Blaise Colomban Bender or (after his ennoblement in 1782) Blaise Colomban, Baron Bender (German - Blasius Columban Freiherr von Bender; 14 November 1713 – 20 September or 20 November 1798) was an officer for over sixty years in the Imperial Army or Kaiserliche Armee, the force directly recruited by the Holy Roman Emperor without the need for permission from the Imperial Diet. (This was distinct from the official Army of the Holy Roman Empire or Reichsheer, recruited by the Diet itself), whose archaic mode of recruitment in the many Circles of the Empire led to its losing its importance and the Imperial Army becoming the Empire's effective field force.) In his long career he fought in twenty-nine campaigns, twelve major battles and six sieges.