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Prince Eugene of Savoy

January 01, 1970

Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano[1] (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He was one of the most successful military commanders of his time, and rose to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna.

Eugene of Savoy
Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy, 1718
by Jacob van Schuppen
Born(1663-10-18)18 October 1663
Hôtel de Soissons, Paris, Kingdom of France
Died21 April 1736(1736-04-21) (aged 72)
Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Burial
St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
HouseSavoy-Carignano
FatherEugene Maurice of Savoy
MotherOlympia Mancini
Signature
Military career
RankField marshal
Conflicts

Born in Paris, Eugene was brought up in the court of King Louis XIV of France. Based on the custom that the youngest sons of noble families were destined for the priesthood, the Prince was initially prepared for a clerical career, but by the age of 19, he had determined on a military career. Based on his poor physique and bearing, and perhaps due to a scandal involving his mother Olympe, he was rejected by Louis for service in the French Royal Army. Eugene moved to Austria and transferred his loyalty to the Holy Roman Empire.

In a career spanning six decades, Eugene served three Holy Roman Emperors: Leopold I, Joseph I, and Charles VI. His first battle experiences were fought against the Ottomans at the Siege of Vienna in 1683 and the subsequent War of the Holy League, before serving in the Nine Years' War, in which he fought alongside his cousin, the Duke of Savoy. The Prince's fame was secured with his decisive victory against the Ottomans at the Battle of Zenta in 1697, earning him Europe-wide fame. Eugene enhanced his standing during the War of the Spanish Succession, where his partnership with the Duke of Marlborough secured victories against the French on the fields of Blenheim (1704), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709); he gained further success in the war as Imperial commander in northern Italy, most notably at the Battle of Turin (1706). Renewed hostilities against the Ottomans in the Austro-Turkish War consolidated his reputation, with victories at the battles of Petrovaradin (1716), and the decisive encounter at the Siege of Belgrade in 1717.

Throughout the late 1720s, Eugene's influence and skilful diplomacy managed to secure the Emperor powerful allies in his dynastic struggles with the Bourbon powers, but physically and mentally fragile in his later years, Eugene enjoyed less success as commander-in-chief of the army during his final conflict, the War of the Polish Succession. Nevertheless, in Austria, Eugene's reputation remains unrivalled. Although opinions differ as to his character, there is no dispute over his great achievements: he helped to save the Habsburg Empire from French conquest; he broke the westward thrust of the Ottomans, re-occupying areas that had been under Turkish control for a century and a half; and he was one of the great patrons of the arts whose building legacy can still be seen in Vienna today. Eugene died in his sleep at his home on 21 April 1736, aged 72.

Early years (1663–1699) edit

Hôtel de Soissons edit

 
Hôtel de Soissons, Eugene's birthplace. Engraving by Israel Silvestre c. 1650.

Prince Eugene was born at the Hôtel de Soissons in Paris on 18 October 1663. His mother, Olympia Mancini, was one of Cardinal Mazarin's nieces whom the Cardinal had brought to Paris from Rome in 1647 to further his (and, to a lesser extent, their) ambitions. The Mancinis were raised at the Palais-Royal along with the young Louis XIV, with whom Olympia formed an intimate relationship. Yet to her great disappointment, her chance to become queen passed by, and in 1657, she married Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons, Count of Dreux and Prince of Savoy.

 
Eugene Maurice and Olympia Mancini, Count and Countess of Soissons, parents of Prince Eugene

Together they had had five sons (Eugene being the youngest) and three daughters, but neither parent spent much time with the children: the father, a French general officer, spent much of his time away campaigning, while Olympia's passion for court intrigue meant the children received little attention from her.[2] The King remained strongly attached to Olympia, so much so that many believed them to be lovers;[3] but her scheming eventually led to her downfall. After falling out of favour at court, Olympia turned to Catherine Deshayes (known as La Voisin), and to the arts of black magic and astrology. It proved a fatal relationship. She became embroiled in the "Affaire des poisons"; suspicions abounded of her involvement in her husband's premature death in 1673, and even implicated her in a plot to kill the King himself. Whatever the truth, Olympia, rather than face trial, subsequently fled France for Brussels in January 1680, leaving Eugene in the care of his paternal grandmother, Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons, and of his paternal aunt, Louise Christine of Savoy, Hereditary Princess of Baden, mother of Prince Louis of Baden.[4]

From the age of ten, Eugene had been brought up for a career in the church since he was the youngest of his family.[5] Eugene's appearance was not impressive—"He was never good-looking ..." wrote the Duchess of Orléans, "It is true that his eyes are not ugly, but his nose ruins his face; he has two large teeth which are visible at all times"[6] According to the duchess, who was married to Louis XIV's bisexual brother,[7] the Duke of Orléans, Eugene lived a life of "debauchery" and belonged to a small, effeminate set that included the famous cross-dresser Abbé François-Timoléon de Choisy.[8] In February 1683, to the surprise of his family, the 19-year-old Eugene declared his intention of joining the army. Eugene applied directly to Louis XIV for command of a company in French service, but the King—who had shown no compassion for Olympia's children since her disgrace—refused him out of hand. "The request was modest, not so the petitioner", he remarked. "No one else ever presumed to stare me out so insolently."[9] Whatever the case, Louis XIV's choice would cost him dearly twenty years later, for it would be precisely Eugene, in collaboration with the Duke of Marlborough, who would defeat the French army at Blenheim, a decisive battle which checked French military supremacy and political power.

Denied a military career in France, Eugene decided to seek service abroad. One of Eugene's brothers, Louis Julius, had entered Imperial service the previous year, but he had been immediately killed fighting the Ottoman Empire in 1683. When news of his death reached Paris, Eugene decided to travel to Austria in the hope of taking over his brother's command. It was not an unnatural decision: his cousin, Louis of Baden, was already a leading general in the Imperial army, as was a more distant cousin, Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. On the night of 26 July 1683, Eugene left Paris and headed east.[10] Years later, in his memoirs, Eugene recalled his early years in France:[11]

 
Prince Eugene as a young General by German painter David Hoyer

Some future historians, good or bad, will perhaps take the trouble to enter into the details of my youth, of which, I scarcely recollect anything. They will certainly speak of my mother; somewhat too intriguing, driven from the court, exiled from Paris, and suspected, I believe, of sorcery, by people who were not, themselves, very great wizards.

They will tell, how I was born in France then left it, my heart swelling with enmity against Louis XIV who refused me a cavalry company, because, said he, I was of too delicate a constitution; that he refused me an abbey, because (based on I don't know what ill talks about me or what invented anecdotes from the gallery of Versailles) that I was more shaped for pleasure than for piety.

There is not a Huguenot expelled by the revocation of the edict of Nantes who hated Louis XIV more than I did. Therefore when Louvois[12] heard of my departure saying: "So much the better; he will never return into this country again" I swore never to enter it but with arms in my hands. I HAVE KEPT MY WORD.

— Memoirs of Prince Eugene, of Savoy, [13]

Great Turkish War edit

Main article: Great Turkish War

By May 1683, the Ottoman threat to Emperor Leopold I's capital, Vienna, was very evident. The Grand Vizier, Kara Mustafa Pasha—encouraged by Imre Thököly's Magyar rebellion—had invaded Hungary with between 100,000 and 200,000 men;[14] within two months approximately 90,000 were beneath Vienna's walls. With the 'Turks at the gates', the Emperor fled for the safe refuge of Passau up the Danube.[15] It was at Leopold I's camp that Eugene arrived in mid-August.

Although Eugene was not of Austrian extraction, he did have Habsburg antecedents. His grandfather, Thomas Francis, founder of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, was the son of Catherine Michaela of Spain—a daughter of Philip II of Spain—and the great-grandson of the Emperor Charles V. But of more immediate consequence to Leopold I was the fact that Eugene was the second cousin of Victor Amadeus II, the Duke of Savoy, a connection that the Emperor hoped might prove useful in any future confrontation with France.[16] These ties, together with his ascetic manner and appearance (a positive advantage to him at the sombre court of Leopold I),[17] ensured the refugee from the hated French king a warm welcome at Passau, and a position in Imperial service.[16] Though French was his favoured language, he communicated with Leopold in Italian, as the Emperor (though he knew it perfectly) disliked French. But Eugene also had a reasonable command of German, which he understood very easily, something that helped him much in the military.[18]

I will devote all my strength, all my courage, and if need be, my last drop of blood, to the service of your Imperial Majesty.

— Prince Eugene to Leopold I, [19]
 
Battle of Vienna, 12 September 1683

Eugene had no doubt as to where his new allegiance lay, and this loyalty was immediately put to the test. By September, the Imperial forces under the Duke of Lorraine, together with a powerful Polish army under King John III Sobieski, were poised to strike the Sultan's army. On the morning of 12 September, the Christian forces drew up in line of battle on the south-eastern slopes of the Vienna Woods, looking down on the massed enemy camp. The day-long Battle of Vienna resulted in the lifting of the 60-day siege, and the Sultan's forces were routed. Serving under Baden, as a twenty-year-old volunteer, Eugene distinguished himself in the battle, earning commendation from Lorraine and the Emperor; he later received the nomination for the colonelcy and was awarded the Kufstein regiment of dragoons by Leopold I.[20]

Holy League edit

In March 1684, Leopold I formed the Holy League with Poland and Venice to counter the Ottoman threat. For the next two years, Eugene continued to perform with distinction on campaign and establish himself as a dedicated, professional soldier; by the end of 1685, still only 22 years old, he was made a Major-General. Little is known of Eugene's life during these early campaigns. Contemporary observers make only passing comments of his actions, and his own surviving correspondence, largely to his cousin Victor Amadeus, are typically reticent about his own feelings and experiences.[21] Nevertheless, it is clear that Baden was impressed with Eugene's qualities—"This young man will, with time, occupy the place of those whom the world regards as great leaders of armies."[22]

 
Recapture of Buda castle in 1686 (Prince Eugene of Savoy on the second white horse from the right) by Gyula Benczúr.

In June 1686, the Duke of Lorraine besieged Buda (Budapest), the centre of Ottoman Hungary and the old royal capital. After resisting for 78 days, the city fell on 2 September, and Turkish resistance collapsed throughout the region as far away as Transylvania and Serbia. Further success followed in 1687, where, commanding a cavalry brigade, Eugene made an important contribution to the victory at the Battle of Mohács on 12 August. Such was the scale of their defeat that the Ottoman army mutinied—a revolt which spread to Constantinople. The Grand Vizier, Sarı Süleyman Pasha, was executed and Sultan Mehmed IV, deposed.[23] Once again, Eugene's courage earned him recognition from his superiors, who granted him the honour of personally conveying the news of victory to the Emperor in Vienna.[24] For his services, Eugene was promoted to Lieutenant-General in November 1687. He was also gaining wider recognition. King Charles II of Spain bestowed upon him the Order of the Golden Fleece, while his cousin, Victor Amadeus, provided him with money and two profitable abbeys in Piedmont.[25] Eugene's military career suffered a temporary setback in 1688 when, on 6 September, the Prince suffered a severe wound to his knee by a musket ball during the Siege of Belgrade, and did not return to active service until January 1689.[25]

Interlude in the west: Nine Years' War edit

Main article: Nine Years' War

Just as Belgrade was falling to Imperial forces under Max Emmanuel in the east, French troops in the west were crossing the Rhine into the Holy Roman Empire. Louis XIV had hoped that a show of force would lead to a quick resolution to his dynastic and territorial disputes with the princes of the Empire along his eastern border, but his intimidatory moves only strengthened German resolve, and in May 1689, Leopold I and the Dutch signed an offensive compact aimed at repelling French aggression.[26]

 
Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Eugene's early mentor before becoming his opponent in the War of the Spanish Succession. by Joseph Vivien

The Nine Years' War was professionally and personally frustrating for the prince. Initially fighting on the Rhine with Max Emmanuel—receiving a slight head wound at the Siege of Mainz in 1689—Eugene subsequently transferred himself to Piedmont after Victor Amadeus joined the Alliance against France in 1690. Promoted to general of cavalry, he arrived in Turin with his friend the Prince of Commercy; but it proved an inauspicious start. Against Eugene's advice, Amadeus insisted on engaging the French at Staffarda and suffered a serious defeat—only Eugene's handling of the Savoyard cavalry in retreat saved his cousin from disaster.[27] Eugene remained unimpressed with the men and their commanders throughout the war in Italy. "The enemy would long ago have been beaten", he wrote to Vienna, "if everyone had done their duty."[28] So contemptuous was he of the Imperial commander, Count Carafa, he threatened to leave Imperial service.[29]

In Vienna, Eugene's attitude was dismissed as the arrogance of a young upstart, but so impressed was the Emperor by his passion for the Imperial cause, he promoted him to Field-Marshal in 1693.[30] When Carafa's replacement, Count Caprara, was himself transferred in 1694, it seemed that Eugene's chance for command and decisive action had finally arrived. But Amadeus, doubtful of victory and now more fearful of Habsburg influence in Italy than he was of French, had begun secret dealings with Louis XIV aimed at extricating himself from the war. By 1696, the deal was done, and Amadeus transferred his troops and his loyalty to the enemy. Eugene was never to fully trust his cousin again; although he continued to pay due reverence to the Duke as head of his family, their relationship would forever after remain strained.[31]

Military honours in Italy undoubtedly belonged to the French commander Marshal Catinat, but Eugene, the one Allied general determined on action and decisive results, did well to emerge from the Nine Years' War with an enhanced reputation.[31] With the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick in September/October 1697, the desultory war in the west was finally brought to an inconclusive end, and Leopold I could once again devote all his martial energies into defeating the Ottoman Turks in the east.

Battle of Zenta edit

Main article: Battle of Zenta

The distractions of the war against Louis XIV had enabled the Turks to recapture Belgrade in 1690. In August 1691, the Austrians, under Louis of Baden, regained the advantage by heavily defeating the Turks at the Battle of Slankamen on the Danube, securing Habsburg possession of Hungary and Transylvania.[32] When Baden was transferred west to fight the French in 1692, his successors, first Caprara, then from 1696, Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony, proved incapable of delivering the final blow. On the advice of the President of the Imperial War Council, Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg, thirty-four-year old Eugene was offered supreme command of Imperial forces in April 1697.[33] This was Eugene's first truly independent command—no longer need he suffer under the excessively cautious generalship of Caprara and Carafa, or be thwarted by the deviations of Victor Amadeus. But on joining his army, he found it in a state of 'indescribable misery'.[34] Confident and self-assured, the Prince of Savoy (ably assisted by Commercy and Guido Starhemberg) set about restoring order and discipline.[35]

 
Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736) c. 1700. Flemish School.
 
Battle of Zenta by Jacques-Ignace Parrocel.

Leopold I had warned Eugene that "he should act with extreme caution, forgo all risks and avoid engaging the enemy unless he has overwhelming strength and is practically certain of being completely victorious",[36] but when the Imperial commander learnt of Sultan Mustafa II's march on Transylvania, Eugene abandoned all ideas of a defensive campaign and moved to intercept the Turks as they crossed the River Tisza at Zenta on 11 September 1697.

It was late in the day before the Imperial army struck. The Ottoman cavalry had already crossed the river so Eugene decided to attack immediately, arranging his men in a half-moon formation.[37] The vigour of the assault wrought terror and confusion amongst the Turks, and by nightfall, the battle was won. For the loss of some 2,000 dead and wounded, Eugene had inflicted an overwhelming defeat upon the enemy with approximately 25,000 Turks killed—including the Grand Vizier, Elmas Mehmed Pasha, the pashas of Adana, Anatolia, and Bosnia, plus more than thirty aghas of the Janissaries, sipahis, and silihdars, as well as seven horsetails (symbols of high authority), 100 pieces of heavy artillery, 423 banners, and the revered seal which the sultan always entrusted to the Grand Vizier on an important campaign, Eugene had annihilated the Ottoman army and brought to an end the War of the Holy League.[38] Although the Ottomans lacked western organization and training, the Savoyard prince had revealed his tactical skill, his capacity for bold decision, and his ability to inspire his men to excel in battle against a dangerous foe.[39]

After a brief terror-raid into Ottoman Bosnia, culminating in the sack of Sarajevo, Eugene returned to Vienna in November to a triumphal reception.[40] His victory at Zenta had turned him into a European hero, and with victory came reward. Land in Hungary, given him by the Emperor, yielded a good income, enabling the Prince to cultivate his newly acquired tastes in art and architecture (see below); but for all his new-found wealth and property, he was, nevertheless, without personal ties or family commitments. Of his four brothers, only one was still alive at this time. His fourth brother, Emmanuel, had died aged 14 in 1676; his third, Louis Julius (already mentioned) had died on active service in 1683, and his second brother, Philippe, died of smallpox in 1693. Eugene's remaining brother, Louis Thomas—ostracized for incurring the displeasure of Louis XIV—travelled Europe in search of a career, before arriving in Vienna in 1699. With Eugene's help, Louis found employment in the Imperial army, only to be killed in action against the French in 1702. Of Eugene's sisters, the youngest had died in childhood. The other two, Marie Jeanne-Baptiste and Louise Philiberte, led dissolute lives. Expelled from France, Marie joined her mother in Brussels, before eloping with a renegade priest to Geneva, living with him unhappily until her premature death in 1705. Of Louise, little is known after her early salacious life in Paris, but in due course, she lived for a time in a convent in Savoy before her death in 1726.[41]

The Battle of Zenta proved to be the decisive victory in the long war against the Turks. With Leopold I's interests now focused on Spain and the imminent death of Charles II, the Emperor terminated the conflict with the Sultan; he signed the Treaty of Karlowitz on 26 January 1699.[42]

Middle life (1700–20) edit

War of the Spanish Succession edit

Main article: War of the Spanish Succession
 
Europe at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession. Eugene fought primarily in northern Italy in the early years of the war, then later in the Low Countries.

With the death of the infirm and childless Charles II of Spain on 1 November 1700, the succession of the Spanish throne and subsequent control over her empire once again embroiled Europe in war—the War of the Spanish Succession. On his deathbed Charles II had bequeathed the entire Spanish inheritance to Louis XIV's grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou. This threatened to unite the Spanish and French kingdoms under the House of Bourbon—something unacceptable to England, the Dutch Republic, and Leopold I, who had himself a claim to the Spanish throne.[43] From the beginning, the Emperor had refused to accept the will of Charles II, and he did not wait for England and the Dutch Republic to begin hostilities. Before a new Grand Alliance could be concluded Leopold I prepared to send an expedition to seize the Spanish lands in Italy.

 
Prince Eugene crossing the Alps, 1701. Coloured copperplate engraving.

Eugene crossed the Alps with some 30,000 men in May/June 1701. After a series of brilliant manoeuvres the Imperial commander defeated Catinat at the Battle of Carpi on 9 July. "I have warned you that you are dealing with an enterprising young prince", wrote Louis XIV to his commander, "he does not tie himself down to the rules of war."[44] On 1 September Eugene defeated Catinat's successor, Marshal Villeroi, at the Battle of Chiari, in a clash as destructive as any in the Italian theatre.[45] But as so often throughout his career the Prince faced war on two fronts—the enemy in the field and the government in Vienna.[46]

Starved of supplies, money, and men, Eugene was forced into unconventional means against the vastly superior enemy. During a daring raid on Cremona on the night of 31 January/1 February 1702 Eugene captured the French commander-in-chief. Yet the coup was less successful than hoped: Cremona remained in French hands, and the Duke of Vendôme, whose talents far exceeded Villeroi's, became the theatre's new commander. Villeroi's capture caused a sensation in Europe and had a galvanizing effect on English public opinion. "The surprise at Cremona", wrote the diarist John Evelyn, "... was the great discourse of this week"; but appeals for succour from Vienna remained unheeded, forcing Eugene to seek battle and gain a 'lucky hit'.[47] The resulting Battle of Luzzara on 15 August proved inconclusive. Although Eugene's forces inflicted double the number of casualties on the French the battle settled little except to deter Vendôme trying an all-out assault on Imperial forces that year, enabling Eugene to hold on south of the Alps.[48] With his army rotting away, and personally grieving for his long-standing friend Prince Commercy who had died at Luzzara, Eugene returned to Vienna in January 1703.[49]

President of the Imperial War Council edit

Eugene's European reputation was growing (Cremona and Luzzara had been celebrated as victories throughout the Allied capitals), yet because of the condition and morale of his troops the 1702 campaign had not been a success.[50] Austria itself was now facing the direct threat of invasion from across the border in Bavaria where the state's Elector, Maximilian Emanuel, had declared for the Bourbons in August the previous year. Meanwhile, in Hungary a small-scale revolt had broken out in May and was fast gaining momentum. With the monarchy at the point of complete financial breakdown Leopold I was at last persuaded to change the government. At the end of June 1703 Gundaker Starhemberg replaced Gotthard Salaburg as President of the Treasury, and Prince Eugene succeeded Henry Mansfeld as the new President of the Imperial War Council (Hofkriegsratspräsident).[51]

As head of the war council Eugene was now part of the Emperor's inner circle, and the first president since Raimondo Montecuccoli to remain an active commander. Immediate steps were taken to improve efficiency within the army: encouragement and, where possible, money, was sent to the commanders in the field; promotion and honours were distributed according to service rather than influence; and discipline improved. But the Austrian monarchy faced severe peril on several fronts in 1703: by June the Duke of Villars had reinforced the Elector of Bavaria on the Danube thus posing a direct threat to Vienna, while Vendôme remained at the head of a large army in northern Italy opposing Guido Starhemberg's weak Imperial force. Of equal alarm was Francis II Rákóczi's revolt which, by the end of the year, had reached as far as Moravia and Lower Austria.[52]

Blenheim edit

 
The Duke of Marlborough greeting Prince Eugene of Savoy mounted after their victory at Blenheim by Robert Alexander Hillingford.

Dissension between Villars and the Elector of Bavaria had prevented an assault on Vienna in 1703, but in the Courts of Versailles and Madrid, ministers confidently anticipated the city's fall.[53] The Imperial ambassador in London, Count Wratislaw, had pressed for Anglo-Dutch assistance on the Danube as early as February 1703, but the crisis in southern Europe seemed remote from the Court of St. James's where colonial and commercial considerations were more to the fore of men's minds.[54] Only a handful of statesmen in England or the Dutch Republic realized the true implications of Austria's peril; foremost amongst these was the English Captain-General, the Duke of Marlborough.[55]

By early 1704 Marlborough had resolved to march south and rescue the situation in southern Germany and on the Danube, personally requesting the presence of Eugene on campaign so as to have "a supporter of his zeal and experience".[56] The Allied commanders met for the first time at the small village of Mundelsheim on 10 June, and immediately formed a close rapport—the two men becoming, in the words of Thomas Lediard, 'Twin constellations in glory'.[57] This professional and personal bond ensured mutual support on the battlefield, enabling many successes during the Spanish Succession war. The first of these victories, and the most celebrated, came on 13 August 1704 at the Battle of Blenheim. Eugene commanded the right wing of the Allied army, holding the Elector of Bavaria's and Marshal Marsin's superior forces, while Marlborough broke through the Marshal Tallard's center, inflicting over 30,000 casualties. The battle proved decisive: Vienna was saved and Bavaria was knocked out of the war. Both Allied commanders were full of praise for each other's performance. Eugene's holding operation, and his pressure for action leading up to the battle, proved crucial for the Allied success.[58]

In Europe Blenheim is regarded as much a victory for Eugene as it is for Marlborough, a sentiment echoed by Sir Winston Churchill (Marlborough's descendant and biographer), who pays tribute to "the glory of Prince Eugene, whose fire and spirit had exhorted the wonderful exertions of his troops."[59] France now faced the real danger of invasion, but Leopold I in Vienna was still under severe strain: Rákóczi's revolt was a major threat; and Guido Starhemberg and Victor Amadeus (who had once again switched loyalties and rejoined the Grand Alliance in 1703) had been unable to halt the French under Vendôme in northern Italy. Only Amadeus' capital, Turin, held on.

Turin and Toulon edit

Eugene returned to Italy in April 1705, but his attempts to move west towards Turin were thwarted by Vendôme's skilful manoeuvres. Lacking boats and bridging materials, and with desertion and sickness rife within his army, the outnumbered Imperial commander was helpless. Leopold I's assurances of money and men had proved illusory, but desperate appeals from Amadeus and criticism from Vienna goaded the Prince into action, resulting in the Imperialists' bloody defeat at the Battle of Cassano on 16 August.[60] Following Leopold I's death and the accession of Joseph I to the Imperial throne in May 1705, Eugene began to receive the personal backing he desired. Joseph I proved to be a strong supporter of Eugene's supremacy in military affairs; he was the most effective emperor the Prince served and the one he was happiest under.[61] Promising support, Joseph I persuaded Eugene to return to Italy and restore Habsburg honour.

 
Eugene's major engagements in the Italian theatre during the War of the Spanish Succession.

The Imperial commander arrived in theatre in mid-April 1706, just in time to organize an orderly retreat of what was left of Count Reventlow's inferior army following his defeat by Vendôme at the Battle of Calcinato on 19 April. Vendôme now prepared to defend the lines along the River Adige, determined to keep Eugene cooped to the east while the Marquis of La Feuillade threatened Turin. Feigning attacks along the Adige, Eugene descended south across the river Po in mid-July, outmanoeuvring the French commander and gaining a favourable position from which he could at last move west towards Piedmont and relieve Savoy's capital.[62]

 
Prince Eugene by Jacob van Schuppen.

Events elsewhere now had major consequences for the war in Italy. With Villeroi's crushing defeat by Marlborough at the Battle of Ramillies on 23 May, Louis XIV recalled Vendôme north to take command of French forces in Flanders. It was a transfer that Saint-Simon considered something of a deliverance for the French commander who was "now beginning to feel the unlikelihood of success (in Italy)[63] ... for Prince Eugene, with the reinforcements[64] that had joined him after the Battle of Calcinato, had entirely changed the outlook in that theatre of the war."[65] The Duke of Orléans, under the direction of Marsin, replaced Vendôme, but indecision and disorder in the French camp led to their undoing. After uniting his forces with Victor Amadeus at Villastellone in early September, Eugene attacked, overwhelmed, and decisively defeated the French forces besieging Turin on 7 September. Eugene's success broke the French hold on northern Italy, and the whole Po valley fell under Allied control. Eugene had gained a victory as signal as his colleague had at Ramillies—"It is impossible for me to express the joy it has given me;" wrote Marlborough, "for I not only esteem but I really love the prince. This glorious action must bring France so low, that if our friends could but be persuaded to carry on the war with vigour one year longer, we cannot fail, with the blessing of God, to have such a peace as will give us quiet for all our days."[66]

The Imperial victory in Italy marked the beginning of Austrian rule in Lombardy, and earned Eugene the Governorship of Milan. But the following year was to prove a disappointment for the Prince and the Grand Alliance as a whole. The Emperor and Eugene (whose main goal after Turin was to take Naples and Sicily from Philip duc d'Anjou's supporters), reluctantly agreed to Marlborough's plan for an attack on Toulon—the seat of French naval power in the Mediterranean. Disunion between the Allied commanders—Victor Amadeus, Eugene, and the English Admiral Cloudesley Shovell—doomed the Toulon enterprise to failure. Although Eugene favoured some sort of attack on France's south-eastern border it was clear he felt the expedition impractical, and showed none of the "alacrity which he had displayed on other occasions."[67] Substantial French reinforcements finally brought an end to the venture, and on 22 August 1707, the Imperial army began its retirement. The subsequent capture of Susa could not compensate for the total collapse of the Toulon expedition and with it any hope of an Allied war-winning blow that year.[68]

Oudenarde and Malplaquet edit

 
Prince Eugene at Oudenarde (detail) by Jan van Huchtenburg, who was employed round 1709 to depict ten battle scenes.

At the beginning of 1708 Eugene successfully evaded calls for him to take charge in Spain (in the end Guido Starhemberg was sent), thus enabling him to take command of the Imperial army on the Moselle and once again unite with Marlborough in the Spanish Netherlands.[69] Eugene (without his army) arrived at the Allied camp at Assche, west of Brussels, in early July, providing a welcome boost to morale after the early defection of Bruges and Ghent to the French. " ... our affairs improved through God's support and Eugene's aid", wrote the Prussian General Natzmer, "whose timely arrival raised the spirits of the army again and consoled us."[70] Heartened by the Prince's confidence the Allied commanders devised a bold plan to engage the French army under Vendôme and the Duke of Burgundy. On 10 July the Anglo-Dutch army made a forced march to surprise the French, reaching the River Scheldt just as the enemy was crossing to the north. The ensuing battle on 11 July—more a contact action rather than a set-piece engagement—ended in a resounding success for the Allies, aided by the dissension of the two French commanders.[71] While Marlborough remained in overall command, Eugene had led the crucial right flank and centre. Once again the Allied commanders had co-operated remarkably well. "Prince Eugene and I", wrote the Duke, "shall never differ about our share of the laurels."[72]

 
Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722) by Adriaen van der Werff. Eugene became Allied commander-in-chief following Marlborough's dismissal in 1711.

Marlborough now favoured a bold advance along the coast to bypass the major French fortresses, followed by a march on Paris. But fearful of unprotected supply-lines, the Dutch and Eugene favoured a more cautious approach. Marlborough acquiesced and resolved upon the siege of Vauban's great fortress, Lille.[73] While the Duke commanded the covering force, Eugene oversaw the siege of the town which surrendered on 22 October but Marshal Boufflers did not yield the citadel until 10 December. Yet for all the difficulties of the siege (Eugene was badly wounded above his left eye by a musket ball, and even survived an attempt to poison him), the campaign of 1708 had been a remarkable success. The French were driven out of almost all the Spanish Netherlands. "He who has not seen this", wrote Eugene, "has seen nothing."[74]

The recent defeats, together with the severe winter of 1708–09, had caused extreme famine and privation in France. Louis XIV was close to accepting Allied terms, but the conditions demanded by the leading Allied negotiators, Anthonie Heinsius, Charles Townshend, Marlborough, and Eugene—principally that Louis XIV should use his own troops to force Philip V off the Spanish throne—proved unacceptable to the French. Neither Eugene nor Marlborough had objected to the Allied demands at the time, but neither wanted the war with France to continue, and would have preferred further talks to deal with the Spanish issue. But the French King offered no further proposals.[75] Lamenting the collapse of the negotiations, and aware of the vagaries of war, Eugene wrote to the Emperor in mid-June 1709. "There can be no doubt that the next battle will be the biggest and bloodiest that has yet been fought."[76]

After the fall of Tournai on 3 September (itself a major undertaking),[77] the Allied generals turned their attention towards Mons. Marshal Villars, recently joined by Boufflers, moved his army south-west of the town and began to fortify his position. Marlborough and Eugene favoured an engagement before Villars could render his position impregnable; but they also agreed to wait for reinforcements from Tournai which did not arrive until the following night, thus giving the French further opportunity to prepare their defences. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the attack, the Allied generals did not shrink from their original determination.[78] The subsequent Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11 September 1709, was the bloodiest engagement of the war. On the left flank, the Prince of Orange led his Dutch infantry in desperate charges only to have it cut to pieces; on the other flank, Eugene attacked and suffered almost as severely. But sustained pressure on his extremities forced Villars to weaken his centre, thus enabling Marlborough to break through and claim victory. Villars was unable to save Mons, which subsequently capitulated on 21 October, but his resolute defence at Malplaquet—inflicting up to 25% casualties on the Allies—may have saved France from destruction.[79]

Final campaigning: Eugene alone edit

In August 1709 Eugene's chief political opponent and critic in Vienna, Prince Salm, retired as court chamberlain. Eugene and Wratislaw were now the undisputed leaders of the Austrian government: all major departments of state were in their hands or those of their political allies.[80] Another attempt at a negotiated settlement at Geertruidenberg in April 1710 failed, largely because the English Whigs still felt strong enough to refuse concessions, while Louis XIV saw little reason to accept what he had refused the previous year. Eugene and Marlborough could not be accused of wrecking the negotiations, but neither showed regret at the breakdown of the talks. There was no alternative but to continue the war, and in June the Allied commanders captured Douai. This success was followed by a series of minor sieges, and by the close of 1710 the Allies had cleared much of France's protective ring of fortresses. Yet there had been no final, decisive breakthrough, and this was to be the last year that Eugene and Marlborough would work together.[81]

 
Portrait of Eugene from the school of Godfrey Kneller, 1712.

Following the death of Joseph I on 17 April 1711 his brother, Charles, the pretender to the Spanish throne, became emperor. In England the new Tory government (the 'peace party' who had deposed the Whigs in October 1710) declared their unwillingness to see Charles VI become Emperor as well as King of Spain, and had already begun secret negotiations with the French. In January 1712 Eugene arrived in England hoping to divert the government away from its peace policy, but despite the social success the visit was a political failure: Queen Anne and her ministers remained determined to end the war regardless of the Allies. Eugene had also arrived too late to save Marlborough who, seen by the Tories as the main obstacle to peace, had already been dismissed on charges of embezzlement. Elsewhere the Austrians had made some progress—the Hungarian revolt had finally came to end. Although Eugene would have preferred to crush the rebels the Emperor had offered lenient conditions, leading to the signing of the Treaty of Szatmár on 30 April 1711.[82]

 
Following his victory in northern Italy, Eugene fought primarily in the Low Countries during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Hoping to influence public opinion in England and force the French into making substantial concessions, Eugene prepared for a major campaign. But on 21 May 1712—when the Tories felt they had secured favourable terms with their unilateral talks with the French—the Duke of Ormonde (Marlborough's successor) received the so-called 'restraining orders', forbidding him to take part in any military action.[83] Eugene took the fortress of Le Quesnoy in early July, before besieging Landrecies, but Villars, taking advantage of Allied disunity, outmanoeuvred Eugene and defeated the Earl of Albermarle's Dutch garrison at the Battle of Denain on 24 July. The French followed the victory by seizing the Allies' main supply magazine at Marchiennes, before reversing their earlier losses at Douai, Le Quesnoy and Bouchain. In one summer the whole forward Allied position laboriously built up over the years to act as the springboard into France had been precipitously abandoned.[84]

With the death in December of his friend and close political ally, Count Wratislaw, Eugene became undisputed 'first minister' in Vienna. His position was built on his military successes, but his actual power was expressed through his role as president of the war council, and as de facto president of the conference which dealt with foreign policy.[85] In this position of influence Eugene took the lead in pressing Charles VI towards peace. The government had come to accept that further war in the Netherlands or Spain was impossible without the aid of the Maritime Powers; yet the Emperor, still hoping that somehow he could place himself on the throne in Spain, refused to make peace at the Utrecht conference along with the other Allies. Reluctantly, Eugene prepared for another campaign, but lacking troops, finance, and supplies his prospects in 1713 were poor. Villars, with superior numbers, was able to keep Eugene guessing as to his true intent. Through successful feints and stratagems Landau fell to the French commander in August, followed in November by Freiburg.[86] Eugene was reluctant to carry on the war, and wrote to the Emperor in June that a bad peace would be better than being 'ruined equally by friend and foe'.[87] With Austrian finances exhausted and the German states reluctant to continue the war, Charles VI was compelled to enter into negotiations. Eugene and Villars (who had been old friends since the Turkish campaigns of the 1680s) initiated talks on 26 November. Eugene proved an astute and determined negotiator, and gained favourable terms by the Treaty of Rastatt signed on 7 March 1714 and the Treaty of Baden signed on 7 September 1714.[88] Despite the failed campaign in 1713 the Prince was able to declare that, "in spite of the military superiority of our enemies and the defection of our Allies, the conditions of peace will be more advantageous and more glorious than those we would have obtained at Utrecht."[86]

Austro-Turkish War edit

Main article: Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718)

Eugene's main reason for desiring peace in the west was the growing danger posed by the Turks in the east. Turkish military ambitions had revived after 1711 when they had mauled Peter the Great's army on the River Pruth (Pruth River Campaign): in December 1714 Sultan Ahmed III's forces attacked the Venetians in the Kingdom of the Morea.[89] To Vienna it was clear that the Turks intended to attack Hungary and undo the whole Karlowitz settlement of 1699. After the Sublime Porte rejected an offer of mediation in April 1716, Charles VI despatched Eugene to Hungary to lead his relatively small but professional army. Of all Eugene's wars this was the one in which he exercised most direct control; it was also a war which, for the most part, Austria fought and won on her own.[90]

 
Prince Eugene during the Austro-Turkish War. Artist: Jacob van Schuppen.

Eugene left Vienna in early June 1716 with a field army of between 80,000 and 90,000 men. By early August 1716 the Ottoman Turks, some 200,000 men under the sultan's son-in-law, the Grand Vizier Damat Ali Pasha, were marching from Belgrade towards Eugene's position on the north bank of the Danube west of the fortress of Petrovaradin.[91] The Grand Vizier had intended to seize the fortress; but Eugene gave him no chance to do so. After resisting calls for caution and forgoing a council of war, the Prince decided to attack immediately on the morning of 5 August with approximately 70,000 men.[91][92] The Turkish janissaries had some initial success, but after an Imperial cavalry attack on their flank, Ali Pasha's forces fell into confusion. Although the Imperials lost almost 5,000 dead or wounded, the Turks, who retreated in disorder to Belgrade, seem to have lost double that amount, including the Grand Vizier himself who had entered the mêlée and subsequently died of his wounds.[91]

 
Eugene at the Battle of Belgrade 1717. Artist: Johann Gottfried Auerbach. The battle was Eugene's last great victory.

Eugene proceeded to take the Banat fortress of Temeswar in mid-October 1716 (thus ending 164 years of Turkish rule), before turning his attention to the next campaign and to what he considered the main goal of the war, Belgrade. Situated at the confluence of the Rivers Danube and Sava, Belgrade held a garrison of 30,000 men under Serasker Mustapha Pasha.[93] Imperial troops besieged the place in mid-June 1717, and by the end of July large parts of the city had been destroyed by artillery fire. By the first days of August, however, a huge Turkish field army (150,000–200,000 strong), under the new Grand Vizier Hacı Halil Pasha had arrived on the plateau east of the city to relieve the garrison.[94] News spread through Europe of Eugene's imminent destruction; but he had no intention of lifting the siege.[95] With his men suffering from dysentery, and continuous bombardment from the plateau, Eugene, aware that a decisive victory alone could extricate his army, decided to attack the relief force. On the morning of 16 August, 40,000 Imperial troops marched through the fog, caught the Turks unaware, and routed Halil Pasha's army; a week later Belgrade surrendered, effectively bringing an end to the war. The victory was the crowning point of Eugene's military career and had confirmed him as the leading European general. His ability to snatch victory at the moment of defeat had shown the prince at his best.[96]

The principal objectives of the war had been achieved: the task Eugene had begun at Zenta was complete, and the Karlowitz settlement secured. By the terms of the Treaty of Passarowitz, signed on 21 July 1718, the Turks surrendered the Banat of Temeswar, along with Belgrade and most of Serbia, although they regained the Morea from the Venetians. The war had dispelled the immediate Turkish threat to Hungary and was a triumph for Austria and for Eugene personally.[97]

Quadruple Alliance edit

Main article: War of the Quadruple Alliance
 
Charles VI (1685–1740), by Johann Gottfried Auerbach. Eugene served Emperor Charles VI for the last 25 years of his life.

While Eugene fought the Turks in the east, unresolved issues following the Utrecht/Rastatt settlements led to hostilities between the Emperor and Philip V of Spain in the west. Charles VI had refused to recognise Philip V as King of Spain, a title which he himself claimed; in return, Philip V had refused to renounce his claims to Naples, Milan, and the Netherlands, all of which had transferred to the House of Austria following the Spanish Succession war. Philip V was roused by his influential wife, Elisabeth Farnese, daughter of the Hereditary Prince of Parma, who personally held dynastic claims in the name of her son, Charles, to the duchies of Tuscany, Parma and Piacenza.[98] Representatives from a newly formed Anglo-French alliance—who were desirous of European peace for their own dynastic securities and trade opportunities—called on both parties to recognise each other's sovereignty. Yet Philip V remained intractable, and on 22 August 1717 his chief minister, Alberoni, effected the invasion of Austrian Sardinia in what seemed like the beginning of the reconquest of Spain's former Italian empire.[99]

Eugene returned to Vienna from his recent victory at Belgrade (before the conclusion of the Turkish war) determined to prevent an escalation of the conflict, complaining that, "two wars cannot be waged with one army";[99] only reluctantly did the Prince release some troops from the Balkans for the Italian campaign. Rejecting all diplomatic overtures Philip V unleashed another assault in June 1718, this time against Savoyard Sicily as a preliminary to attacking the Italian mainland. Realizing that only the British fleet could prevent further Spanish landings, and that pro-Spanish groups in France might push the regent, Duke of Orléans, into war against Austria, Charles VI had no option but to sign the Quadruple Alliance on 2 August 1718, and formally renounce his claim to Spain.[100] Despite the Spanish fleet's destruction off Cape Passaro, Philip V and Elisabeth remained resolute, and rejected the treaty.

Although Eugene could have gone south after the conclusion of the Turkish war, he chose instead to conduct operations from Vienna; but Austria's military effort in Sicily proved derisory, and Eugene's chosen commanders, Zum Jungen, and later Count Mercy, performed poorly.[101] It was only from pressure exerted by the French army advancing into the Basque provinces of northern Spain in April 1719, and the British Navy's attacks on the Spanish fleet and shipping, that compelled Philip V and Elisabeth to dismiss Alberoni and join the Quadruple Alliance on 25 January 1720. Nevertheless, the Spanish attacks had strained Charles VI's government, causing tension between the Emperor and his Spanish Council[102] on the one hand, and the conference, headed by Eugene, on the other. Despite Charles VI's own personal ambitions in the Mediterranean it was clear to the Emperor that Eugene had put the safeguarding of his conquests in Hungary before everything else, and that military failure in Sicily also had to rest on Eugene. Consequently, the Prince's influence over the Emperor declined considerably.[103]

Later life (1721–36) edit

Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands edit

Eugene had become governor of the Austrian Netherlands—in June 1716, but he was an absent ruler, directing policy from Vienna through his chosen representative the Marquis of Prié.[104] Prié proved unpopular with the local population and the guilds who, following the Barrier Treaty of 1715, were obliged to meet the financial demands of the administration and the Dutch barrier garrisons; with Eugene's backing and encouragement, civil disturbances in Antwerp and Brussels were forcibly suppressed. After displeasing the Emperor over his initial opposition to the formation of the Ostend Company, Prié also lost the support of the native nobility from within his own council of state in Brussels, particularly from the Marquis de Mérode-Westerloo. One of Eugene's former favourites, General Bonneval, also joined the noblemen in opposition to Prié, further undermining the Prince. When Prié's position became untenable, Eugene felt compelled to resign his post as governor of the Austrian Netherlands on 16 November 1724. As compensation, Charles VI conferred on him the honorary position as vicar-general of Italy, worth 140,000 gulden a year, and an estate at Siebenbrunn in Lower Austria said to be worth double that amount.[105] But his resignation distressed him, and to compound his concerns Eugene caught a severe bout of influenza that Christmas, marking the beginning of permanent bronchitis and acute infections every winter for the remaining twelve years of his life.[106]

'Cold war' edit

The 1720s saw rapidly changing alliances between the European powers and almost constant diplomatic confrontation, largely over unsolved issues regarding the Quadruple Alliance. The Emperor and the Spanish king continued to use each other's titles, and Charles VI still refused to remove the remaining legal obstacles to Don Charles' eventual succession to the duchies of Parma and Tuscany. Yet in a surprise move Spain and Austria moved closer with the signing of the Treaty of Vienna in April/May 1725.[107] In response Britain, France, and Prussia joined together in the Alliance of Hanover to counter the danger to Europe of an Austro-Spanish hegemony.[108] For the next three years there was the continual threat of war between the Hanover Treaty powers and the Austro-Spanish bloc.

 
Prince Eugene by Jan Kupecký.

From 1726, Eugene gradually began to regain his political influence. With his many contacts throughout Europe Eugene, backed by Gundaker Starhemberg and Count Schönborn, the Imperial vice-chancellor, managed to secure powerful allies and strengthen the Emperor's position—his skill in managing the vast secret diplomatic network over the coming years was the main reason why Charles VI once again came to depend upon him.[109] In August 1726 Russia acceded to the Austro-Spanish alliance, and in October Frederick William I of Prussia followed suit by defecting from the Allies with the signing of a mutual defensive treaty with the Emperor.[110]

 
Coalitions in Europe between 1725 and 1730. Signatories of the Treaty of Vienna (30 April 1725) in blue and signatories of the Treaty of Hanover (3 September 1725) in red. Prussia, in brown, first joined the Hanoverian Alliance, but later changed sides after the Treaty of Berlin on 23 December 1728.

Despite the conclusion of the brief Anglo-Spanish conflict, manoeuvring between the European powers persisted throughout 1727–28. In 1729 Elisabeth Farnese abandoned the Austro-Spanish alliance. Realizing that Charles VI could not be drawn into the marriage pact she wanted, Elisabeth concluded that the best way to secure her son's succession to Parma and Tuscany now lay with Britain and France. To Eugene it was 'an event that which is seldom to be found in history'.[111] Following the Prince's determined lead to resist all pressure, Charles VI sent troops into Italy to prevent the entry of Spanish garrisons into the contested duchies. By the beginning of 1730 Eugene, who had remained bellicose throughout the whole period, was again in control of Austrian policy.[111]

In Britain there now emerged a new political re-alignment as the Anglo-French entente became increasingly defunct.[112] Believing that a resurgent France now posed the greatest danger to their security British ministers, headed by Robert Walpole, moved to reform the Anglo-Austrian Alliance, leading to the signing of the Second Treaty of Vienna on 16 March 1731.[113][114] Eugene had been the Austrian minister most responsible for the alliance, believing once again it would provide security against France and Spain. The treaty compelled Charles VI to sacrifice the Ostend Company and accept, unequivocally, the accession of Don Charles to Parma and Tuscany. In return King George II as King of Great Britain and Elector of Electorate of Hanover guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, the device to secure the rights of the Emperor's daughter, Maria Theresa, to the entire Habsburg inheritance. It was largely through Eugene's diplomacy that in January 1732 the Imperial diet also guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction which, together with the Treaties with Britain, Russia, and Prussia, marked the culmination of the Prince's diplomacy. But the Treaty of Vienna had infuriated the court of King Louis XV: the French had been ignored and the Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed, thus increasing Habsburg influence and confirming Austria's vast territorial size. The Emperor also intended Maria Theresa to marry Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine which would present an unacceptable threat on France's border. By the beginning of 1733 the French army was ready for war: all that was needed was the excuse.[115]

War of the Polish Succession edit

Main article: War of the Polish Succession
 
Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy in later years by Jan Kupecký.

In 1733 the Polish King and Elector of Saxony, Augustus the Strong, died. There were two candidates for his successor: first, Stanisław Leszczyński, the father-in-law of Louis XV; second, the Elector of Saxony's son, Augustus, supported by Russia, Austria, and Prussia. The Polish succession had afforded Louis XV's chief minister, Fleury, the opportunity to attack Austria and take Lorraine from Francis Stephen. To gain Spanish support France backed the succession of Elisabeth Farnese's sons to further Italian lands.[116][117]

Eugene entered the War of the Polish Succession as President of the Imperial War Council and commander-in-chief of the army, but he was severely handicapped by the quality of his troops and the shortage of funds; now in his seventies, the Prince was also burdened by rapidly declining physical and mental powers. France declared war on Austria on 10 October 1733, but without the funds from the Maritime Powers — who, despite the Vienna treaty, remained neutral throughout the war — Austria could not hire the necessary troops to wage an offensive campaign. "The danger to the monarchy", wrote Eugene to the Emperor in October, "cannot be exaggerated".[118] By the end of the year French forces had seized Lorraine and Milan; by early 1734 Spanish troops had taken Sicily.

Eugene took command on the Rhine in April 1734, but vastly outnumbered he was forced onto the defensive. In June Eugene set out to relieve Philippsburg, yet his former drive and energy was now gone. Accompanying Eugene was a young prince Frederick of Prussia, sent by his father to learn the art of war. Frederick gained considerable knowledge from Eugene, recalling in later life his great debt to his Austrian mentor, but the Prussian prince was aghast at Eugene's condition, writing later, "his body was still there but his soul had gone."[119] Eugene conducted another cautious campaign in 1735, once again pursuing a sensible defensive strategy on limited resources; but his short-term memory was by now practically non-existent, and his political influence disappeared completely—Gundaker Starhemberg and Johann Christoph von Bartenstein now dominated the conference in his place. Fortunately for Charles VI, Fleury was determined to limit the scope of the war, and in October 1735 he granted generous peace preliminaries to the Emperor.[120]

 
Eugene's Stadtpalais, Vienna, where the Prince conducted most of his business.

Later years and death edit

Eugene returned to Vienna from the War of the Polish Succession in October 1735, weak and feeble; when Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen married in February 1736 Eugene was too ill to attend. After playing cards at Countess Batthyány's on the evening of 20 April until nine in the evening, he returned home to the Stadtpalais, his attendant offered him to take his prescribed medicine which Eugene declined.[121]

When his servants arrived to wake him the next morning on 21 April 1736, they found Prince Eugene dead after passing away quietly during the night.[122] It has been said that on the same morning he was discovered dead, the great lion in his menagerie was also found dead.[123]

Eugene's heart was buried with the ashes of his ancestors in Turin, in the Basilica of Superga.[121] His remains were carried in a long procession to St. Stephen's Cathedral, where his embalmed body was buried in the Kreuzkapelle.[124] It is said that the emperor himself attended as a mourner without anybody's knowledge.[121]

The Prince's niece Maria Anna Victoria, whom he had never met, inherited Eugene's immense possessions.[121] Within a few years she sold off the palaces, the country estates and the art collection of a man who had become one of the wealthiest in Europe, after arriving in Vienna as a refugee with empty pockets.[123]

Personal life edit

Being an Italian by descent, a Frenchman by birth, and a German by adoption, Prince Eugene signed himself appropriately using the trilingual form "Eugenio von Savoye" (Italian: Eugenio, German: von, French: Savoye).[125]

Eugene never married and was reported to have said that a woman was a hindrance in a war, and that a soldier should never marry; according to some of his contemporaries, Eugene's loss at the 1712 Battle of Denain was due to the presence of an Italian lady that he took with him on the campaign; this was confirmed by Voltaire who reported meeting the lady in question.[121] According to Nicholas Henderson, Eugene was called "Mars without Venus" for being a lifelong bachelor.[126] Winston Churchill in his biography of the 1st Duke of Marlborough described Eugene as "a bachelor, almost a misogynist, disdainful of money, content with his bright sword and his lifelong animosity against Louis XIV".[127]

 
Hungarian Countess Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann, Viennese court lady and companion of Prince Eugene.[128]

During the last 20 years of his life Eugène had a relationship with one woman, Hungarian Countess Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann, the widowed daughter of the former Hofkanzler Theodor von Strattman.[129] Much of their acquaintance remains speculative since Eugene left no personal papers: only letters of war, diplomacy, and politics.[130] Eugène and Eleonore were constant companions, meeting for dinner, receptions and card games almost every day till his death; although they lived apart most foreign diplomats assumed that Eleonore was his long time mistress.[131][132] It is not known precisely when their relationship began, but his acquisition of a property in Hungary after the Battle of Zenta, near Rechnitz Castle, made them neighbours.[133] In the years immediately following the War of the Spanish Succession she began to be mentioned regularly in diplomatic correspondence as "Eugen's Egeria"[128] and within a few years she was referred to as his constant companion and his mistress.[128] When asked if she and the Prince would marry, Countess Batthyány replied: "I love him too well for that, I would rather have a bad reputation than deprive him of his".[134]

Rumours about Eugene's sexual orientation can be traced back to his teenage years. It has since been established that the source of these rumours was Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans, a renowned gossipmonger at Versailles, whose husband Philippe I, Duke of Orléans happened to be the brother of French King Louis XIV, Eugene's lifelong adversary.[135] The Duchess documented what she claimed were youthful indiscretions involving Eugene, including alleged incidents with lackeys and pages. According to her, he was denied an ecclesiastical benefice due to his "depravity".[136][137] Eugene's biographer, historian Helmut Oehler, acknowledged the Duchess's comments but attributed them to her personal animosity toward the Prince.[130] In his memoirs, Eugene, aware of the malicious rumours, derisively addressed them, calling them "the invented anecdotes from the gallery of Versailles”.[13] Whether or not Eugene had homosexual relationships in his youth, the Duchess's remarks about him were made years later, and only after Eugene had severely humiliated the armies of her brother-in-law, the King of France. Following Eugene's departure from France at nineteen, and spanning until his death at seventy-two, there were no subsequent insinuations of homosexuality.[138][2]

Being among the wealthiest and most celebrated figures of his era inevitably led to animosity for Eugene, as envy and malice trailed him from the battlefields to Vienna. His former subordinate Guido Starhemberg emerged as a persistent and bitter critic of Eugene's renown.[121] Starhemberg, according to Montesquieu, gained notoriety at the court of Vienna as Eugene's primary rival.[139] In a letter to a friend, Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, another bitter rival who had served under Eugene in the War of the Spanish Succession, expressed disdain for the prince.[140] Schulenburg, whose ambitions to command the Austrian army had been thwarted by Eugene, wrote that the prince "has no idea but to fight whenever the opportunity offers; he thinks that nothing equals the name of Imperialists, before whom all should bend the knee. He loves la petite débauche et la p---- above all things.[141] German journalist Curt Martin Riess, reads it as "a testament to sodomy," while Eugene's primary biographer, German historian Max Braubach, interpreted "la p..." as referring to Paillardize (fornication), Prostitution, or Puterie, i.e. Whoring.[142]

During his tenure as Governor-General of the Austrian Netherlands, Eugene developed a reputation for frequenting an exclusive brothel on Amsterdam's Prinsengracht. The keeper of the establishment, known as Madame Therese, was familiar with Eugene's patronage. Notably, Eugene once brought the English consul in Amsterdam with him.[143] A drawing by Cornelis Troost, housed at the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, illustrates a scene in which Prince Eugene had "the 'available' women parade in review, just as he did his own troops," according to the museum. Troost based his drawing on an anecdote circulating at the time.[144]

Eugene's other friends such as the papal nuncio, Passionei, who delivered the funeral oration of Prince Eugene, made up for the family he lacked. For his only surviving nephew, Emmanuel, the son of his brother Louis Thomas, Eugene arranged marriage with one of the daughters of Prince Liechtenstein, but Emmanuel died of smallpox in 1729. With the death of Emmanuel's son in 1734, no close male relatives remained to succeed the Prince. His closest relative, therefore, was Louis Thomas's unmarried daughter, Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy, daughter of his eldest brother, the count of Soissons, whom Eugene had never met and had made no effort to do so.[145]

Patron of the arts edit

 
Portrait of Prince Eugene by Jacob van Schuppen.

Eugene's rewards for his victories, his share of booty, his revenues from his abbeys in Savoy, and a steady income from his Imperial offices and governorships, enabled him to contribute to the landscape of Baroque architecture[146] Eugene spent most of his life in Vienna at his Winter Palace, the Stadtpalais, built by Fischer von Erlach. The palace acted as his official residence and home, but for reasons that remain speculative the Prince's association with Fischer ended before the building was complete, favouring instead Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as his chief architect.[147] Eugene first employed Hildebrandt to finish the Stadtpalais before commissioning him to prepare plans for a palace (Savoy Castle) on his Danubian island at Ráckeve. Begun in 1701 the single-story building took twenty years to complete; yet, probably because of the Rákóczi revolt, the Prince seems to have visited it only once—after the siege of Belgrade in 1717.[148]

Of more importance was the grandiose complex of the two Belvedere palaces in Vienna. The single-storey Lower Belvedere, with its exotic gardens and zoo, was completed in 1716. The Upper Belvedere, completed between 1720 and 1722, is a more substantial building; with sparkling white stucco walls and copper roof, it became a wonder of Europe. Eugene and Hildebrandt also converted an existing structure on his Marchfeld estate into a country seat, the Schloss Hof, situated between the Rivers Danube and Morava.[149] The building, completed in 1729, was far less elaborate than his other projects but it was strong enough to serve as a fortress in case of need. Eugene spent much of his spare time there in his last years accommodating large hunting parties.[150]

 
Upper Belvedere, Vienna, the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy

In the years following the Peace of Rastatt Eugene became acquainted with a large number of scholarly men. Given his position and responsiveness, they were keen to meet him: few could exist without patronage and this was probably the main reason for Gottfried Leibniz's association with him in 1714.[151] Eugene also befriended the French writer Jean-Baptiste Rousseau who, by 1716, was receiving financial support from Eugene. Rousseau stayed on attached to the Prince's household, probably helping in the library, until he left for the Netherlands in 1722.[152] Another acquaintance, Montesquieu, already famous for his Persian Letters when he arrived in Vienna in 1728, favourably recalled his time spent at the Prince's table. Nevertheless, Eugene had no literary pretensions of his own, and was not tempted like Maurice de Saxe or Marshal Villars to write his memoirs or books on the art of war. He did, however, become a collector on the grandest scale: his picture galleries were filled with 16th- and 17th-century Italian, Dutch and Flemish art;[153] his library at the Stadtpalais crammed with over 15,000 books, 237 manuscripts as well as a huge collection of prints (of particular interest were books on natural history and geography). "It is hardly believable", wrote Rousseau, "that a man who carries on his shoulders the burden of almost all the affairs of Europe ... should find as much time to read as though he had nothing else to do."[154]

At Eugene's death his possessions and estates, except those in Hungary which the crown reclaimed, went to his niece, Princess Maria Anna Victoria, who at once decided to sell everything. The artwork was bought by Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia. Eugene's library, prints and drawings were purchased by the Emperor in 1737 and have since passed into Austrian national collections.[124]

Historical reputation and legacy edit

Napoleon considered Eugene one of the eight greatest commanders of history.[156] Although later military critics have disagreed with that assessment, Eugene was undoubtedly the greatest Austrian general.[157] He was no military innovator, but he had the ability to make an inadequate system work. He was equally adept as an organiser, strategist, and tactician, believing in the primacy of battle and his ability to seize the opportune moment to launch a successful attack.[158] "The important thing", wrote Maurice de Saxe in his Reveries, "is to see the opportunity and to know how to use it. Prince Eugene possessed this quality which is the greatest in the art of war and which is the test of the most elevated genius."[159] This fluidity was key to his battlefield successes in Italy and in his wars against the Turks. Nevertheless, in the Low Countries, particularly after the battle of Oudenarde in 1708, Eugene, like his cousin Louis of Baden, tended to play safe and become bogged down in a conservative strategy of sieges and defending supply lines. After the attempt on Toulon in 1707, he also became very wary of combined land/sea operations.[73] To historian Derek McKay the main criticism of him as a general is his legacy—he left no school of officers nor an army able to function without him.[158]

Eugene was a disciplinarian—when ordinary soldiers disobeyed orders he was prepared to shoot them himself—but he rejected blind brutality, writing "you should only be harsh when, as often happens, kindness proves useless".[160]

 
Eugene's monument in Heldenplatz, Vienna, by Anton Dominik Fernkorn.

On the battlefield Eugene demanded courage in his subordinates, and expected his men to fight where and when he wanted; his criteria for promotion were based primarily on obedience to orders and courage on the battlefield rather than social position. On the whole, his men responded because he was willing to push himself as hard as them. His position as President of the Imperial War Council proved less successful. Following the long period of peace after the Austro-Turkish War, the idea of creating a separate field army or providing garrison troops with effective training for them to be turned into such an army quickly was never considered by Eugene. By the time of the War of the Polish Succession, therefore, the Austrians were outclassed by a better prepared French force. For this Eugene was largely to blame—in his view (unlike the drilling and manoeuvres carried out by the Prussians which to Eugene seemed irrelevant to real warfare) the time to create actual fighting men was when war came.[161]

Although Frederick II of Prussia had been struck by the muddle of the Austrian army and its poor organisation during the Polish Succession war, he later amended his initial harsh judgements. "If I understand anything of my trade", commented Frederick in 1758, "especially in the more difficult aspects, I owe that advantage to Prince Eugene. From him I learnt to hold grand objectives constantly in view, and direct all my resources to those ends."[162] To historian Christopher Duffy it was this awareness of the 'grand strategy' that was Eugene's legacy to Frederick.[162]

To his responsibilities, Eugene attached his own personal values — physical courage, loyalty to his sovereign, honesty, self-control in all things — and he expected these qualities from his commanders. Eugene's approach was dictatorial, but he was willing to co-operate with someone he regarded as his equal, such as Baden or Marlborough. Yet the contrast with his co-commander of the Spanish Succession war was stark. According to Churchill, "Marlborough was the model husband and father, concerned with building up a home, founding a family, and gathering a fortune to sustain it", whereas Eugene, the bachelor, was "disdainful of money, content with his bright sword and his lifelong animosities against Louis XIV".[163] The result was an austere figure, inspiring respect and admiration rather than affection.[164]

Sicco van Goslinga, one of the Dutch field deputies who worked very close with Eugene during his campaigns with Marlborough, described him in his memoires as follows:

He had untameable courage and outdid himself during battle and in all undertakings where vigorous action was required. But he was less skilled in matters requiring brainwork, perseverance, prudence and constant attention, like when it was necessary to take up a defensive position, carefully supply it with everything necessary for its preservation and watch over its security. He was unable to concern himself with [logistical] ancillary matters, which are so necessary for the security of an army. It was said that he needed a new army every year, implying that he had little concern for the lives of soldiers.[165]

Memorials edit

Places and monuments edit

 
Eugene's statue, Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary.
  • A huge equestrian statue in the centre of Vienna commemorates Eugene's achievements. It is inscribed on one side, 'To the wise counsellor of three Emperors', and on the other, 'To the glorious conqueror of Austria's enemies'.[166]
  • A prominent equestrian statue of Eugene sculpted by József Róna overlooks the Danube Promenade from the royal gardens of Buda Castle in Budapest. Erected in 1900, it was originally meant as a placeholder for a planned equestrian statue of Franz Joseph I, which was ultimately never completed.[167]
  • Prinz-Eugen-Kapelle, a chapel located at the northern corner of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna[168]
  • Prinz-Eugen-Straße a street in Vienna in use since 1890; Until 1911 a street in Döbling was also named Prinz-Eugen-Straße, since then the street connects Schwarzenbergplatz with the Wiedner Gürtel leading past the Belvedere Palace.[169]
  • Strada Eugeniu de Savoya, a street in central part of Timișoara, Romania and the nearby house of Prinz Eugene of Savoy, built in 1817, over the old entrance gate of the Timișoara, used by the general when entering in the conquered city in 1716.

Warships edit

Several ships have been named in Eugene's honour:

Other edit

Arms edit

Coat of arms of Prince Eugene of Savoy
 

Ancestry edit

See also edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Eugene of Savoy.

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ French: Eugène François; German: Eugen Franz; Italian: Eugenio Francesco
  2. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, pp. 9–10.
  3. ^ Somerset 2014, p. 252.
  4. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 9.
  5. ^ Bancks 1741, p. 2.
  6. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 9.
  7. ^ Orléans, Charlotte & Forster 1984, p. 2.
  8. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 10: the Duchess's remarks about Eugene were made years later, and only after Eugene had entered the service of France's sworn enemies, the Habsburgs.
  9. ^ Heer 2002, p. 228: This was a clear infringement of taboo which Louis could not tolerate. There is speculation of other reasons. Louvois, Louis' Secretary of State for War, detested Eugene's mother after she had rejected a proposed marriage between her daughter and his son.
  10. ^ Heer gives Eugene's departure date as 21 July 1683.
  11. ^ di Savoia, E. (1811). Mémoires du prince Eugène de Savoie écrits par lui-même (in French). chez Duprat-Duverger réimprimé à St.-Pétesbourg.
  12. ^ François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French Secretary of State for War
  13. ^ a b de Ligne & Mudford 1811, p. 18.
  14. ^ Childs: Warfare in the Seventeenth Century, 133. Childs puts the number at 100,000; John Wolf, as high as 200,000.
  15. ^ Stoye 2007, p. 114.
  16. ^ a b Henderson 1964, p. 12.
  17. ^ Churchill 1933, p. 467.
  18. ^ The life of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Charles de Ligne
  19. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 13.
  20. ^ MacMunn 1934, p. 32.
  21. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 22.
  22. ^ MacMunn 1934, p. 35.
  23. ^ Setton & American Philosophical Society 1991, pp. 287–289.
  24. ^ MacMunn 1934, p. 39: Leopold responded with a gift of a portrait of himself set in a diamond-encrusted frame
  25. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 27.
  26. ^ Lynn: The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714, pp. 192–193
  27. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 33.
  28. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 32.
  29. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 33.
  30. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 34: "His promotion had as much to do with the lack of good Imperial commanders as much as Eugene's proven ability thus far. There were more than 20 other Field-Marshals in Imperial service at that time.
  31. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 37.
  32. ^ Setton & American Philosophical Society 1991, p. 390.
  33. ^ Spielman 1977, p. 165: Augustus II left for Kraków to contest the election for the Polish throne, vacant since the death of John III Sobieski the previous year.
  34. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 43.
  35. ^ Spielman 1977, p. 166.
  36. ^ Wheatcroft, A. (2009). The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe. Random House. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-4090-8682-6.
  37. ^ Coxe 1807, pp. 455–456.
  38. ^ Setton & American Philosophical Society 1991, pp. 401–402: Eugene lost 401 men and 28 officers killed, and 133 officers and 1,435 men were wounded.
  39. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 43.
  40. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 46.
  41. ^ Henderson 1964, pp. 50–51.
  42. ^ Coxe 1807, p. 457.
  43. ^ Wolf 1951, p. 59.
  44. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 60.
  45. ^ Coxe 1807, p. 483.
  46. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 67.
  47. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 64.
  48. ^ Lynn: The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714, 276
  49. ^ Spielman 1977, p. 188.
  50. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 66: "Eugene was in no doubt that the blame lay with Leopold and his ministry, namely Henry Mansfeld and Gotthard Salaburg.
  51. ^ Spielman 1977, p. 189.
  52. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 73.
  53. ^ Chandler 1989, p. 124.
  54. ^ Chandler 1989, p. 125.
  55. ^ Chandler 1989, p. 126.
  56. ^ Churchill 1933, p. 731.
  57. ^ Lediard: The Life of John, Duke of Marlborough, I, p. 199
  58. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 87.
  59. ^ Churchill 1933, p. 865.
  60. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 15.
  61. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 94.
  62. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 17.
  63. ^ de Rouvroy duc de Saint-Simon, Norton & Brogan 1967, p. 1.
  64. ^ The Duke of Marlborough had supplied Eugene with 10,000 reinforcements, as well as a loan of £250,000.
  65. ^ Saint-Simon. Memoirs, 303
  66. ^ Churchill 2002, p. 182: Eugene took little interest in Milan: he never returned after 1707.
  67. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 28.
  68. ^ Chandler 1989, p. 199.
  69. ^ Eugene's army was made up almost entirely of Germans paid for by Britain and the Dutch Republic.
  70. ^ Churchill 2002, p. 350:It was also at this time that Eugene visited his mortally ill mother in Brussels for the last time. She died later that year in 1708.
  71. ^ Lynn: The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714, 319
  72. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 162.
  73. ^ a b Chandler 1989, p. 224.
  74. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 117: "When King Louis XIV heard about Eugene's wound, he remarked, "I certainly don't want Prince Eugene to die but I should not be sorry if his wound stopped him taking any further part in the campaign."
  75. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 121.
  76. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 171.
  77. ^ Chandler 1989, p. 249:Coxe says the citadel fell on 4 September. Chandler describes the siege as one of the hardest fought and least pleasant of modern history. This time, Marlborough conducted the siege while Eugene commanded the covering force.
  78. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 58.
  79. ^ Lynn: The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714, p. 335
  80. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 128.
  81. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, pp. 130–131.
  82. ^ Lynn gives the signing date as 1 May
  83. ^ Wolf 1951, p. 89: Although the Tory ministers did not inform Eugene of the restraining orders, they did inform Marshal Villars. In October 1712 the Tory government even communicated to the French what they knew of Eugene's war plans.
  84. ^ Lynn: The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714, pp. 352–354
  85. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 154.
  86. ^ a b Lynn: The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714, p. 357
  87. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 145.
  88. ^ For a detailed description of Prince Eugene's role in the peace conference and treaty of Baden see Das Diarium des Badener Friedens 1714 von Caspar Joseph Dorer. Mit Einleitung und Kommentar herausgegeben von Barbara Schmid (= Beiträge zur Aargauer Geschichte. 18). Baden: Hier und Jetzt, 2014, ISBN 978-3-03919-327-1.
  89. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 100.
  90. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, pp. 159–160.
  91. ^ a b c Setton & American Philosophical Society 1991, p. 435.
  92. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 161.
  93. ^ Setton & American Philosophical Society 1991, pp. 438–439.
  94. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 102.
  95. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 165.
  96. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 166.
  97. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 221.
  98. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 106.
  99. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 170.
  100. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 108.
  101. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 172: "Isolated Spanish troops held on around Palermo till the end of 1719, while no expedition could even be attempted on Sardinia.
  102. ^ The Spanish Council consisted of Spaniards and Italians who had followed Charles VI from Spain after the Spanish Succession war. The most senior member of the council and an implacable enemy of Eugene was the Archbishop of Valencia, Antonio Folch de Cardona; but the most important members were Count Stella and the Marquis Ramon de Rialp. The council controlled Charles VI's lands in Italy.
  103. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 177.
  104. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 180: "Eugene was reluctant to leave his palaces and friends: it would probably have meant his resignation from his chief interest, the war council.
  105. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 186: "Prié stood down in the spring of 1725 to avoid dismissal.
  106. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 187.
  107. ^ Philip V and Elisabeth approached Austria to exploit Charles VI's isolation, and his differences with the Maritime Powers over the Ostend Company. They intended to conclude marriage alliances for their two sons to the Emperor's daughters, aiming to bring their children control of the Habsburg hereditary lands and most of Italy.
  108. ^ Hatton: George I, 274–275: Sweden, Denmark, and the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of Hanover in 1727.
  109. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 213.
  110. ^ Coxe 1820, p. 139: The Allies failed to support Frederick William's claims to Jülich-Berg.
  111. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 219.
  112. ^ Simms 2009, p. 218.
  113. ^ Simms 2009, pp. 215–219.
  114. ^ Mckay & Scott 2014, p. 136.
  115. ^ McKay & Scott: The Rise of the Great Powers: 1648–1815, 136–137
  116. ^ Simms 2009, p. 231.
  117. ^ Mckay & Scott 2014, p. 141.
  118. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 228.
  119. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 239.
  120. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 240.
  121. ^ a b c d e f The Edinburgh Review 1862, p. 546.
  122. ^ The Edinburgh Review 1862, p. 545.
  123. ^ a b Wheatcroft, A. (2009). The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4090-8682-6.
  124. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 243.
  125. ^ Pope & Pattison 1878, p. 118.
  126. ^ "We also have to take account of the much-quoted dictum about Eugen, that he was a "Mars without Venus", It was really nothing more than a colourful way of saying that he never married".Henderson 1964, p. 239
  127. ^ Churchill 2014, p. 347.
  128. ^ a b c Henderson 1964, p. 240.
  129. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 157.
  130. ^ a b Monaldi & Sorti 2013, p. 535.
  131. ^ Haggard, A. (1906). The Real Louis the Fifteenthe ...: With 34... Portraits Including 12 Photogravure Plates. Hutchinson & Company.
  132. ^ There was one reference to another woman before Countess Batthyány; the Swedish minister in Vienna mentioned the Countess Maria Thürheim, but there is no evidence to verify this.
  133. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 239.
  134. ^ de Ligne & Mudford 1811, p. 249.
  135. ^ "Beware Princess Elisabeth Charlotte, Keeper of Versailles' Dark Secrets". Factinate. 4 March 2020.
  136. ^ Henderson 1964, pp. 9–10:The Duchess described Eugene as "a vulgar whore" who preferred a "couple of fine page boys" to any woman,
  137. ^ Wilhelm Ludwig Holland (ed), Briefe der Herzogin Elisabeth Charlotte von Orleans, Stuttgart, 1867
  138. ^ "When Louis XIV spoke out against his brother Philippe, Duke of Orleans and had a list drawn up of aristocrats involved (in "homosexual activity"), there were a few names of permanent guests from the Hotel de Soissons, such as that of the Prince of Turenne, but not of Eugene. There was never again an observer or a malicious diplomat who accused Eugene of homosexual inclinations".Kramar, K.; Mayrhofer, G. (2013). Prinz Eugen: Heros und Neurose (in German). Residenz Verlag. p. 76. ISBN 978-3-7017-4337-7.
  139. ^ Baron de Montesquieu 1894, p. 283.
  140. ^ Walsh, Littell & Smith 1840, p. 369.
  141. ^ Mitchell, J.; Schmitz, L. (1865). Biographies of Eminent Soldiers of the Last Four Centuries. W. Blackwood and Sons. p. 211.
  142. ^ Trost, E. (1985). Prinz Eugen (in German). Amalthea. ISBN 978-3-85002-207-1.
  143. ^ van de Pol, van de Pol & Waters 2011, p. 2.
  144. ^ "Prince Eugene of Savoy Vetting a Line-up of Prostitutes, Cornelis Troost, 1720–1730". Rijksmuseum. 17 November 2020.
  145. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 203.
  146. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 189: "Eugene's presidency of the Imperial War Council was probably worth 100,000 gulden a year, while his governorships of Milan and the Netherlands were likely to have brought in 150,000 gulden annually.
  147. ^ There is no indication of a quarrel with Erlach, just a desired change in style. Hildebrandt had accompanied Eugene in Italy as his siege engineer in 1695–96 and made Imperial court engineer in 1701.
  148. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 193.
  149. ^ Eugene had purchased this land in 1726.
  150. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 195: "Maria Theresa brought the Schlosshof in 1755.
  151. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 199: "The German philosopher got to know the Prince during his visit to Vienna in 1714, trying to persuade Charles VI to found an Academy of Science.
  152. ^ Rousseau had not been long in the Netherlands before he joined the conspiracy to remove Eugene from the post of Governor-General.
  153. ^ Henderson: Prince Eugen of Savoy, p. 256. Amongst the list of artists who worked for Eugene was Italian, Giuseppe Maria Crespi.
  154. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 259.
  155. ^ "Napoleon on Napoleon," page 31
  156. ^ Henderson 1964, p. 11:The others were Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Gustavus Aldolphus, Turenne, Frederick II of Prussia, and Napoleon Bonaparte.[155]
  157. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, pp. 246–247.
  158. ^ a b McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 246.
  159. ^ De Saxe, Maurice. Reveries on the Art of War, p. 119
  160. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, pp. 228–232.
  161. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 228.
  162. ^ a b Duffy, Frederick the Great: A Military Life, p. 17
  163. ^ Churchill 1933, pp. 774–775.
  164. ^ McKay, Baker & von Savoyen 1977, p. 248.
  165. ^ De Graaf 2021, p. 133.
  166. ^ Henderson 1964, p. xi.
  167. ^ van Tilburg, Kees. "Eugene of Savoy". Equestrian Statues. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  168. ^ Austrian Academy of Sciences.
  169. ^ "Prinz-Eugen-Straße". Wien Geschichte Wiki (in German). 3 December 2020.
  170. ^ Kudlicka, B.; Szewczyk, R.; Vallet, T. (2014). Prinz Eugen: The Story of 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division 1942–1945. Green Series. Mushroom Model Publications. ISBN 978-83-63678-18-0.
  171. ^ Barbian, J.P. (2019). Literaturpolitik im "Dritten Reich": Institutionen, Kompetenzen, Betätigungsfelder. Archiv für Geschichte des Buchwesens – Sonderdrucke (in German). De Gruyter. p. 199. ISBN 978-3-11-092938-6.

Bibliography edit

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  • Orléans, C.E.; Charlotte, E.; Forster, E. (1984). A Woman's Life in the Court of the Sun King: Letters of Liselotte Von Der Pfalz, Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchesse D'Orléans, 1652–1722. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-5635-8.
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Websites edit

  • . Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (in German). Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

Further reading edit

  • of Savoy, Prince Eugene (13 March 2011). Memoirs of Prince Eugene, of Savoy. Written by himself [Translated from the French by William Mudford] (Public Domain ed.). Printed for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones. hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t2q533g64.
  • von Arneth, Alfred ritter (1864). Prince Eugene of Savoy: years. 1663–1707. Prince Eugene of Savoy: According to the handwritten sources of the Imperial Archives (in German). Braumüller.
  • von Arneth, Alfred ritter (1858). Prince Eugene of Savoy:years. 1708–1718. Prince Eugene of Savoy: According to the handwritten sources of the Imperial Archives (in German). Braumüller.
  • von Arneth, Alfred ritter (1858). Prince Eugene of Savoy: years. 1719–1736. Prince Eugene of Savoy: According to the handwritten sources of the Imperial Archives (in German). Braumüller.
  • Braubach, M. (1965). Prince Eugene of Savoy: Ascent. Prinz Eugen Von Savoyen: Eine Biographie (in German). R. Oldenbourg.
  • Braubach, M. (1963). Prince Eugene of Savoy: Man and Fate. Prinz Eugen Von Savoyen: Eine Biographie (in German). R. Oldenbourg.
  • Braubach, M. (1965). Prince Eugene of Savoy: The General (in German). R. Oldenbourg.
  • Braubach, M. (1963). Prinz Eugen von Savoyen: To the peak of fame. Prinz Eugen Von Savoyen: Eine Biographie (in German). R. Oldenbourg.
  • Braubach, M. (1965). Prince Eugene of Savoy: The statesman (in German). R. Oldenbourg.
Preceded by Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands
1716–1725 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Heinrich Franz Count von Mansfeld
 President of the Court War Council
1703–1736 		Succeeded by
Lothar Joseph Count Königsegg

January 01, 1970
prince, eugene, savoy, prince, eugene, francis, savoy, carignano, october, 1663, april, 1736, better, known, prince, eugene, field, marshal, army, holy, roman, empire, austrian, habsburg, dynasty, during, 17th, 18th, centuries, most, successful, military, comm. Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy Carignano 1 18 October 1663 21 April 1736 better known as Prince Eugene was a field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries He was one of the most successful military commanders of his time and rose to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna Eugene of SavoyPortrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy 1718by Jacob van SchuppenBorn 1663 10 18 18 October 1663Hotel de Soissons Paris Kingdom of FranceDied21 April 1736 1736 04 21 aged 72 Vienna Archduchy of Austria Holy Roman EmpireBurialSt Stephen s Cathedral ViennaHouseSavoy CarignanoFatherEugene Maurice of SavoyMotherOlympia ManciniSignatureMilitary careerRankField marshalConflictsGreat Turkish War Battle of Vienna 1683 Siege of Buda 1684 Siege of Buda 1686 Battle of Mohacs 1687 Siege of Belgrade 1688 Battle of Zenta 1697 Sack of Sarajevo 1697 Nine Years War Battle of Staffarda 1690 War of the SpanishSuccession Battle of Carpi 1701 Battle of Chiari 1701 Battle of Cremona 1702 Battle of Luzzara 1702 Battle of Blenheim 1704 Battle of Cassano 1705 Siege of Turin 1706 Battle of Toulon 1707 Battle of Oudenarde 1708 Siege of Lille 1708 Battle of Malplaquet 1709 Battle of Denain 1712 Rhine campaign 1713 Austro Turkish War Battle of Petrovaradin 1716 Siege of Temesvar 1716 Battle of Belgrade 1717 War of the Polish Succession Siege of Philippsburg 1734 Born in Paris Eugene was brought up in the court of King Louis XIV of France Based on the custom that the youngest sons of noble families were destined for the priesthood the Prince was initially prepared for a clerical career but by the age of 19 he had determined on a military career Based on his poor physique and bearing and perhaps due to a scandal involving his mother Olympe he was rejected by Louis for service in the French Royal Army Eugene moved to Austria and transferred his loyalty to the Holy Roman Empire In a career spanning six decades Eugene served three Holy Roman Emperors Leopold I Joseph I and Charles VI His first battle experiences were fought against the Ottomans at the Siege of Vienna in 1683 and the subsequent War of the Holy League before serving in the Nine Years War in which he fought alongside his cousin the Duke of Savoy The Prince s fame was secured with his decisive victory against the Ottomans at the Battle of Zenta in 1697 earning him Europe wide fame Eugene enhanced his standing during the War of the Spanish Succession where his partnership with the Duke of Marlborough secured victories against the French on the fields of Blenheim 1704 Oudenarde 1708 and Malplaquet 1709 he gained further success in the war as Imperial commander in northern Italy most notably at the Battle of Turin 1706 Renewed hostilities against the Ottomans in the Austro Turkish War consolidated his reputation with victories at the battles of Petrovaradin 1716 and the decisive encounter at the Siege of Belgrade in 1717 Throughout the late 1720s Eugene s influence and skilful diplomacy managed to secure the Emperor powerful allies in his dynastic struggles with the Bourbon powers but physically and mentally fragile in his later years Eugene enjoyed less success as commander in chief of the army during his final conflict the War of the Polish Succession Nevertheless in Austria Eugene s reputation remains unrivalled Although opinions differ as to his character there is no dispute over his great achievements he helped to save the Habsburg Empire from French conquest he broke the westward thrust of the Ottomans re occupying areas that had been under Turkish control for a century and a half and he was one of the great patrons of the arts whose building legacy can still be seen in Vienna today Eugene died in his sleep at his home on 21 April 1736 aged 72 Contents 1 Early years 1663 1699 1 1 Hotel de Soissons 1 2 Great Turkish War 1 2 1 Holy League 1 2 2 Interlude in the west Nine Years War 1 2 3 Battle of Zenta 2 Middle life 1700 20 2 1 War of the Spanish Succession 2 1 1 President of the Imperial War Council 2 1 2 Blenheim 2 1 3 Turin and Toulon 2 1 4 Oudenarde and Malplaquet 2 1 5 Final campaigning Eugene alone 2 2 Austro Turkish War 2 3 Quadruple Alliance 3 Later life 1721 36 3 1 Governor General of the Austrian Netherlands 3 2 Cold war 3 3 War of the Polish Succession 3 4 Later years and death 4 Personal life 5 Patron of the arts 6 Historical reputation and legacy 6 1 Memorials 6 1 1 Places and monuments 6 1 2 Warships 6 1 3 Other 7 Arms 8 Ancestry 9 See also 10 References 10 1 Citations 10 2 Bibliography 10 3 Websites 11 Further readingEarly years 1663 1699 editHotel de Soissons edit nbsp Hotel de Soissons Eugene s birthplace Engraving by Israel Silvestre c 1650 Prince Eugene was born at the Hotel de Soissons in Paris on 18 October 1663 His mother Olympia Mancini was one of Cardinal Mazarin s nieces whom the Cardinal had brought to Paris from Rome in 1647 to further his and to a lesser extent their ambitions The Mancinis were raised at the Palais Royal along with the young Louis XIV with whom Olympia formed an intimate relationship Yet to her great disappointment her chance to become queen passed by and in 1657 she married Eugene Maurice Count of Soissons Count of Dreux and Prince of Savoy nbsp Eugene Maurice and Olympia Mancini Count and Countess of Soissons parents of Prince Eugene Together they had had five sons Eugene being the youngest and three daughters but neither parent spent much time with the children the father a French general officer spent much of his time away campaigning while Olympia s passion for court intrigue meant the children received little attention from her 2 The King remained strongly attached to Olympia so much so that many believed them to be lovers 3 but her scheming eventually led to her downfall After falling out of favour at court Olympia turned to Catherine Deshayes known as La Voisin and to the arts of black magic and astrology It proved a fatal relationship She became embroiled in the Affaire des poisons suspicions abounded of her involvement in her husband s premature death in 1673 and even implicated her in a plot to kill the King himself Whatever the truth Olympia rather than face trial subsequently fled France for Brussels in January 1680 leaving Eugene in the care of his paternal grandmother Marie de Bourbon Countess of Soissons and of his paternal aunt Louise Christine of Savoy Hereditary Princess of Baden mother of Prince Louis of Baden 4 From the age of ten Eugene had been brought up for a career in the church since he was the youngest of his family 5 Eugene s appearance was not impressive He was never good looking wrote the Duchess of Orleans It is true that his eyes are not ugly but his nose ruins his face he has two large teeth which are visible at all times 6 According to the duchess who was married to Louis XIV s bisexual brother 7 the Duke of Orleans Eugene lived a life of debauchery and belonged to a small effeminate set that included the famous cross dresser Abbe Francois Timoleon de Choisy 8 In February 1683 to the surprise of his family the 19 year old Eugene declared his intention of joining the army Eugene applied directly to Louis XIV for command of a company in French service but the King who had shown no compassion for Olympia s children since her disgrace refused him out of hand The request was modest not so the petitioner he remarked No one else ever presumed to stare me out so insolently 9 Whatever the case Louis XIV s choice would cost him dearly twenty years later for it would be precisely Eugene in collaboration with the Duke of Marlborough who would defeat the French army at Blenheim a decisive battle which checked French military supremacy and political power Denied a military career in France Eugene decided to seek service abroad One of Eugene s brothers Louis Julius had entered Imperial service the previous year but he had been immediately killed fighting the Ottoman Empire in 1683 When news of his death reached Paris Eugene decided to travel to Austria in the hope of taking over his brother s command It was not an unnatural decision his cousin Louis of Baden was already a leading general in the Imperial army as was a more distant cousin Maximilian II Emanuel Elector of Bavaria On the night of 26 July 1683 Eugene left Paris and headed east 10 Years later in his memoirs Eugene recalled his early years in France 11 nbsp Prince Eugene as a young General by German painter David Hoyer Some future historians good or bad will perhaps take the trouble to enter into the details of my youth of which I scarcely recollect anything They will certainly speak of my mother somewhat too intriguing driven from the court exiled from Paris and suspected I believe of sorcery by people who were not themselves very great wizards They will tell how I was born in France then left it my heart swelling with enmity against Louis XIV who refused me a cavalry company because said he I was of too delicate a constitution that he refused me an abbey because based on I don t know what ill talks about me or what invented anecdotes from the gallery of Versailles that I was more shaped for pleasure than for piety There is not a Huguenot expelled by the revocation of the edict of Nantes who hated Louis XIV more than I did Therefore when Louvois 12 heard of my departure saying So much the better he will never return into this country again I swore never to enter it but with arms in my hands I HAVE KEPT MY WORD Memoirs of Prince Eugene of Savoy 13 Great Turkish War edit Main article Great Turkish War By May 1683 the Ottoman threat to Emperor Leopold I s capital Vienna was very evident The Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha encouraged by Imre Thokoly s Magyar rebellion had invaded Hungary with between 100 000 and 200 000 men 14 within two months approximately 90 000 were beneath Vienna s walls With the Turks at the gates the Emperor fled for the safe refuge of Passau up the Danube 15 It was at Leopold I s camp that Eugene arrived in mid August Although Eugene was not of Austrian extraction he did have Habsburg antecedents His grandfather Thomas Francis founder of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy was the son of Catherine Michaela of Spain a daughter of Philip II of Spain and the great grandson of the Emperor Charles V But of more immediate consequence to Leopold I was the fact that Eugene was the second cousin of Victor Amadeus II the Duke of Savoy a connection that the Emperor hoped might prove useful in any future confrontation with France 16 These ties together with his ascetic manner and appearance a positive advantage to him at the sombre court of Leopold I 17 ensured the refugee from the hated French king a warm welcome at Passau and a position in Imperial service 16 Though French was his favoured language he communicated with Leopold in Italian as the Emperor though he knew it perfectly disliked French But Eugene also had a reasonable command of German which he understood very easily something that helped him much in the military 18 I will devote all my strength all my courage and if need be my last drop of blood to the service of your Imperial Majesty Prince Eugene to Leopold I 19 nbsp Battle of Vienna 12 September 1683 Eugene had no doubt as to where his new allegiance lay and this loyalty was immediately put to the test By September the Imperial forces under the Duke of Lorraine together with a powerful Polish army under King John III Sobieski were poised to strike the Sultan s army On the morning of 12 September the Christian forces drew up in line of battle on the south eastern slopes of the Vienna Woods looking down on the massed enemy camp The day long Battle of Vienna resulted in the lifting of the 60 day siege and the Sultan s forces were routed Serving under Baden as a twenty year old volunteer Eugene distinguished himself in the battle earning commendation from Lorraine and the Emperor he later received the nomination for the colonelcy and was awarded the Kufstein regiment of dragoons by Leopold I 20 Holy League edit In March 1684 Leopold I formed the Holy League with Poland and Venice to counter the Ottoman threat For the next two years Eugene continued to perform with distinction on campaign and establish himself as a dedicated professional soldier by the end of 1685 still only 22 years old he was made a Major General Little is known of Eugene s life during these early campaigns Contemporary observers make only passing comments of his actions and his own surviving correspondence largely to his cousin Victor Amadeus are typically reticent about his own feelings and experiences 21 Nevertheless it is clear that Baden was impressed with Eugene s qualities This young man will with time occupy the place of those whom the world regards as great leaders of armies 22 nbsp Recapture of Buda castle in 1686 Prince Eugene of Savoy on the second white horse from the right by Gyula Benczur In June 1686 the Duke of Lorraine besieged Buda Budapest the centre of Ottoman Hungary and the old royal capital After resisting for 78 days the city fell on 2 September and Turkish resistance collapsed throughout the region as far away as Transylvania and Serbia Further success followed in 1687 where commanding a cavalry brigade Eugene made an important contribution to the victory at the Battle of Mohacs on 12 August Such was the scale of their defeat that the Ottoman army mutinied a revolt which spread to Constantinople The Grand Vizier Sari Suleyman Pasha was executed and Sultan Mehmed IV deposed 23 Once again Eugene s courage earned him recognition from his superiors who granted him the honour of personally conveying the news of victory to the Emperor in Vienna 24 For his services Eugene was promoted to Lieutenant General in November 1687 He was also gaining wider recognition King Charles II of Spain bestowed upon him the Order of the Golden Fleece while his cousin Victor Amadeus provided him with money and two profitable abbeys in Piedmont 25 Eugene s military career suffered a temporary setback in 1688 when on 6 September the Prince suffered a severe wound to his knee by a musket ball during the Siege of Belgrade and did not return to active service until January 1689 25 Interlude in the west Nine Years War edit Main article Nine Years War Just as Belgrade was falling to Imperial forces under Max Emmanuel in the east French troops in the west were crossing the Rhine into the Holy Roman Empire Louis XIV had hoped that a show of force would lead to a quick resolution to his dynastic and territorial disputes with the princes of the Empire along his eastern border but his intimidatory moves only strengthened German resolve and in May 1689 Leopold I and the Dutch signed an offensive compact aimed at repelling French aggression 26 nbsp Max Emanuel Elector of Bavaria Eugene s early mentor before becoming his opponent in the War of the Spanish Succession by Joseph Vivien The Nine Years War was professionally and personally frustrating for the prince Initially fighting on the Rhine with Max Emmanuel receiving a slight head wound at the Siege of Mainz in 1689 Eugene subsequently transferred himself to Piedmont after Victor Amadeus joined the Alliance against France in 1690 Promoted to general of cavalry he arrived in Turin with his friend the Prince of Commercy but it proved an inauspicious start Against Eugene s advice Amadeus insisted on engaging the French at Staffarda and suffered a serious defeat only Eugene s handling of the Savoyard cavalry in retreat saved his cousin from disaster 27 Eugene remained unimpressed with the men and their commanders throughout the war in Italy The enemy would long ago have been beaten he wrote to Vienna if everyone had done their duty 28 So contemptuous was he of the Imperial commander Count Carafa he threatened to leave Imperial service 29 In Vienna Eugene s attitude was dismissed as the arrogance of a young upstart but so impressed was the Emperor by his passion for the Imperial cause he promoted him to Field Marshal in 1693 30 When Carafa s replacement Count Caprara was himself transferred in 1694 it seemed that Eugene s chance for command and decisive action had finally arrived But Amadeus doubtful of victory and now more fearful of Habsburg influence in Italy than he was of French had begun secret dealings with Louis XIV aimed at extricating himself from the war By 1696 the deal was done and Amadeus transferred his troops and his loyalty to the enemy Eugene was never to fully trust his cousin again although he continued to pay due reverence to the Duke as head of his family their relationship would forever after remain strained 31 Military honours in Italy undoubtedly belonged to the French commander Marshal Catinat but Eugene the one Allied general determined on action and decisive results did well to emerge from the Nine Years War with an enhanced reputation 31 With the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick in September October 1697 the desultory war in the west was finally brought to an inconclusive end and Leopold I could once again devote all his martial energies into defeating the Ottoman Turks in the east Battle of Zenta edit Main article Battle of Zenta The distractions of the war against Louis XIV had enabled the Turks to recapture Belgrade in 1690 In August 1691 the Austrians under Louis of Baden regained the advantage by heavily defeating the Turks at the Battle of Slankamen on the Danube securing Habsburg possession of Hungary and Transylvania 32 When Baden was transferred west to fight the French in 1692 his successors first Caprara then from 1696 Augustus the Strong the Elector of Saxony proved incapable of delivering the final blow On the advice of the President of the Imperial War Council Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg thirty four year old Eugene was offered supreme command of Imperial forces in April 1697 33 This was Eugene s first truly independent command no longer need he suffer under the excessively cautious generalship of Caprara and Carafa or be thwarted by the deviations of Victor Amadeus But on joining his army he found it in a state of indescribable misery 34 Confident and self assured the Prince of Savoy ably assisted by Commercy and Guido Starhemberg set about restoring order and discipline 35 nbsp Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy 1663 1736 c 1700 Flemish School nbsp Battle of Zenta by Jacques Ignace Parrocel Leopold I had warned Eugene that he should act with extreme caution forgo all risks and avoid engaging the enemy unless he has overwhelming strength and is practically certain of being completely victorious 36 but when the Imperial commander learnt of Sultan Mustafa II s march on Transylvania Eugene abandoned all ideas of a defensive campaign and moved to intercept the Turks as they crossed the River Tisza at Zenta on 11 September 1697 It was late in the day before the Imperial army struck The Ottoman cavalry had already crossed the river so Eugene decided to attack immediately arranging his men in a half moon formation 37 The vigour of the assault wrought terror and confusion amongst the Turks and by nightfall the battle was won For the loss of some 2 000 dead and wounded Eugene had inflicted an overwhelming defeat upon the enemy with approximately 25 000 Turks killed including the Grand Vizier Elmas Mehmed Pasha the pashas of Adana Anatolia and Bosnia plus more than thirty aghas of the Janissaries sipahis and silihdars as well as seven horsetails symbols of high authority 100 pieces of heavy artillery 423 banners and the revered seal which the sultan always entrusted to the Grand Vizier on an important campaign Eugene had annihilated the Ottoman army and brought to an end the War of the Holy League 38 Although the Ottomans lacked western organization and training the Savoyard prince had revealed his tactical skill his capacity for bold decision and his ability to inspire his men to excel in battle against a dangerous foe 39 After a brief terror raid into Ottoman Bosnia culminating in the sack of Sarajevo Eugene returned to Vienna in November to a triumphal reception 40 His victory at Zenta had turned him into a European hero and with victory came reward Land in Hungary given him by the Emperor yielded a good income enabling the Prince to cultivate his newly acquired tastes in art and architecture see below but for all his new found wealth and property he was nevertheless without personal ties or family commitments Of his four brothers only one was still alive at this time His fourth brother Emmanuel had died aged 14 in 1676 his third Louis Julius already mentioned had died on active service in 1683 and his second brother Philippe died of smallpox in 1693 Eugene s remaining brother Louis Thomas ostracized for incurring the displeasure of Louis XIV travelled Europe in search of a career before arriving in Vienna in 1699 With Eugene s help Louis found employment in the Imperial army only to be killed in action against the French in 1702 Of Eugene s sisters the youngest had died in childhood The other two Marie Jeanne Baptiste and Louise Philiberte led dissolute lives Expelled from France Marie joined her mother in Brussels before eloping with a renegade priest to Geneva living with him unhappily until her premature death in 1705 Of Louise little is known after her early salacious life in Paris but in due course she lived for a time in a convent in Savoy before her death in 1726 41 The Battle of Zenta proved to be the decisive victory in the long war against the Turks With Leopold I s interests now focused on Spain and the imminent death of Charles II the Emperor terminated the conflict with the Sultan he signed the Treaty of Karlowitz on 26 January 1699 42 Middle life 1700 20 editWar of the Spanish Succession edit Main article War of the Spanish Succession nbsp Europe at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession Eugene fought primarily in northern Italy in the early years of the war then later in the Low Countries With the death of the infirm and childless Charles II of Spain on 1 November 1700 the succession of the Spanish throne and subsequent control over her empire once again embroiled Europe in war the War of the Spanish Succession On his deathbed Charles II had bequeathed the entire Spanish inheritance to Louis XIV s grandson Philip Duke of Anjou This threatened to unite the Spanish and French kingdoms under the House of Bourbon something unacceptable to England the Dutch Republic and Leopold I who had himself a claim to the Spanish throne 43 From the beginning the Emperor had refused to accept the will of Charles II and he did not wait for England and the Dutch Republic to begin hostilities Before a new Grand Alliance could be concluded Leopold I prepared to send an expedition to seize the Spanish lands in Italy nbsp Prince Eugene crossing the Alps 1701 Coloured copperplate engraving Eugene crossed the Alps with some 30 000 men in May June 1701 After a series of brilliant manoeuvres the Imperial commander defeated Catinat at the Battle of Carpi on 9 July I have warned you that you are dealing with an enterprising young prince wrote Louis XIV to his commander he does not tie himself down to the rules of war 44 On 1 September Eugene defeated Catinat s successor Marshal Villeroi at the Battle of Chiari in a clash as destructive as any in the Italian theatre 45 But as so often throughout his career the Prince faced war on two fronts the enemy in the field and the government in Vienna 46 Starved of supplies money and men Eugene was forced into unconventional means against the vastly superior enemy During a daring raid on Cremona on the night of 31 January 1 February 1702 Eugene captured the French commander in chief Yet the coup was less successful than hoped Cremona remained in French hands and the Duke of Vendome whose talents far exceeded Villeroi s became the theatre s new commander Villeroi s capture caused a sensation in Europe and had a galvanizing effect on English public opinion The surprise at Cremona wrote the diarist John Evelyn was the great discourse of this week but appeals for succour from Vienna remained unheeded forcing Eugene to seek battle and gain a lucky hit 47 The resulting Battle of Luzzara on 15 August proved inconclusive Although Eugene s forces inflicted double the number of casualties on the French the battle settled little except to deter Vendome trying an all out assault on Imperial forces that year enabling Eugene to hold on south of the Alps 48 With his army rotting away and personally grieving for his long standing friend Prince Commercy who had died at Luzzara Eugene returned to Vienna in January 1703 49 President of the Imperial War Council edit Eugene s European reputation was growing Cremona and Luzzara had been celebrated as victories throughout the Allied capitals yet because of the condition and morale of his troops the 1702 campaign had not been a success 50 Austria itself was now facing the direct threat of invasion from across the border in Bavaria where the state s Elector Maximilian Emanuel had declared for the Bourbons in August the previous year Meanwhile in Hungary a small scale revolt had broken out in May and was fast gaining momentum With the monarchy at the point of complete financial breakdown Leopold I was at last persuaded to change the government At the end of June 1703 Gundaker Starhemberg replaced Gotthard Salaburg as President of the Treasury and Prince Eugene succeeded Henry Mansfeld as the new President of the Imperial War Council Hofkriegsratsprasident 51 As head of the war council Eugene was now part of the Emperor s inner circle and the first president since Raimondo Montecuccoli to remain an active commander Immediate steps were taken to improve efficiency within the army encouragement and where possible money was sent to the commanders in the field promotion and honours were distributed according to service rather than influence and discipline improved But the Austrian monarchy faced severe peril on several fronts in 1703 by June the Duke of Villars had reinforced the Elector of Bavaria on the Danube thus posing a direct threat to Vienna while Vendome remained at the head of a large army in northern Italy opposing Guido Starhemberg s weak Imperial force Of equal alarm was Francis II Rakoczi s revolt which by the end of the year had reached as far as Moravia and Lower Austria 52 Blenheim edit nbsp The Duke of Marlborough greeting Prince Eugene of Savoy mounted after their victory at Blenheim by Robert Alexander Hillingford Dissension between Villars and the Elector of Bavaria had prevented an assault on Vienna in 1703 but in the Courts of Versailles and Madrid ministers confidently anticipated the city s fall 53 The Imperial ambassador in London Count Wratislaw had pressed for Anglo Dutch assistance on the Danube as early as February 1703 but the crisis in southern Europe seemed remote from the Court of St James s where colonial and commercial considerations were more to the fore of men s minds 54 Only a handful of statesmen in England or the Dutch Republic realized the true implications of Austria s peril foremost amongst these was the English Captain General the Duke of Marlborough 55 By early 1704 Marlborough had resolved to march south and rescue the situation in southern Germany and on the Danube personally requesting the presence of Eugene on campaign so as to have a supporter of his zeal and experience 56 The Allied commanders met for the first time at the small village of Mundelsheim on 10 June and immediately formed a close rapport the two men becoming in the words of Thomas Lediard Twin constellations in glory 57 This professional and personal bond ensured mutual support on the battlefield enabling many successes during the Spanish Succession war The first of these victories and the most celebrated came on 13 August 1704 at the Battle of Blenheim Eugene commanded the right wing of the Allied army holding the Elector of Bavaria s and Marshal Marsin s superior forces while Marlborough broke through the Marshal Tallard s center inflicting over 30 000 casualties The battle proved decisive Vienna was saved and Bavaria was knocked out of the war Both Allied commanders were full of praise for each other s performance Eugene s holding operation and his pressure for action leading up to the battle proved crucial for the Allied success 58 In Europe Blenheim is regarded as much a victory for Eugene as it is for Marlborough a sentiment echoed by Sir Winston Churchill Marlborough s descendant and biographer who pays tribute to the glory of Prince Eugene whose fire and spirit had exhorted the wonderful exertions of his troops 59 France now faced the real danger of invasion but Leopold I in Vienna was still under severe strain Rakoczi s revolt was a major threat and Guido Starhemberg and Victor Amadeus who had once again switched loyalties and rejoined the Grand Alliance in 1703 had been unable to halt the French under Vendome in northern Italy Only Amadeus capital Turin held on Turin and Toulon edit Eugene returned to Italy in April 1705 but his attempts to move west towards Turin were thwarted by Vendome s skilful manoeuvres Lacking boats and bridging materials and with desertion and sickness rife within his army the outnumbered Imperial commander was helpless Leopold I s assurances of money and men had proved illusory but desperate appeals from Amadeus and criticism from Vienna goaded the Prince into action resulting in the Imperialists bloody defeat at the Battle of Cassano on 16 August 60 Following Leopold I s death and the accession of Joseph I to the Imperial throne in May 1705 Eugene began to receive the personal backing he desired Joseph I proved to be a strong supporter of Eugene s supremacy in military affairs he was the most effective emperor the Prince served and the one he was happiest under 61 Promising support Joseph I persuaded Eugene to return to Italy and restore Habsburg honour nbsp Eugene s major engagements in the Italian theatre during the War of the Spanish Succession The Imperial commander arrived in theatre in mid April 1706 just in time to organize an orderly retreat of what was left of Count Reventlow s inferior army following his defeat by Vendome at the Battle of Calcinato on 19 April Vendome now prepared to defend the lines along the River Adige determined to keep Eugene cooped to the east while the Marquis of La Feuillade threatened Turin Feigning attacks along the Adige Eugene descended south across the river Po in mid July outmanoeuvring the French commander and gaining a favourable position from which he could at last move west towards Piedmont and relieve Savoy s capital 62 nbsp Prince Eugene by Jacob van Schuppen Events elsewhere now had major consequences for the war in Italy With Villeroi s crushing defeat by Marlborough at the Battle of Ramillies on 23 May Louis XIV recalled Vendome north to take command of French forces in Flanders It was a transfer that Saint Simon considered something of a deliverance for the French commander who was now beginning to feel the unlikelihood of success in Italy 63 for Prince Eugene with the reinforcements 64 that had joined him after the Battle of Calcinato had entirely changed the outlook in that theatre of the war 65 The Duke of Orleans under the direction of Marsin replaced Vendome but indecision and disorder in the French camp led to their undoing After uniting his forces with Victor Amadeus at Villastellone in early September Eugene attacked overwhelmed and decisively defeated the French forces besieging Turin on 7 September Eugene s success broke the French hold on northern Italy and the whole Po valley fell under Allied control Eugene had gained a victory as signal as his colleague had at Ramillies It is impossible for me to express the joy it has given me wrote Marlborough for I not only esteem but I really love the prince This glorious action must bring France so low that if our friends could but be persuaded to carry on the war with vigour one year longer we cannot fail with the blessing of God to have such a peace as will give us quiet for all our days 66 The Imperial victory in Italy marked the beginning of Austrian rule in Lombardy and earned Eugene the Governorship of Milan But the following year was to prove a disappointment for the Prince and the Grand Alliance as a whole The Emperor and Eugene whose main goal after Turin was to take Naples and Sicily from Philip duc d Anjou s supporters reluctantly agreed to Marlborough s plan for an attack on Toulon the seat of French naval power in the Mediterranean Disunion between the Allied commanders Victor Amadeus Eugene and the English Admiral Cloudesley Shovell doomed the Toulon enterprise to failure Although Eugene favoured some sort of attack on France s south eastern border it was clear he felt the expedition impractical and showed none of the alacrity which he had displayed on other occasions 67 Substantial French reinforcements finally brought an end to the venture and on 22 August 1707 the Imperial army began its retirement The subsequent capture of Susa could not compensate for the total collapse of the Toulon expedition and with it any hope of an Allied war winning blow that year 68 Oudenarde and Malplaquet edit nbsp Prince Eugene at Oudenarde detail by Jan van Huchtenburg who was employed round 1709 to depict ten battle scenes At the beginning of 1708 Eugene successfully evaded calls for him to take charge in Spain in the end Guido Starhemberg was sent thus enabling him to take command of the Imperial army on the Moselle and once again unite with Marlborough in the Spanish Netherlands 69 Eugene without his army arrived at the Allied camp at Assche west of Brussels in early July providing a welcome boost to morale after the early defection of Bruges and Ghent to the French our affairs improved through God s support and Eugene s aid wrote the Prussian General Natzmer whose timely arrival raised the spirits of the army again and consoled us 70 Heartened by the Prince s confidence the Allied commanders devised a bold plan to engage the French army under Vendome and the Duke of Burgundy On 10 July the Anglo Dutch army made a forced march to surprise the French reaching the River Scheldt just as the enemy was crossing to the north The ensuing battle on 11 July more a contact action rather than a set piece engagement ended in a resounding success for the Allies aided by the dissension of the two French commanders 71 While Marlborough remained in overall command Eugene had led the crucial right flank and centre Once again the Allied commanders had co operated remarkably well Prince Eugene and I wrote the Duke shall never differ about our share of the laurels 72 nbsp Duke of Marlborough 1650 1722 by Adriaen van der Werff Eugene became Allied commander in chief following Marlborough s dismissal in 1711 Marlborough now favoured a bold advance along the coast to bypass the major French fortresses followed by a march on Paris But fearful of unprotected supply lines the Dutch and Eugene favoured a more cautious approach Marlborough acquiesced and resolved upon the siege of Vauban s great fortress Lille 73 While the Duke commanded the covering force Eugene oversaw the siege of the town which surrendered on 22 October but Marshal Boufflers did not yield the citadel until 10 December Yet for all the difficulties of the siege Eugene was badly wounded above his left eye by a musket ball and even survived an attempt to poison him the campaign of 1708 had been a remarkable success The French were driven out of almost all the Spanish Netherlands He who has not seen this wrote Eugene has seen nothing 74 The recent defeats together with the severe winter of 1708 09 had caused extreme famine and privation in France Louis XIV was close to accepting Allied terms but the conditions demanded by the leading Allied negotiators Anthonie Heinsius Charles Townshend Marlborough and Eugene principally that Louis XIV should use his own troops to force Philip V off the Spanish throne proved unacceptable to the French Neither Eugene nor Marlborough had objected to the Allied demands at the time but neither wanted the war with France to continue and would have preferred further talks to deal with the Spanish issue But the French King offered no further proposals 75 Lamenting the collapse of the negotiations and aware of the vagaries of war Eugene wrote to the Emperor in mid June 1709 There can be no doubt that the next battle will be the biggest and bloodiest that has yet been fought 76 After the fall of Tournai on 3 September itself a major undertaking 77 the Allied generals turned their attention towards Mons Marshal Villars recently joined by Boufflers moved his army south west of the town and began to fortify his position Marlborough and Eugene favoured an engagement before Villars could render his position impregnable but they also agreed to wait for reinforcements from Tournai which did not arrive until the following night thus giving the French further opportunity to prepare their defences Notwithstanding the difficulties of the attack the Allied generals did not shrink from their original determination 78 The subsequent Battle of Malplaquet fought on 11 September 1709 was the bloodiest engagement of the war On the left flank the Prince of Orange led his Dutch infantry in desperate charges only to have it cut to pieces on the other flank Eugene attacked and suffered almost as severely But sustained pressure on his extremities forced Villars to weaken his centre thus enabling Marlborough to break through and claim victory Villars was unable to save Mons which subsequently capitulated on 21 October but his resolute defence at Malplaquet inflicting up to 25 casualties on the Allies may have saved France from destruction 79 Final campaigning Eugene alone edit In August 1709 Eugene s chief political opponent and critic in Vienna Prince Salm retired as court chamberlain Eugene and Wratislaw were now the undisputed leaders of the Austrian government all major departments of state were in their hands or those of their political allies 80 Another attempt at a negotiated settlement at Geertruidenberg in April 1710 failed largely because the English Whigs still felt strong enough to refuse concessions while Louis XIV saw little reason to accept what he had refused the previous year Eugene and Marlborough could not be accused of wrecking the negotiations but neither showed regret at the breakdown of the talks There was no alternative but to continue the war and in June the Allied commanders captured Douai This success was followed by a series of minor sieges and by the close of 1710 the Allies had cleared much of France s protective ring of fortresses Yet there had been no final decisive breakthrough and this was to be the last year that Eugene and Marlborough would work together 81 nbsp Portrait of Eugene from the school of Godfrey Kneller 1712 Following the death of Joseph I on 17 April 1711 his brother Charles the pretender to the Spanish throne became emperor In England the new Tory government the peace party who had deposed the Whigs in October 1710 declared their unwillingness to see Charles VI become Emperor as well as King of Spain and had already begun secret negotiations with the French In January 1712 Eugene arrived in England hoping to divert the government away from its peace policy but despite the social success the visit was a political failure Queen Anne and her ministers remained determined to end the war regardless of the Allies Eugene had also arrived too late to save Marlborough who seen by the Tories as the main obstacle to peace had already been dismissed on charges of embezzlement Elsewhere the Austrians had made some progress the Hungarian revolt had finally came to end Although Eugene would have preferred to crush the rebels the Emperor had offered lenient conditions leading to the signing of the Treaty of Szatmar on 30 April 1711 82 nbsp Following his victory in northern Italy Eugene fought primarily in the Low Countries during the War of the Spanish Succession Hoping to influence public opinion in England and force the French into making substantial concessions Eugene prepared for a major campaign But on 21 May 1712 when the Tories felt they had secured favourable terms with their unilateral talks with the French the Duke of Ormonde Marlborough s successor received the so called restraining orders forbidding him to take part in any military action 83 Eugene took the fortress of Le Quesnoy in early July before besieging Landrecies but Villars taking advantage of Allied disunity outmanoeuvred Eugene and defeated the Earl of Albermarle s Dutch garrison at the Battle of Denain on 24 July The French followed the victory by seizing the Allies main supply magazine at Marchiennes before reversing their earlier losses at Douai Le Quesnoy and Bouchain In one summer the whole forward Allied position laboriously built up over the years to act as the springboard into France had been precipitously abandoned 84 With the death in December of his friend and close political ally Count Wratislaw Eugene became undisputed first minister in Vienna His position was built on his military successes but his actual power was expressed through his role as president of the war council and as de facto president of the conference which dealt with foreign policy 85 In this position of influence Eugene took the lead in pressing Charles VI towards peace The government had come to accept that further war in the Netherlands or Spain was impossible without the aid of the Maritime Powers yet the Emperor still hoping that somehow he could place himself on the throne in Spain refused to make peace at the Utrecht conference along with the other Allies Reluctantly Eugene prepared for another campaign but lacking troops finance and supplies his prospects in 1713 were poor Villars with superior numbers was able to keep Eugene guessing as to his true intent Through successful feints and stratagems Landau fell to the French commander in August followed in November by Freiburg 86 Eugene was reluctant to carry on the war and wrote to the Emperor in June that a bad peace would be better than being ruined equally by friend and foe 87 With Austrian finances exhausted and the German states reluctant to continue the war Charles VI was compelled to enter into negotiations Eugene and Villars who had been old friends since the Turkish campaigns of the 1680s initiated talks on 26 November Eugene proved an astute and determined negotiator and gained favourable terms by the Treaty of Rastatt signed on 7 March 1714 and the Treaty of Baden signed on 7 September 1714 88 Despite the failed campaign in 1713 the Prince was able to declare that in spite of the military superiority of our enemies and the defection of our Allies the conditions of peace will be more advantageous and more glorious than those we would have obtained at Utrecht 86 Austro Turkish War edit Main article Austro Turkish War 1716 1718 Eugene s main reason for desiring peace in the west was the growing danger posed by the Turks in the east Turkish military ambitions had revived after 1711 when they had mauled Peter the Great s army on the River Pruth Pruth River Campaign in December 1714 Sultan Ahmed III s forces attacked the Venetians in the Kingdom of the Morea 89 To Vienna it was clear that the Turks intended to attack Hungary and undo the whole Karlowitz settlement of 1699 After the Sublime Porte rejected an offer of mediation in April 1716 Charles VI despatched Eugene to Hungary to lead his relatively small but professional army Of all Eugene s wars this was the one in which he exercised most direct control it was also a war which for the most part Austria fought and won on her own 90 nbsp Prince Eugene during the Austro Turkish War Artist Jacob van Schuppen Eugene left Vienna in early June 1716 with a field army of between 80 000 and 90 000 men By early August 1716 the Ottoman Turks some 200 000 men under the sultan s son in law the Grand Vizier Damat Ali Pasha were marching from Belgrade towards Eugene s position on the north bank of the Danube west of the fortress of Petrovaradin 91 The Grand Vizier had intended to seize the fortress but Eugene gave him no chance to do so After resisting calls for caution and forgoing a council of war the Prince decided to attack immediately on the morning of 5 August with approximately 70 000 men 91 92 The Turkish janissaries had some initial success but after an Imperial cavalry attack on their flank Ali Pasha s forces fell into confusion Although the Imperials lost almost 5 000 dead or wounded the Turks who retreated in disorder to Belgrade seem to have lost double that amount including the Grand Vizier himself who had entered the melee and subsequently died of his wounds 91 nbsp Eugene at the Battle of Belgrade 1717 Artist Johann Gottfried Auerbach The battle was Eugene s last great victory Eugene proceeded to take the Banat fortress of Temeswar in mid October 1716 thus ending 164 years of Turkish rule before turning his attention to the next campaign and to what he considered the main goal of the war Belgrade Situated at the confluence of the Rivers Danube and Sava Belgrade held a garrison of 30 000 men under Serasker Mustapha Pasha 93 Imperial troops besieged the place in mid June 1717 and by the end of July large parts of the city had been destroyed by artillery fire By the first days of August however a huge Turkish field army 150 000 200 000 strong under the new Grand Vizier Haci Halil Pasha had arrived on the plateau east of the city to relieve the garrison 94 News spread through Europe of Eugene s imminent destruction but he had no intention of lifting the siege 95 With his men suffering from dysentery and continuous bombardment from the plateau Eugene aware that a decisive victory alone could extricate his army decided to attack the relief force On the morning of 16 August 40 000 Imperial troops marched through the fog caught the Turks unaware and routed Halil Pasha s army a week later Belgrade surrendered effectively bringing an end to the war The victory was the crowning point of Eugene s military career and had confirmed him as the leading European general His ability to snatch victory at the moment of defeat had shown the prince at his best 96 The principal objectives of the war had been achieved the task Eugene had begun at Zenta was complete and the Karlowitz settlement secured By the terms of the Treaty of Passarowitz signed on 21 July 1718 the Turks surrendered the Banat of Temeswar along with Belgrade and most of Serbia although they regained the Morea from the Venetians The war had dispelled the immediate Turkish threat to Hungary and was a triumph for Austria and for Eugene personally 97 Quadruple Alliance edit Main article War of the Quadruple Alliance nbsp Charles VI 1685 1740 by Johann Gottfried Auerbach Eugene served Emperor Charles VI for the last 25 years of his life While Eugene fought the Turks in the east unresolved issues following the Utrecht Rastatt settlements led to hostilities between the Emperor and Philip V of Spain in the west Charles VI had refused to recognise Philip V as King of Spain a title which he himself claimed in return Philip V had refused to renounce his claims to Naples Milan and the Netherlands all of which had transferred to the House of Austria following the Spanish Succession war Philip V was roused by his influential wife Elisabeth Farnese daughter of the Hereditary Prince of Parma who personally held dynastic claims in the name of her son Charles to the duchies of Tuscany Parma and Piacenza 98 Representatives from a newly formed Anglo French alliance who were desirous of European peace for their own dynastic securities and trade opportunities called on both parties to recognise each other s sovereignty Yet Philip V remained intractable and on 22 August 1717 his chief minister Alberoni effected the invasion of Austrian Sardinia in what seemed like the beginning of the reconquest of Spain s former Italian empire 99 Eugene returned to Vienna from his recent victory at Belgrade before the conclusion of the Turkish war determined to prevent an escalation of the conflict complaining that two wars cannot be waged with one army 99 only reluctantly did the Prince release some troops from the Balkans for the Italian campaign Rejecting all diplomatic overtures Philip V unleashed another assault in June 1718 this time against Savoyard Sicily as a preliminary to attacking the Italian mainland Realizing that only the British fleet could prevent further Spanish landings and that pro Spanish groups in France might push the regent Duke of Orleans into war against Austria Charles VI had no option but to sign the Quadruple Alliance on 2 August 1718 and formally renounce his claim to Spain 100 Despite the Spanish fleet s destruction off Cape Passaro Philip V and Elisabeth remained resolute and rejected the treaty Although Eugene could have gone south after the conclusion of the Turkish war he chose instead to conduct operations from Vienna but Austria s military effort in Sicily proved derisory and Eugene s chosen commanders Zum Jungen and later Count Mercy performed poorly 101 It was only from pressure exerted by the French army advancing into the Basque provinces of northern Spain in April 1719 and the British Navy s attacks on the Spanish fleet and shipping that compelled Philip V and Elisabeth to dismiss Alberoni and join the Quadruple Alliance on 25 January 1720 Nevertheless the Spanish attacks had strained Charles VI s government causing tension between the Emperor and his Spanish Council 102 on the one hand and the conference headed by Eugene on the other Despite Charles VI s own personal ambitions in the Mediterranean it was clear to the Emperor that Eugene had put the safeguarding of his conquests in Hungary before everything else and that military failure in Sicily also had to rest on Eugene Consequently the Prince s influence over the Emperor declined considerably 103 Later life 1721 36 editGovernor General of the Austrian Netherlands edit Eugene had become governor of the Austrian Netherlands in June 1716 but he was an absent ruler directing policy from Vienna through his chosen representative the Marquis of Prie 104 Prie proved unpopular with the local population and the guilds who following the Barrier Treaty of 1715 were obliged to meet the financial demands of the administration and the Dutch barrier garrisons with Eugene s backing and encouragement civil disturbances in Antwerp and Brussels were forcibly suppressed After displeasing the Emperor over his initial opposition to the formation of the Ostend Company Prie also lost the support of the native nobility from within his own council of state in Brussels particularly from the Marquis de Merode Westerloo One of Eugene s former favourites General Bonneval also joined the noblemen in opposition to Prie further undermining the Prince When Prie s position became untenable Eugene felt compelled to resign his post as governor of the Austrian Netherlands on 16 November 1724 As compensation Charles VI conferred on him the honorary position as vicar general of Italy worth 140 000 gulden a year and an estate at Siebenbrunn in Lower Austria said to be worth double that amount 105 But his resignation distressed him and to compound his concerns Eugene caught a severe bout of influenza that Christmas marking the beginning of permanent bronchitis and acute infections every winter for the remaining twelve years of his life 106 Cold war editThe 1720s saw rapidly changing alliances between the European powers and almost constant diplomatic confrontation largely over unsolved issues regarding the Quadruple Alliance The Emperor and the Spanish king continued to use each other s titles and Charles VI still refused to remove the remaining legal obstacles to Don Charles eventual succession to the duchies of Parma and Tuscany Yet in a surprise move Spain and Austria moved closer with the signing of the Treaty of Vienna in April May 1725 107 In response Britain France and Prussia joined together in the Alliance of Hanover to counter the danger to Europe of an Austro Spanish hegemony 108 For the next three years there was the continual threat of war between the Hanover Treaty powers and the Austro Spanish bloc nbsp Prince Eugene by Jan Kupecky From 1726 Eugene gradually began to regain his political influence With his many contacts throughout Europe Eugene backed by Gundaker Starhemberg and Count Schonborn the Imperial vice chancellor managed to secure powerful allies and strengthen the Emperor s position his skill in managing the vast secret diplomatic network over the coming years was the main reason why Charles VI once again came to depend upon him 109 In August 1726 Russia acceded to the Austro Spanish alliance and in October Frederick William I of Prussia followed suit by defecting from the Allies with the signing of a mutual defensive treaty with the Emperor 110 nbsp Coalitions in Europe between 1725 and 1730 Signatories of the Treaty of Vienna 30 April 1725 in blue and signatories of the Treaty of Hanover 3 September 1725 in red Prussia in brown first joined the Hanoverian Alliance but later changed sides after the Treaty of Berlin on 23 December 1728 Despite the conclusion of the brief Anglo Spanish conflict manoeuvring between the European powers persisted throughout 1727 28 In 1729 Elisabeth Farnese abandoned the Austro Spanish alliance Realizing that Charles VI could not be drawn into the marriage pact she wanted Elisabeth concluded that the best way to secure her son s succession to Parma and Tuscany now lay with Britain and France To Eugene it was an event that which is seldom to be found in history 111 Following the Prince s determined lead to resist all pressure Charles VI sent troops into Italy to prevent the entry of Spanish garrisons into the contested duchies By the beginning of 1730 Eugene who had remained bellicose throughout the whole period was again in control of Austrian policy 111 In Britain there now emerged a new political re alignment as the Anglo French entente became increasingly defunct 112 Believing that a resurgent France now posed the greatest danger to their security British ministers headed by Robert Walpole moved to reform the Anglo Austrian Alliance leading to the signing of the Second Treaty of Vienna on 16 March 1731 113 114 Eugene had been the Austrian minister most responsible for the alliance believing once again it would provide security against France and Spain The treaty compelled Charles VI to sacrifice the Ostend Company and accept unequivocally the accession of Don Charles to Parma and Tuscany In return King George II as King of Great Britain and Elector of Electorate of Hanover guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction the device to secure the rights of the Emperor s daughter Maria Theresa to the entire Habsburg inheritance It was largely through Eugene s diplomacy that in January 1732 the Imperial diet also guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction which together with the Treaties with Britain Russia and Prussia marked the culmination of the Prince s diplomacy But the Treaty of Vienna had infuriated the court of King Louis XV the French had been ignored and the Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed thus increasing Habsburg influence and confirming Austria s vast territorial size The Emperor also intended Maria Theresa to marry Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine which would present an unacceptable threat on France s border By the beginning of 1733 the French army was ready for war all that was needed was the excuse 115 War of the Polish Succession edit Main article War of the Polish Succession nbsp Portrait of Prince Eugene of Savoy in later years by Jan Kupecky In 1733 the Polish King and Elector of Saxony Augustus the Strong died There were two candidates for his successor first Stanislaw Leszczynski the father in law of Louis XV second the Elector of Saxony s son Augustus supported by Russia Austria and Prussia The Polish succession had afforded Louis XV s chief minister Fleury the opportunity to attack Austria and take Lorraine from Francis Stephen To gain Spanish support France backed the succession of Elisabeth Farnese s sons to further Italian lands 116 117 Eugene entered the War of the Polish Succession as President of the Imperial War Council and commander in chief of the army but he was severely handicapped by the quality of his troops and the shortage of funds now in his seventies the Prince was also burdened by rapidly declining physical and mental powers France declared war on Austria on 10 October 1733 but without the funds from the Maritime Powers who despite the Vienna treaty remained neutral throughout the war Austria could not hire the necessary troops to wage an offensive campaign The danger to the monarchy wrote Eugene to the Emperor in October cannot be exaggerated 118 By the end of the year French forces had seized Lorraine and Milan by early 1734 Spanish troops had taken Sicily Eugene took command on the Rhine in April 1734 but vastly outnumbered he was forced onto the defensive In June Eugene set out to relieve Philippsburg yet his former drive and energy was now gone Accompanying Eugene was a young prince Frederick of Prussia sent by his father to learn the art of war Frederick gained considerable knowledge from Eugene recalling in later life his great debt to his Austrian mentor but the Prussian prince was aghast at Eugene s condition writing later his body was still there but his soul had gone 119 Eugene conducted another cautious campaign in 1735 once again pursuing a sensible defensive strategy on limited resources but his short term memory was by now practically non existent and his political influence disappeared completely Gundaker Starhemberg and Johann Christoph von Bartenstein now dominated the conference in his place Fortunately for Charles VI Fleury was determined to limit the scope of the war and in October 1735 he granted generous peace preliminaries to the Emperor 120 nbsp Eugene s Stadtpalais Vienna where the Prince conducted most of his business Later years and death edit Eugene returned to Vienna from the War of the Polish Succession in October 1735 weak and feeble when Maria Theresa and Francis Stephen married in February 1736 Eugene was too ill to attend After playing cards at Countess Batthyany s on the evening of 20 April until nine in the evening he returned home to the Stadtpalais his attendant offered him to take his prescribed medicine which Eugene declined 121 When his servants arrived to wake him the next morning on 21 April 1736 they found Prince Eugene dead after passing away quietly during the night 122 It has been said that on the same morning he was discovered dead the great lion in his menagerie was also found dead 123 Eugene s heart was buried with the ashes of his ancestors in Turin in the Basilica of Superga 121 His remains were carried in a long procession to St Stephen s Cathedral where his embalmed body was buried in the Kreuzkapelle 124 It is said that the emperor himself attended as a mourner without anybody s knowledge 121 The Prince s niece Maria Anna Victoria whom he had never met inherited Eugene s immense possessions 121 Within a few years she sold off the palaces the country estates and the art collection of a man who had become one of the wealthiest in Europe after arriving in Vienna as a refugee with empty pockets 123 Personal life editBeing an Italian by descent a Frenchman by birth and a German by adoption Prince Eugene signed himself appropriately using the trilingual form Eugenio von Savoye Italian Eugenio German von French Savoye 125 Eugene never married and was reported to have said that a woman was a hindrance in a war and that a soldier should never marry according to some of his contemporaries Eugene s loss at the 1712 Battle of Denain was due to the presence of an Italian lady that he took with him on the campaign this was confirmed by Voltaire who reported meeting the lady in question 121 According to Nicholas Henderson Eugene was called Mars without Venus for being a lifelong bachelor 126 Winston Churchill in his biography of the 1st Duke of Marlborough described Eugene as a bachelor almost a misogynist disdainful of money content with his bright sword and his lifelong animosity against Louis XIV 127 nbsp Hungarian Countess Eleonore Batthyany Strattmann Viennese court lady and companion of Prince Eugene 128 During the last 20 years of his life Eugene had a relationship with one woman Hungarian Countess Eleonore Batthyany Strattmann the widowed daughter of the former Hofkanzler Theodor von Strattman 129 Much of their acquaintance remains speculative since Eugene left no personal papers only letters of war diplomacy and politics 130 Eugene and Eleonore were constant companions meeting for dinner receptions and card games almost every day till his death although they lived apart most foreign diplomats assumed that Eleonore was his long time mistress 131 132 It is not known precisely when their relationship began but his acquisition of a property in Hungary after the Battle of Zenta near Rechnitz Castle made them neighbours 133 In the years immediately following the War of the Spanish Succession she began to be mentioned regularly in diplomatic correspondence as Eugen s Egeria 128 and within a few years she was referred to as his constant companion and his mistress 128 When asked if she and the Prince would marry Countess Batthyany replied I love him too well for that I would rather have a bad reputation than deprive him of his 134 Rumours about Eugene s sexual orientation can be traced back to his teenage years It has since been established that the source of these rumours was Elizabeth Charlotte Duchess of Orleans a renowned gossipmonger at Versailles whose husband Philippe I Duke of Orleans happened to be the brother of French King Louis XIV Eugene s lifelong adversary 135 The Duchess documented what she claimed were youthful indiscretions involving Eugene including alleged incidents with lackeys and pages According to her he was denied an ecclesiastical benefice due to his depravity 136 137 Eugene s biographer historian Helmut Oehler acknowledged the Duchess s comments but attributed them to her personal animosity toward the Prince 130 In his memoirs Eugene aware of the malicious rumours derisively addressed them calling them the invented anecdotes from the gallery of Versailles 13 Whether or not Eugene had homosexual relationships in his youth the Duchess s remarks about him were made years later and only after Eugene had severely humiliated the armies of her brother in law the King of France Following Eugene s departure from France at nineteen and spanning until his death at seventy two there were no subsequent insinuations of homosexuality 138 2 Being among the wealthiest and most celebrated figures of his era inevitably led to animosity for Eugene as envy and malice trailed him from the battlefields to Vienna His former subordinate Guido Starhemberg emerged as a persistent and bitter critic of Eugene s renown 121 Starhemberg according to Montesquieu gained notoriety at the court of Vienna as Eugene s primary rival 139 In a letter to a friend Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg another bitter rival who had served under Eugene in the War of the Spanish Succession expressed disdain for the prince 140 Schulenburg whose ambitions to command the Austrian army had been thwarted by Eugene wrote that the prince has no idea but to fight whenever the opportunity offers he thinks that nothing equals the name of Imperialists before whom all should bend the knee He loves la petite debauche et la p above all things 141 German journalist Curt Martin Riess reads it as a testament to sodomy while Eugene s primary biographer German historian Max Braubach interpreted la p as referring to Paillardize fornication Prostitution or Puterie i e Whoring 142 During his tenure as Governor General of the Austrian Netherlands Eugene developed a reputation for frequenting an exclusive brothel on Amsterdam s Prinsengracht The keeper of the establishment known as Madame Therese was familiar with Eugene s patronage Notably Eugene once brought the English consul in Amsterdam with him 143 A drawing by Cornelis Troost housed at the Rijksmuseum the national museum of the Netherlands illustrates a scene in which Prince Eugene had the available women parade in review just as he did his own troops according to the museum Troost based his drawing on an anecdote circulating at the time 144 Eugene s other friends such as the papal nuncio Passionei who delivered the funeral oration of Prince Eugene made up for the family he lacked For his only surviving nephew Emmanuel the son of his brother Louis Thomas Eugene arranged marriage with one of the daughters of Prince Liechtenstein but Emmanuel died of smallpox in 1729 With the death of Emmanuel s son in 1734 no close male relatives remained to succeed the Prince His closest relative therefore was Louis Thomas s unmarried daughter Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy daughter of his eldest brother the count of Soissons whom Eugene had never met and had made no effort to do so 145 Patron of the arts edit nbsp Portrait of Prince Eugene by Jacob van Schuppen Eugene s rewards for his victories his share of booty his revenues from his abbeys in Savoy and a steady income from his Imperial offices and governorships enabled him to contribute to the landscape of Baroque architecture 146 Eugene spent most of his life in Vienna at his Winter Palace the Stadtpalais built by Fischer von Erlach The palace acted as his official residence and home but for reasons that remain speculative the Prince s association with Fischer ended before the building was complete favouring instead Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt as his chief architect 147 Eugene first employed Hildebrandt to finish the Stadtpalais before commissioning him to prepare plans for a palace Savoy Castle on his Danubian island at Rackeve Begun in 1701 the single story building took twenty years to complete yet probably because of the Rakoczi revolt the Prince seems to have visited it only once after the siege of Belgrade in 1717 148 Of more importance was the grandiose complex of the two Belvedere palaces in Vienna The single storey Lower Belvedere with its exotic gardens and zoo was completed in 1716 The Upper Belvedere completed between 1720 and 1722 is a more substantial building with sparkling white stucco walls and copper roof it became a wonder of Europe Eugene and Hildebrandt also converted an existing structure on his Marchfeld estate into a country seat the Schloss Hof situated between the Rivers Danube and Morava 149 The building completed in 1729 was far less elaborate than his other projects but it was strong enough to serve as a fortress in case of need Eugene spent much of his spare time there in his last years accommodating large hunting parties 150 nbsp Upper Belvedere Vienna the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy In the years following the Peace of Rastatt Eugene became acquainted with a large number of scholarly men Given his position and responsiveness they were keen to meet him few could exist without patronage and this was probably the main reason for Gottfried Leibniz s association with him in 1714 151 Eugene also befriended the French writer Jean Baptiste Rousseau who by 1716 was receiving financial support from Eugene Rousseau stayed on attached to the Prince s household probably helping in the library until he left for the Netherlands in 1722 152 Another acquaintance Montesquieu already famous for his Persian Letters when he arrived in Vienna in 1728 favourably recalled his time spent at the Prince s table Nevertheless Eugene had no literary pretensions of his own and was not tempted like Maurice de Saxe or Marshal Villars to write his memoirs or books on the art of war He did however become a collector on the grandest scale his picture galleries were filled with 16th and 17th century Italian Dutch and Flemish art 153 his library at the Stadtpalais crammed with over 15 000 books 237 manuscripts as well as a huge collection of prints of particular interest were books on natural history and geography It is hardly believable wrote Rousseau that a man who carries on his shoulders the burden of almost all the affairs of Europe should find as much time to read as though he had nothing else to do 154 At Eugene s death his possessions and estates except those in Hungary which the crown reclaimed went to his niece Princess Maria Anna Victoria who at once decided to sell everything The artwork was bought by Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia Eugene s library prints and drawings were purchased by the Emperor in 1737 and have since passed into Austrian national collections 124 Historical reputation and legacy editNapoleon considered Eugene one of the eight greatest commanders of history 156 Although later military critics have disagreed with that assessment Eugene was undoubtedly the greatest Austrian general 157 He was no military innovator but he had the ability to make an inadequate system work He was equally adept as an organiser strategist and tactician believing in the primacy of battle and his ability to seize the opportune moment to launch a successful attack 158 The important thing wrote Maurice de Saxe in his Reveries is to see the opportunity and to know how to use it Prince Eugene possessed this quality which is the greatest in the art of war and which is the test of the most elevated genius 159 This fluidity was key to his battlefield successes in Italy and in his wars against the Turks Nevertheless in the Low Countries particularly after the battle of Oudenarde in 1708 Eugene like his cousin Louis of Baden tended to play safe and become bogged down in a conservative strategy of sieges and defending supply lines After the attempt on Toulon in 1707 he also became very wary of combined land sea operations 73 To historian Derek McKay the main criticism of him as a general is his legacy he left no school of officers nor an army able to function without him 158 Eugene was a disciplinarian when ordinary soldiers disobeyed orders he was prepared to shoot them himself but he rejected blind brutality writing you should only be harsh when as often happens kindness proves useless 160 nbsp Eugene s monument in Heldenplatz Vienna by Anton Dominik Fernkorn On the battlefield Eugene demanded courage in his subordinates and expected his men to fight where and when he wanted his criteria for promotion were based primarily on obedience to orders and courage on the battlefield rather than social position On the whole his men responded because he was willing to push himself as hard as them His position as President of the Imperial War Council proved less successful Following the long period of peace after the Austro Turkish War the idea of creating a separate field army or providing garrison troops with effective training for them to be turned into such an army quickly was never considered by Eugene By the time of the War of the Polish Succession therefore the Austrians were outclassed by a better prepared French force For this Eugene was largely to blame in his view unlike the drilling and manoeuvres carried out by the Prussians which to Eugene seemed irrelevant to real warfare the time to create actual fighting men was when war came 161 Although Frederick II of Prussia had been struck by the muddle of the Austrian army and its poor organisation during the Polish Succession war he later amended his initial harsh judgements If I understand anything of my trade commented Frederick in 1758 especially in the more difficult aspects I owe that advantage to Prince Eugene From him I learnt to hold grand objectives constantly in view and direct all my resources to those ends 162 To historian Christopher Duffy it was this awareness of the grand strategy that was Eugene s legacy to Frederick 162 To his responsibilities Eugene attached his own personal values physical courage loyalty to his sovereign honesty self control in all things and he expected these qualities from his commanders Eugene s approach was dictatorial but he was willing to co operate with someone he regarded as his equal such as Baden or Marlborough Yet the contrast with his co commander of the Spanish Succession war was stark According to Churchill Marlborough was the model husband and father concerned with building up a home founding a family and gathering a fortune to sustain it whereas Eugene the bachelor was disdainful of money content with his bright sword and his lifelong animosities against Louis XIV 163 The result was an austere figure inspiring respect and admiration rather than affection 164 Sicco van Goslinga one of the Dutch field deputies who worked very close with Eugene during his campaigns with Marlborough described him in his memoires as follows He had untameable courage and outdid himself during battle and in all undertakings where vigorous action was required But he was less skilled in matters requiring brainwork perseverance prudence and constant attention like when it was necessary to take up a defensive position carefully supply it with everything necessary for its preservation and watch over its security He was unable to concern himself with logistical ancillary matters which are so necessary for the security of an army It was said that he needed a new army every year implying that he had little concern for the lives of soldiers 165 Memorials edit Places and monuments edit nbsp Eugene s statue Buda Castle Budapest Hungary A huge equestrian statue in the centre of Vienna commemorates Eugene s achievements It is inscribed on one side To the wise counsellor of three Emperors and on the other To the glorious conqueror of Austria s enemies 166 A prominent equestrian statue of Eugene sculpted by Jozsef Rona overlooks the Danube Promenade from the royal gardens of Buda Castle in Budapest Erected in 1900 it was originally meant as a placeholder for a planned equestrian statue of Franz Joseph I which was ultimately never completed 167 Prinz Eugen Kapelle a chapel located at the northern corner of St Stephen s Cathedral in Vienna 168 Prinz Eugen Strasse a street in Vienna in use since 1890 Until 1911 a street in Dobling was also named Prinz Eugen Strasse since then the street connects Schwarzenbergplatz with the Wiedner Gurtel leading past the Belvedere Palace 169 Strada Eugeniu de Savoya a street in central part of Timișoara Romania and the nearby house of Prinz Eugene of Savoy built in 1817 over the old entrance gate of the Timișoara used by the general when entering in the conquered city in 1716 Warships edit Several ships have been named in Eugene s honour SMS Prinz Eugen an Austro Hungarian battleship of World War I launched in 1912 SMS Prinz Eugen an Austro Hungarian Ironclad warship built in the 1870 s SMS Prinz Eugen an Austro Hungarian Ironclad warship built in 1862 HMS Prince Eugene a Royal Navy monitor Eugenio di Savoia an Italian light cruiser German cruiser Prinz Eugen later USS Prinz Eugen a World War II heavy cruiser Other edit 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen SS It was formed in 1941 from Volksdeutsche volunteers and conscripts from the Banat Independent State of Croatia Hungary and Romania It was initially named SS Freiwilligen Division Prinz Eugen SS Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen 170 Panzer Regiment 33 part of the 9th Panzer Division was in 1943 officially redesignated Panzer Regiment Prinz Eugen Prinz Eugen von Savoyen Prize a prize awarded by the University of Vienna during the Nazi era in Austria rewarding ethnic German culture 171 Arms editCoat of arms of Prince Eugene of Savoy nbsp Ancestry editGenealogy nbsp Genealogy of Prince Eugene showing his close relationships with the French Royal family and the family of Cardinal Mazarin Eugene never married and had no children See also edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prince Eugene of Savoy Prinz Eugen der edle Ritter 20 euro Baroque commemorative coin 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen Louis William Margrave of Baden Baden Leopold I Holy Roman EmperorReferences editCitations edit French Eugene Francois German Eugen Franz Italian Eugenio Francesco a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 pp 9 10 Somerset 2014 p 252 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 9 Bancks 1741 p 2 Henderson 1964 p 9 Orleans Charlotte amp Forster 1984 p 2 Henderson 1964 p 10 the Duchess s remarks about Eugene were made years later and only after Eugene had entered the service of France s sworn enemies the Habsburgs Heer 2002 p 228 This was a clear infringement of taboo which Louis could not tolerate There is speculation of other reasons Louvois Louis Secretary of State for War detested Eugene s mother after she had rejected a proposed marriage between her daughter and his son Heer gives Eugene s departure date as 21 July 1683 di Savoia E 1811 Memoires du prince Eugene de Savoie ecrits par lui meme in French chez Duprat Duverger reimprime a St Petesbourg Francois Michel le Tellier Marquis de Louvois French Secretary of State for War a b de Ligne amp Mudford 1811 p 18 Childs Warfare in the Seventeenth Century 133 Childs puts the number at 100 000 John Wolf as high as 200 000 Stoye 2007 p 114 a b Henderson 1964 p 12 Churchill 1933 p 467 The life of Prince Eugene of Savoy Charles de Ligne Henderson 1964 p 13 MacMunn 1934 p 32 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 22 MacMunn 1934 p 35 Setton amp American Philosophical Society 1991 pp 287 289 MacMunn 1934 p 39 Leopold responded with a gift of a portrait of himself set in a diamond encrusted frame a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 27 Lynn The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 pp 192 193 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 33 Henderson 1964 p 32 Henderson 1964 p 33 Henderson 1964 p 34 His promotion had as much to do with the lack of good Imperial commanders as much as Eugene s proven ability thus far There were more than 20 other Field Marshals in Imperial service at that time a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 37 Setton amp American Philosophical Society 1991 p 390 Spielman 1977 p 165 Augustus II left for Krakow to contest the election for the Polish throne vacant since the death of John III Sobieski the previous year McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 43 Spielman 1977 p 166 Wheatcroft A 2009 The Enemy at the Gate Habsburgs Ottomans and the Battle for Europe Random House p 230 ISBN 978 1 4090 8682 6 Coxe 1807 pp 455 456 Setton amp American Philosophical Society 1991 pp 401 402 Eugene lost 401 men and 28 officers killed and 133 officers and 1 435 men were wounded Henderson 1964 p 43 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 46 Henderson 1964 pp 50 51 Coxe 1807 p 457 Wolf 1951 p 59 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 60 Coxe 1807 p 483 Henderson 1964 p 67 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 64 Lynn The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 276 Spielman 1977 p 188 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 66 Eugene was in no doubt that the blame lay with Leopold and his ministry namely Henry Mansfeld and Gotthard Salaburg Spielman 1977 p 189 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 73 Chandler 1989 p 124 Chandler 1989 p 125 Chandler 1989 p 126 Churchill 1933 p 731 Lediard The Life of John Duke of Marlborough I p 199 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 87 Churchill 1933 p 865 Coxe 1820 p 15 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 94 Coxe 1820 p 17 de Rouvroy duc de Saint Simon Norton amp Brogan 1967 p 1 The Duke of Marlborough had supplied Eugene with 10 000 reinforcements as well as a loan of 250 000 Saint Simon Memoirs 303 Churchill 2002 p 182 Eugene took little interest in Milan he never returned after 1707 Coxe 1820 p 28 Chandler 1989 p 199 Eugene s army was made up almost entirely of Germans paid for by Britain and the Dutch Republic Churchill 2002 p 350 It was also at this time that Eugene visited his mortally ill mother in Brussels for the last time She died later that year in 1708 Lynn The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 319 Henderson 1964 p 162 a b Chandler 1989 p 224 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 117 When King Louis XIV heard about Eugene s wound he remarked I certainly don t want Prince Eugene to die but I should not be sorry if his wound stopped him taking any further part in the campaign McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 121 Henderson 1964 p 171 Chandler 1989 p 249 Coxe says the citadel fell on 4 September Chandler describes the siege as one of the hardest fought and least pleasant of modern history This time Marlborough conducted the siege while Eugene commanded the covering force Coxe 1820 p 58 Lynn The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 p 335 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 128 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 pp 130 131 Lynn gives the signing date as 1 May Wolf 1951 p 89 Although the Tory ministers did not inform Eugene of the restraining orders they did inform Marshal Villars In October 1712 the Tory government even communicated to the French what they knew of Eugene s war plans Lynn The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 pp 352 354 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 154 a b Lynn The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 p 357 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 145 For a detailed description of Prince Eugene s role in the peace conference and treaty of Baden see Das Diarium des Badener Friedens 1714 von Caspar Joseph Dorer Mit Einleitung und Kommentar herausgegeben von Barbara Schmid Beitrage zur Aargauer Geschichte 18 Baden Hier und Jetzt 2014 ISBN 978 3 03919 327 1 Coxe 1820 p 100 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 pp 159 160 a b c Setton amp American Philosophical Society 1991 p 435 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 161 Setton amp American Philosophical Society 1991 pp 438 439 Coxe 1820 p 102 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 165 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 166 Henderson 1964 p 221 Coxe 1820 p 106 a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 170 Coxe 1820 p 108 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 172 Isolated Spanish troops held on around Palermo till the end of 1719 while no expedition could even be attempted on Sardinia The Spanish Council consisted of Spaniards and Italians who had followed Charles VI from Spain after the Spanish Succession war The most senior member of the council and an implacable enemy of Eugene was the Archbishop of Valencia Antonio Folch de Cardona but the most important members were Count Stella and the Marquis Ramon de Rialp The council controlled Charles VI s lands in Italy McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 177 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 180 Eugene was reluctant to leave his palaces and friends it would probably have meant his resignation from his chief interest the war council McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 186 Prie stood down in the spring of 1725 to avoid dismissal McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 187 Philip V and Elisabeth approached Austria to exploit Charles VI s isolation and his differences with the Maritime Powers over the Ostend Company They intended to conclude marriage alliances for their two sons to the Emperor s daughters aiming to bring their children control of the Habsburg hereditary lands and most of Italy Hatton George I 274 275 Sweden Denmark and the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of Hanover in 1727 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 213 Coxe 1820 p 139 The Allies failed to support Frederick William s claims to Julich Berg a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 219 Simms 2009 p 218 Simms 2009 pp 215 219 Mckay amp Scott 2014 p 136 McKay amp Scott The Rise of the Great Powers 1648 1815 136 137 Simms 2009 p 231 Mckay amp Scott 2014 p 141 Henderson 1964 p 228 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 239 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 240 a b c d e f The Edinburgh Review 1862 p 546 The Edinburgh Review 1862 p 545 a b Wheatcroft A 2009 The Enemy at the Gate Habsburgs Ottomans and the Battle for Europe Random House ISBN 978 1 4090 8682 6 a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 243 Pope amp Pattison 1878 p 118 We also have to take account of the much quoted dictum about Eugen that he was a Mars without Venus It was really nothing more than a colourful way of saying that he never married Henderson 1964 p 239 Churchill 2014 p 347 a b c Henderson 1964 p 240 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 157 a b Monaldi amp Sorti 2013 p 535 Haggard A 1906 The Real Louis the Fifteenthe With 34 Portraits Including 12 Photogravure Plates Hutchinson amp Company There was one reference to another woman before Countess Batthyany the Swedish minister in Vienna mentioned the Countess Maria Thurheim but there is no evidence to verify this Henderson 1964 p 239 de Ligne amp Mudford 1811 p 249 Beware Princess Elisabeth Charlotte Keeper of Versailles Dark Secrets Factinate 4 March 2020 Henderson 1964 pp 9 10 The Duchess described Eugene as a vulgar whore who preferred a couple of fine page boys to any woman Wilhelm Ludwig Holland ed Briefe der Herzogin Elisabeth Charlotte von Orleans Stuttgart 1867 When Louis XIV spoke out against his brother Philippe Duke of Orleans and had a list drawn up of aristocrats involved in homosexual activity there were a few names of permanent guests from the Hotel de Soissons such as that of the Prince of Turenne but not of Eugene There was never again an observer or a malicious diplomat who accused Eugene of homosexual inclinations Kramar K Mayrhofer G 2013 Prinz Eugen Heros und Neurose in German Residenz Verlag p 76 ISBN 978 3 7017 4337 7 Baron de Montesquieu 1894 p 283 Walsh Littell amp Smith 1840 p 369 Mitchell J Schmitz L 1865 Biographies of Eminent Soldiers of the Last Four Centuries W Blackwood and Sons p 211 Trost E 1985 Prinz Eugen in German Amalthea ISBN 978 3 85002 207 1 van de Pol van de Pol amp Waters 2011 p 2 Prince Eugene of Savoy Vetting a Line up of Prostitutes Cornelis Troost 1720 1730 Rijksmuseum 17 November 2020 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 203 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 189 Eugene s presidency of the Imperial War Council was probably worth 100 000 gulden a year while his governorships of Milan and the Netherlands were likely to have brought in 150 000 gulden annually There is no indication of a quarrel with Erlach just a desired change in style Hildebrandt had accompanied Eugene in Italy as his siege engineer in 1695 96 and made Imperial court engineer in 1701 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 193 Eugene had purchased this land in 1726 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 195 Maria Theresa brought the Schlosshof in 1755 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 199 The German philosopher got to know the Prince during his visit to Vienna in 1714 trying to persuade Charles VI to found an Academy of Science Rousseau had not been long in the Netherlands before he joined the conspiracy to remove Eugene from the post of Governor General Henderson Prince Eugen of Savoy p 256 Amongst the list of artists who worked for Eugene was Italian Giuseppe Maria Crespi Henderson 1964 p 259 Napoleon on Napoleon page 31 Henderson 1964 p 11 The others were Alexander the Great Hannibal Julius Caesar Gustavus Aldolphus Turenne Frederick II of Prussia and Napoleon Bonaparte 155 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 pp 246 247 a b McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 246 De Saxe Maurice Reveries on the Art of War p 119 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 pp 228 232 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 228 a b Duffy Frederick the Great A Military Life p 17 Churchill 1933 pp 774 775 McKay Baker amp von Savoyen 1977 p 248 De Graaf 2021 p 133 Henderson 1964 p xi van Tilburg Kees Eugene of Savoy Equestrian Statues Retrieved 25 September 2023 Austrian Academy of Sciences Prinz Eugen Strasse Wien Geschichte Wiki in German 3 December 2020 Kudlicka B Szewczyk R Vallet T 2014 Prinz Eugen The Story of 7 SS Freiwilligen Gebirgs Division 1942 1945 Green Series Mushroom Model Publications ISBN 978 83 63678 18 0 Barbian J P 2019 Literaturpolitik im Dritten Reich Institutionen Kompetenzen Betatigungsfelder Archiv fur Geschichte des Buchwesens Sonderdrucke in German De Gruyter p 199 ISBN 978 3 11 092938 6 Bibliography edit McKay D Baker D V von Savoyen E P 1977 Prince Eugene of Savoy Men in office Thames and Hudson ISBN 978 0 500 87007 5 Lediard Thomas 1736 The Life of John Duke of Marlborough 3 Volumes London OCLC 15928285 228744439 220564162 de Rouvroy duc de Saint Simon L Norton L Brogan D W 1967 Historical Memoirs of the Duc de Saint Simon 1691 1709 H Hamilton Saxe Maurice de 2007 1757 Reveries on the Art of War Dover Publications Inc ISBN 978 0 486 46150 2 OCLC 84903033 Chandler David G 1990 The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough Spellmount Limited ISBN 978 0 946771 42 4 OCLC 60068733 Chandler D G 1989 Marlborough as Military Commander The commanders Spellmount ISBN 978 0 946771 12 7 Childs John 2003 Warfare in the Seventeenth Century Cassell ISBN 978 0 304 36373 5 OCLC 50936157 Churchill W 1933 Marlborough His Life and Times Volume I II G G Harrap Churchill W S 2014 Marlborough His Life and Times 1934 RosettaBooks ISBN 978 0 7953 2991 3 Churchill W 2002 Marlborough His Life and Times Book Two University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0 226 10636 6 Coxe W 1807 History of the House of Austria Cadell Coxe W 1820 History of the House of Austria Longman Hurst Rees Orme amp Brown Coxe William 1864 History of the House of Austria 6 Volumes Henry G Bohn OCLC 14574176 513651195 Duffy Christopher 1985 Frederick the Great A Military Life Routledge amp Kegan Paul ISBN 978 0 7100 9649 4 OCLC 14100234 851984981 878984970 Falkner J 2015 The War of the Spanish Succession 1701 1714 Pen amp Sword Military ISBN 978 1 78159 031 7 Hatton Ragnhild 2001 George I Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 08883 0 OCLC 48649409 Henderson N 1964 Prince Eugen of Savoy a Biography Weidenfeld and Nicolson ISBN 978 1 84212 597 7 Lynn J A 2013 The Wars of Louis XIV 1667 1714 Modern Wars in Perspective Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 1 317 89951 8 MacMunn George 1933 Prince Eugene Twin Marshal with Marlborough Sampson Low Marston amp CO Ltd OCLC 2229365 Monaldi R Sorti F 2013 Veritas Birlinn ISBN 978 0 85790 570 3 Mckay D Scott H M 2014 The Rise of the Great Powers 1648 1815 The Modern European State System Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 1 317 87284 9 Mugnai B 2013 Imperial army in the age of Prince Eugene of Savoy L esercito imperiale al tempo del principe Eugenio di Savoia 1690 1720 Ediz italiana e inglese Soldiershop ISBN 978 88 96519 62 2 Paoletti Ciro 2006 Prince Eugene of Savoy the Toulon Expedition of 1707 and the English Historians A Dissenting View The Journal of Military History 70 4 939 962 doi 10 1353 jmh 2006 0267 S2CID 159792642 Pope A Pattison M 1878 Pope Essay on man ed by M Pattison Clarendon press series van de Pol L C van de Pol L Waters L 2011 The Burgher and the Whore Prostitution in Early Modern Amsterdam OUP Oxford ISBN 978 0 19 921140 1 Setton K M American Philosophical Society 1991 Venice Austria and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century American Philosophical Society Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society American Philosophical Society ISBN 978 0 87169 192 7 de Ligne C J Mudford W 1811 Memoirs of Prince Eugene of Savoy Translated from the French by William Mudford Sherwood Neely and Jones Simms B 2009 Three Victories and a Defeat The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire 1714 1783 Penguin Books Limited ISBN 978 0 14 028984 8 Somerset A 2014 The Affair of the Poisons Murder Infanticide and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV St Martin s Publishing Group ISBN 978 1 4668 6280 7 Stoye J 2007 The Siege of Vienna Birlinn ISBN 978 1 84341 037 9 Sweet Paul R 1951 Prince Eugene of Savoy and Central Europe The American Historical Review 57 1 47 62 doi 10 2307 1849477 JSTOR 1849477 Sweet Paul R 1966 Prince Eugene of Savoy Two New Biographies The Journal of Modern History 38 2 181 186 doi 10 1086 239856 JSTOR 1879033 S2CID 144274964 Upton G 2017 Prince Eugene of Savoy Jovian Press ISBN 978 1 5378 1165 9 Wolf J B 1951 The Emergence of the Great Powers The Edinburgh Review Early British periodicals Longmans Green amp Company 1862 Spielman J P 1977 Leopold I of Austria Men in office Rutgers University Press ISBN 978 0 8135 0836 8 MacMunn G F 1934 Prince Eugene Twin Marshal with Marlborough S Low Marston Heer F 2002 The Holy Roman Empire A Phoenix Press paperback Phoenix ISBN 978 1 84212 600 4 Bancks J 1741 The History of Francis Eugene Prince of Savoy J Hodges Orleans C E Charlotte E Forster E 1984 A Woman s Life in the Court of the Sun King Letters of Liselotte Von Der Pfalz Elisabeth Charlotte Duchesse D Orleans 1652 1722 Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 0 8018 5635 8 Walsh R Littell E Smith J J 1840 The Museum of Foreign Literature Science and Art E Littell amp T Holden Baron de Montesquieu C 1894 Voyages de Montesquieu Collection bordelaise des inedits de Montesquieu in French Impr G Gounouilhou De Graaf Ronald 2021 Friso het tragische leven van Johan Willem Friso Friso the tragic life of John William Friso in Dutch Boom ISBN 978 90 2443 676 7 Websites edit Stephansdom Prinz Eugen Grabmal Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften in German Archived from the original on 1 October 2022 Retrieved 3 December 2020 Further reading editof Savoy Prince Eugene 13 March 2011 Memoirs of Prince Eugene of Savoy Written by himself Translated from the French by William Mudford Public Domain ed Printed for Sherwood Neely and Jones hdl 2027 loc ark 13960 t2q533g64 von Arneth Alfred ritter 1864 Prince Eugene of Savoy years 1663 1707 Prince Eugene of Savoy According to the handwritten sources of the Imperial Archives in German Braumuller von Arneth Alfred ritter 1858 Prince Eugene of Savoy years 1708 1718 Prince Eugene of Savoy According to the handwritten sources of the Imperial Archives in German Braumuller von Arneth Alfred ritter 1858 Prince Eugene of Savoy years 1719 1736 Prince Eugene of Savoy According to the handwritten sources of the Imperial Archives in German Braumuller Braubach M 1965 Prince Eugene of Savoy Ascent Prinz Eugen Von Savoyen Eine Biographie in German R Oldenbourg Braubach M 1963 Prince Eugene of Savoy Man and Fate Prinz Eugen Von Savoyen Eine Biographie in German R Oldenbourg Braubach M 1965 Prince Eugene of Savoy The General in German R Oldenbourg Braubach M 1963 Prinz Eugen von Savoyen To the peak of fame Prinz Eugen Von Savoyen Eine Biographie in German R Oldenbourg Braubach M 1965 Prince Eugene of Savoy The statesman in German R Oldenbourg Preceded byMaximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands1716 1725 Succeeded byCount Wirich Philipp von Daun Preceded byHeinrich Franz Count von Mansfeld President of the Court War Council1703 1736 Succeeded byLothar Joseph Count Konigsegg Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Prince Eugene of Savoy amp oldid 1217330916, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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