Eugene of Savoy summary

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Eugene of Savoy, orig. François-Eugène, prince de Savoie-Carignan, (born Oct. 18, 1663, Paris, France—died April 24, 1736, Vienna, Austria), French-Austrian general. Born in Paris, he was the son of the count de Soissons, of the house of Savoy-Carignan, and of Olympe Mancini (see Mancini family), niece of Jules Mazarin. Louis XIV severely restrained Eugene’s ambitions, prompting him to leave France and enter the service of Emperor Leopold I. He later served Joseph I and Charles VI. He quickly distinguished himself in battle and advanced in rank to imperial field marshal at age 29. He fought notably against the Turks in central Europe and the Balkans and against France in the War of the Grand Alliance and the War of the Spanish Succession. With his friend the duke of Marlborough, he won the important victory at the Battle of Blenheim (1704) and ousted the French from Italy. In 1718 he won a great triumph over the Turks, taking the city of Belgrade. He later served as governor in the Austrian Netherlands (1714–24). An outstanding strategist and an inspired leader, he was regarded as one of the greatest soldiers of his generation.

army Summary

Army, a large organized armed force trained for war, especially on land. The term may be applied to a large unit organized for independent action, or it may be applied to a nation’s or ruler’s complete military organization for land warfare. Throughout history, the character and organization of

Battle of Blenheim; War of the Spanish Succession

War of the Spanish Succession Summary

War of the Spanish Succession, (1701–14), conflict that arose out of the disputed succession to the throne of Spain following the death of the childless Charles II, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs. The war was primarily a struggle to determine whether the vast possessions of the Spanish Empire

Jan van Huchtenburg: William III and Maximilian II Emanuel

War of the Grand Alliance Summary

War of the Grand Alliance, (1689–97), the third major war of Louis XIV of France, in which his expansionist plans were blocked by an alliance led by England, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the Austrian Habsburgs. The deeper issue underlying the war was the balance of power between the

Austria Summary

Austria, largely mountainous landlocked country of south-central Europe. Together with Switzerland, it forms what has been characterized as the neutral core of Europe, notwithstanding Austria’s full membership since 1995 in the supranational European Union (EU). A great part of Austria’s prominence