János Pálffy

Johann Bernhard Stephan, Graf Pálffy ab Erdöd (erdődi gróf Pálffy V. János Bernard István, Ivan) (Vöröskő, Hungary (now: Červený Kameň, Slovakia), August 20, 1664 – Pozsony, Hungary (now: Bratislava, Slovakia), March 24, 1751) was a Hungarian noble, Imperial Field marshal and Palatine of Hungary.

Life
He was the third son of Count Miklós IV Pálffy de Erdőd (1619–1679) and Maria Eleonora von Harrach zu Rohrau (1634–1693). As his father and two elder brothers, he pursued a military career and joined the Habsburg Army in 1681. He participated in the Battle of Vienna and Battle of Párkány, where he was taken prisoner by the Turks, but he managed to escape. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Mohács (1687), and became Generaladjutant of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine. At the age of 24 he had already reached the rank of Colonel and commanded his own regiment. With this regiment he participated in all the great battles of the Great Turkish War.

In 1695 he was seriously wounded in a battle with the French under Claude de Villars near Mainz. In 1704 he became Ban of Croatia and Cavalry General.

During the Rákóczi's War for Independence, he was sent to Hungary as commander of the Cavalry. He participated in a number of minor battles, but played a vital role in the victory in the Battle of Trencsén. Pálffy was made Field Marshal and received command of all troops in Upper Hungary.

In this phase he, a Hungarian loyal to the Emperor, negotiated with Francis II Rákóczi, which led to a truce and later the Treaty of Szatmár, after which 12,000 men of Rákóczi's army swore allegiance to the Habsburg dynasty in the fields outside of Majtény in Szatmár. In the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18, he participated again in all major actions and was wounded several times. After the war, he resumed his diplomatic activities and persuaded the Hungarian and Croat nobility to accept the Pragmatic Sanction.

In the Austro-Turkish War, 1737-1739, he received command of an army corps of 30,000 men, but saw no action.

After the death of Emperor Charles VI in 1740, he became protector of the young Empress Maria Theresia and her councilor, mainly in Hungarian affairs. He became Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece and Palatine of Hungary.

Pálffy remained for the rest of his life a confidant of the Empress, who called him affectionately Vater Palffy. He died in 1751.