|
 Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne
Viscount of Turenne
France
|
 |
 |
Born in the Principality of Sedan, Turenne is for a while an extreme peril to the Kingdom before becoming - when Sedan is nothing but a French town - the King's saver.
Though suspect as a Protestant and brother of the duke of Bouillon party to Cinq-Mars'plot, he becomes when 32 old, due to his value, a Maréchal de France(1643).
After Nördlingen (1645) victory with Condé, he urges the agreement of Westphaly treat (1648) by dividing Imperials and Bavarians .
Yet, his passion for the Duchess of Longueville leads him to side with la Fronde (against Mazarin) and to guide Spaniards and Imperials towards Guise. He is defeated in Rethel (1650).
He then serves loyally the King : he retrieves a disastrous situation, saves the King in Jargeau and drives him in Paris after defeating Condé in Bléneau then in fbg Saint-Antoine (1652).
Married to the Protestant Charlotte de Caumont, he does not agree to abjuring , in view of the religious dissension and at the instances of Bossuet, but 2 years after her death (1668).
His conquest of part of Flanders urges the Pyrénées peace (7/11/1659) that settles heavy territorial conflicts with Spaniards and orders Louis XIV wedding with the Infant Marie-Thérèse. He is then rewarded with the exceptional title of Maréchal Général des Camps et Armées du Roi (1660).
He once more wins fame in the Devolution war and above all in the Turckheim victory (1675) when, in spite of contemporary customs, he, in the depth of winter, assails and overwhelms the Imperials.
Killed by a cannon ball at the time of his last victory in Sasbach (1675) he is buried with Kings in Saint-Denis.
He leaves Memories (1643-58) and compilations of letters. |
|
