Turenne, Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de 1611-75
French soldier

Born in Sedan, he was the second son of the Duc de Bouillon and Elizabeth of Nassau, William I, the Silent's daughter. Brought up in the Reformed faith, he fought first in the Dutch War of Independence (1625-30) under his uncle, Prince Maurice of Nassau, and in 1630 received a commission from Cardinal Richelieu. In the Thirty Years War (1618-48) he fought with distinction for the armies of the Protestant alliance, and in 1641 became supreme commander. He captured Breisach (1638) and Turin (1640), and for the conquest of Roussillon from the Spaniards in 1642 was made a Marshal of France (1644). In the civil wars of the Fronde, Turenne at first joined the frondeurs, but then switched sides and saved the government of Mazarin and the young King Louis XIV by his campaigning (1652-53). In the Franco-Spanish War he conquered much of the Spanish Netherlands, and defeated the Prince de Cond�, who had deserted to the frondeurs, at the Battle of the Dunes (1658). In 1660 he was created Marshal-General of France. He won lasting fame for his campaigns in the United Provinces during the Dutch War (1672-75), but advancing along the Rhine was killed at Sasbach.

Bibliography: Max Weygard, Turenne: Marshal of France (1930)