Vend�me, Louis Joseph, Duc de 1654-1712
French soldier

Born in Paris, he served under Vicomte de Turenne in Germany and Alsace, in the Low Countries under the Duc de Luxembourg, and in Italy under Catinat. He captured Barcelona (1697), and enjoyed five years of selfindulgence before superseding the Duc de Villeroi in Italy in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14). He fought Prince Eug�ne (of Savoy) at Luzzara (1702), and Cassano (1705), finally defeating the Austrians in 1706. That summer he was recalled to supersede Villeroi in the Low Countries, but the defeat at Oudenarde by the Duke of Marlborough (July 1708) cost him his command. In 1710 he was sent to Spain to aid Philip V, whom he returned to Madrid, defeating the English at Brihuega, and next day the Austrians at Villaviciosa. After a month of gluttony, even by his standards, he died at Vinaroz in Castell�n de la Plana.

Bibliography: Jean-Paul Desprat, Les b�tards d'Henri IV: l'�pop�e des Vend�mes, 1594-1727 (1994)