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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Vicomte de Turenne Biography TURENNE, HENRI DE LATOUR D'AUVERGNE, VICOMTE DE (1611-75). A marshal of France; born at Sedan, Sept. 11, 1611, the second son of Henry, Duke of Bouillon, and brought up in the Reformed faith. He entered the French army in 1630, served with distinction under Bernhard of Weimar in 1637-38, and won a victory over the Spaniards before Casale in 1640. He conquered Roussillon from Spain in 1642, and was rewarded with the baton of a marshal of France. In 1643 he commanded the army operating in Germany, where the French had sustained defeat by the Bavarians and Imperialists. With the Duke of Enghien (later Condé) he fought against General Mercy at Freiburg in August, 1644. After suffering his defeat by Mercy at Marienthal, May 5, 1645, he shared in Condé's victory near Nördlingen, August 3. The next year Turenne united with the Swedes to complete the conquest of Bavaria, and by his successes hastened the close of the Thirty Years' War (164S). Under the influence of his elder brother and the Duchess of Longueville (q.v.) he joined the Fronde (q.v.), but, with his Spanish allies, was defeated by Duplessis at Rethel in December, 1650. In 1651 he became reconciled with the court, and successfully commanded the royal armies against Condé, who meanwhile had gone over to the Fronde. In 1667, on the outbreak of the so-called War of Devolution (see Louis XIV), the King gave him the supreme command of the army, with which he overran Flanders and Franche-Comté. Louis XIV succeeded in inducing him to embrace the Catholic faith (1668). Turenne's campaign in Holland (1672) was a triumphant one: and the Elector of Brandenburg, who had ventured to side with the Dutch, was forced to sue for peace. In the following campaign, however, Turenne was outmanœuvred by the Imperialist general, Montecucculi. In 1674 he laid waste the Palatinate and defeated the Duke of Lorraine at Sinzheim. Forced from Alsace by superior forces, Turenne executed a masterly retreat, and found safety behind the Vosges Mountains; in a midwinter campaign he reconquered the country after two decisive victories at Mühlhausen and Türkheirn. Once more he crossed the Rhine to meet his old rival, Montecucculi, but was killed while reconnoitring before Sasbach, near Offenburg, July 27, 1675. He was buried at St. Denis, and his body was placed by Napoleon in the Invalides. Bibliography. Turenne left memoirs of his campaigns from 1643 to 1658, which are of interest to the student of military history (Paris, 1782; new ed., 1872); they are supplemented by the Memoires by Deschamps (ib., 1901); his letters were edited by Barthelemy (ib., 1874). The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XXII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 564. |