In 1637, when he was 15 years old, Wolfgang Julius was stopped by a patrol and wounded in the face through a glancing shot.

There he became lieutenant-general of the troops of the League of the Rhine, which were set up to defend against the Turks in the Balkans.

He distinguished himself at the sieges of Pécs and Novi Zrin Castle which failed because the army was not unanimous.

After the successful Battle of Mogersdorf he became field marshal, and returned to Hohenlohe with 800 men from the original 6500.

Since both his marriages were childless, his inheritance passed to his brother, John Frederick I of Hohenlohe-Oehringen.