At the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, Götzen joined the army of the Electoral Palatinate, defecting to the Holy Roman Empire after the Battle of Dessau Bridge.

At the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War he joined the army of the Electoral Palatinate, serving in the forces of Ernst von Mansfeld and the neutral Dutch Republic.

The 1630, Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War led to the loss of Pomerania, Götzen's forces remained in the area for a short period of time, engaging in the act of Brandschatzung [de] (extorting money and resources from the local population under the threat of violence).

In 1636, his reputation as an experienced and brave commander earned him the rank of Generalfeldmarschall in the service of the Electorate of Bavaria, replacing Jost Maximilian von Bronckhorst-Gronsfeld [de].

[4][5][6][7] Götzen rallied 13,500 troops at Rottweil aiming at relieving Breisach in conjunction with Charles of Lorraine whose 5,000 strong army was evading the numerically superior French in the Franche-Comté.

On 26 June 1638, Götzen appeared north of Breisach, he chose not to attack Bernard directly but instead diverted his troops towards Alsace in the hope of taking the local French garrisons.

Still the Battle of Breisach proved disastrous, only 3,000 remained under Bavarian colors by the time they retreated to Offenburg, the rest being killed, captured or deserting, 3,000 wagons of food and ammunition were also lost to the enemy.

Götzen's actions at Breisach are defended by the titular character in the novel Simplicius Simplicissimus, written by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen who took part in the operation as a soldier.