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Nils Brahe

Nils Brahe (1604-1632), Swedish soldier and younger brother of Per Brahe that served with distinction under Gustavus Adolphus. He took part in the Polish War, at siege and capture of Riga in 1621, served with distinction in Poland (1626-1627) and assisted in the defence of Stralsund in 1628. In 1630 he accompanied Gustavus into Germany, in the Thirty Years' War and in 1631 was appointed colonel of "the yellow regiment," the king’s world-renowned life-guards, at the head of which he captured the castle of Würzburg on October 8, 1631. He took part in the long duel between Gustavus and Wallenstein round Nuremberg as general of infantry, and commanded the left wing at Lützen, November 6, 1632, where he was the only Swedish general officer present. At the very beginning of the fight he was mortally wounded. The king regarded Brahe as the best general in the Swedish army after Lennart Torstenson.

See also: Per Brahe, Nils Magnus Brahe, List of Swedish military commanders

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