer, Generalfeldmarschall of the Imperial Army and Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall (Reichsgeneralfeldzeugmeister) of the Army of the Holy Roman Empire. He is best known for commanding the Franco-Roman-German at the Battle of Rossbach, losing to the Prussian Army.
Early life
He was the third but second surviving son of Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Princess Sophie of Waldeck-Pyrmont, daughter of German field marshal Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck. His mother died ten days after his birth, on 15 October 1702.
He received the typical education of a nobleman of his time, with some educational journeys to the different countries of Europe. When he was sixteen years old, the prince joined the Habsburg Army and became already in 1719 a staff captain in the Infantry Regiment N°18 "Seckendorff", and fought with it in Sicily during the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1717–1720).
After his conversion to Catholicism in 1728, a rapid ascent in his military career began.
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