Turenne, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, viscount de

Turenne, Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, viscount de

 orig. Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne

Turenne, detail of a portrait by Charles Le Brun; in the Musée National de Versailles et des …

(credit: Cliche des Musees Nationaux, Paris)

(born Sept. 11, 1611, Sedan, France—died July 27, 1675, Sasbach, Baden-Baden) French military leader. He earned his reputation as a military leader in the Thirty Years' War, especially with the capture of Turin (1640). Made a marshal of France (1643), he commanded the French army in Germany and joined the Swedish army in conquering Bavaria (1648). In France he joined the aristocrats in the Fronde (1649), but later he skillfully commanded the royal army to defeat the forces led by the prince de Condé, who had allied himself with Spain, and to bring about the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), which ended France's war with Spain. Appointed marshal-general (1660), Turenne marched alongside Louis XIV in joint command of the French armies in the War of Devolution (1667–68). His bold strategies won numerous victories against the imperial army in Germany (1672–75), but he was killed in action at Sasbach. He was buried with the kings of France at Saint-Denis and later moved to the Invalides by Napoleon, who esteemed Turenne as the greatest military leader in history.