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Claude-Louis-Hector De Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince of Martigues, Marquis then (1st) Duke of Villars, Viscount of Melun (, 8 May 1653 – 17 June 1734) was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. Early career Villars was born at Moulins (in the present-day département of Allier) in a noble but poor family, his father was the diplomat Pierre de Villars. He entered the French army through the corps of pages in 1671 and distinguished himself at the age of twenty in the Siege of Maastricht in 1673 during the Franco-Dutch War and again at the bloody Battle of Seneffe. A year later he was promoted on the field to mestre de camp (colonel) of a cavalry regiment. The next promotion would take time in spite of a long record of service under Turenne, The Great Condé and Luxembourg, and of his aristocratic birth, as he had incurred the enmity of the powerful Louvois. He was fi ...
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Marshal General Of France
Marshal General of France, originally "Marshal General of the King's camps and armies" (), was a title given to signify that the recipient had authority over all of the French armies, in the days when a Marshal of France usually governed only one army. This title was bestowed only on Marshals of France, usually when the title of Constable of France was unavailable or, after 1626, suppressed. Unlike the title of marshal, marshal general was rarely granted to active military commanders. Rather, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was an end-of-career reward for particularly deserving or loyal marshals. List of titleholders Six in the Ancien Régime, pre-revolutionary kingdom of France: * Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron (1562–1602): ** Admiral of France, 1592 ** Admiral and Marshal, 26 January 1594 ** unclear when promoted to Marshal General ** executed in 1602 * François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières (1543–1626): ** Marshal, 27 September 1609 ** Marsha ...
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Battle Of Seneffe
The Battle of Seneffe took place on 11 August 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War, near Seneffe in Belgium, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. A Kingdom of France, French army commanded by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, Condé and a combined Dutch Republic, Dutch, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial, and Habsburg Spain, Spanish force under William III of England, William of Orange. One of the bloodiest battles of the war, over 20% of those engaged on both sides became casualties, and the result is disputed. By 1674, Allied forces in the Spanish Netherlands were numerically superior to the French army under Condé, which was based along the Piéton river near Charleroi. William took the offensive and sought to bring on a battle by outflanking the French positions, but the broken ground forced him to divide his army into three separate columns. Condé launched a cavalry attack on the Allied vanguard, and by midday on 11 August had halted their advance. Against the advice of his ...
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Allier
Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after the river Allier (river), Allier, it had a population of 334,872 in 2021.Populations légales 2021: 03 Allier
INSEE (in French)
Moulins, Allier, Moulins is the Prefectures in France, prefecture; Montluçon and Vichy are the Subprefectures in France, subprefectures. Its Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (France), INSEE and Postal codes in France, post code is 03. Before 2018, the inhabitants of the department did not have a demonym. The inhabitants of the depar ...
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Marshal Of France
Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period dormant (1870–1916). It was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France during the and Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration, and one of the Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire, Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the First French Empire (when the title was Marshal of the Empire, not Marshal of France). A Marshal of France displays seven stars on each shoulder strap. A marshal also receives a Baton (military), baton – a blue cylinder with stars, formerly fleur-de-lis, fleurs-de-lis during the monarchy and French Imperial Eagle, eagles during the First French Empire. The baton bears the Latin inscription of ', which means "terror in war, ornament in peace". Between the end of the 16th century a ...
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Louis XIV Of France
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest of any monarch in history. An emblem of the Absolutism (European history), age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's legacy includes French colonial empire, French colonial expansion, the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War involving the Habsburgs, and a controlling influence on the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, style of fine arts and architecture in France, including the transformation of the Palace of Versailles into a center of royal power and politics. Louis XIV's pageantry and opulence helped define the French Baroque architecture, French Baroque style of art and architecture and promoted his image as absolute ruler of France in the early modern period. Louis XIV began his personal rule of France ...
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Blason Claude Louis Hector De Villars (1653-1734)
Blason is a form of poetry. The term originally comes from the heraldic term "blazon" in French heraldry, which means either the codified description of a coat of arms or the coat of arms itself. The Dutch term is , and in either Dutch or French, the term is often used to refer to the coat of arms of a chamber of rhetoric. History The term forms the root of the modern words "emblazon", which means to celebrate or adorn with heraldic markings, and "blazoner", one who emblazons. This form of poetry was used extensively by Elizabethan-era poets. The terms "blason", "blasonner", "blasonneur" were used in 16th-century French literature by poets who, following Clément Marot in 1536, practised a genre of poems that praised a woman by singling out different parts of her body and finding appropriate metaphors to compare them with. It is still being used with that meaning in literature and especially in poetry. One famous example of such a celebratory poem, ironically rejecting each propo ...
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War Of The Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests. France and Spain, the two Bourbon powers, tested the power of the Austrian Habsburgs in Western Europe, as did the Kingdom of Prussia, whilst Saxony and Russia mobilized to support the eventual victor. The fighting in Poland–Lithuania resulted in the accession of Augustus III, who in addition to Russia and Saxony, was politically supported by the Habsburgs. The war's major military campaigns and battles occurred outside the borders of Poland–Lithuania. The Bourbons, supported by Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, moved against isolated Habsburg territories. In the Rhineland, France successfully took the Duchy of Lorraine, and in Italy, Spain regained control over the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily lost i ...
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Rhine Campaign (1713)
The Rhine campaign of 1713 was a successful French military campaign against the Holy Roman Empire, the sole remaining member of the once-formidable Grand Alliance which had refused to make peace with France. The campaign, which did not result in any pitched battles, ended with French forces besieging and capturing the fortified cities of Landau and Freiburg im Breisgau, which exposed the Palatinate, Württemberg and Swabia to French occupation and compelled the Emperor to sue for peace. Prelude On 11 April 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed between most participants in the War of the Spanish Succession: Spain and France against Great Britain, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic. The Habsburg monarchy and the Holy Roman Empire refused to sign the treaty and so remained at war against France. Several factors influenced Emperor Charles VI's decision to carry on the war alone. A powerful faction in the Habsburg court (the so-called "Spanish party") was extremely vexe ...
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Battle Of Denain
The Battle of Denain was fought on 24 July 1712 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. It resulted in a French victory, under Marshal Villars, against Dutch and Austrian forces, under Prince Eugene of Savoy. It was the war's last battle in Flanders and one of the most consequential, breaking the Grand Alliance's ability to threaten Paris and reversing nearly two years of French territorial losses. In itself a local and tactical victory, Denain was made decisive by its relentless exploitation by Villars, who skillfully maneuvered to reclaim strategic border fortifications that would blunt any allied effort to renew their advance on Paris and dictate peace terms to Louis XIV. Background The War of Spanish Succession had raged since 1701. After over a decade of war, France was in a dark period, both financially and militarily. The early victories of Marshal Villars at the Battle of Friedlingen and the Battle of Höchstadt were followed by numerous defeats to the Al ...
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Battle Of Malplaquet
The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Taisnières-sur-Hon in modern France, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. A French army of around 75,000 men, commanded by the Duke of Villars, engaged a Grand Alliance force of 86,000 under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the bloodiest battles of the 18th century, the allies won a narrow victory, but suffered heavy casualties. Allied advances in 1708 led to the renewal of peace talks, which collapsed in April 1709. After taking Tournai in early September, the allies besieged Mons, whose capture would allow them to enter France itself, and Louis XIV ordered Villars to prevent its loss. Although the two armies made contact on 10 September, the attack was delayed until the next day, giving Villars time to construct strong defensive positions. After an opening artillery barrage, the allied infantry made simultaneous assaults on the French flanks. These were intended to ...
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First Battle Of Höchstädt
The First Battle of Höchstädt took place on 20 September 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Fought near Höchstädt an der Donau in Bavaria, a combined Franco-Bavarian force under Claude Louis Hector de Villars defeated an Imperial army led by Hermann Otto II of Limburg Stirum. During the summer of 1703, a Franco-Bavarian offensive along the Danube potentially threatened the Habsburg capital of Vienna. In response, Imperial forces under Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden entered Bavaria, and captured Augsburg. He then ordered Limburg Stirum to cross the Danube at Donauwörth with 18,000 men, and join an attack on the Franco-Bavarian camp at Nordendorf. The latter arrived in Höchstädt on 19 September, but Villars and Maximilian had already reached Donauwörth. Early on the morning on 20 September, Limburg Stirum found the main Franco-Bavarian army of 15,000 was advancing on him from Donauwörth, with a corps of 8,000 under the Marquis d'Husson in his ...
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Battle Of Friedlingen
The Battle of Friedlingen took place on 14 October 1702, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Most of the fighting centred around Friedlingen, now a suburb of Weil am Rhein, on the current border between Baden-Württemberg in Germany, and Switzerland. A French force under Villars defeated an Imperial army commanded by Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden. The capture of Landau in September allowed Louis William to threaten the French border region of Alsace. Shortly afterwards, Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria joined the French alliance, and Villars was ordered to cross the Rhine at Huningue near the Swiss border, then link up with him. Although Louis William was initially able to block the advance, he was outflanked when French troops crossed the Rhine further north, and began retreating early on the morning of 14 October. Hoping to take advantage, Villars promptly attacked, but Louis William drove him off and fell back in good order. Although neither side ...
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