- Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie
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For other people with a similar name, see Victor de Broglie.
Victor-François de Broglie Born 19 October 1718
ParisDied 30 March 1804 (aged 85)
MünsterAllegiance Kingdom of France Service/branch Army Years of service fl. 1734-1792 Rank Marshal of France Battles/wars War of the Austrian Succession
Seven Years' War
French Revolutionary WarsVictor François de Broglie, 2nd duc de Broglie (19 October 1718, Paris – 30 March 1804) was a French aristocrat and soldier and a marshal of France. He served with his father, François Marie de Broglie, 1st duc de Broglie, at Parma and Guastalla, and in 1734 obtained a colonelcy.
In the War of the Austrian Succession he took part in the storming of Prague in 1742, and was made a brigadier. In 1744 and 1745 he saw further service on the Rhine, and he succeeded his father as 2nd duc de Broglie on the old duke's death in 1745. He was made a Maréchal de Camp, and he subsequently served with Marshal de Saxe in the Low Countries, and was present at Roucoux, Val and Maastricht. At the end of the war he was made a Lieutenant-general.
During the Seven Years' War he served successively under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées, Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise, and Contades, being present at all the battles from Hastenbeck onwards. His victory over Prince Ferdinand at Bergen (1759) won him the rank of marshal of France from the French King Louis XV and the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Reichsfürst from Emperor Francis I.
In 1759 he won the Battle of Bergen and followed that with the capture the city of Minden, later fighting at the Battle of Minden under the command of Contades whom he would succeed in command. In 1760 he won an action at the Korbach, but was defeated at Villinghausen in 1761. After the war he fell into disgrace and was not recalled to active employment until 1778, when he was given command of the troops designed to operate against England. He played a prominent part in the French Revolution, which he opposed with determination; he commanded troops at Versailles in July 1789 and briefly served as Louis XVI's minister of war before fleeing France. After his emigration, the duc de Broglie commanded the "Army of the Princes" for a short time (1792).
Since the duke's eldest son, Charles-Louis-Victor, prince de Broglie, died in the Terror, the succession fell to his grandson, who became the third duc de Broglie. He died at Münster in 1804.
See also
- France in the Seven Years War
References
- "Broglie, Victor-François de" at Historydata
- Paul Theroff (2005). "Broglie Genealogy". Paul Theroff's Royal Genealogy Site. http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/broglie.html. Retrieved 2009-01-08.[dead link]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- This article incorporates information from the revision as of January 2009 of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.
Political offices Preceded by
Louis Pierre de Chastenet, comte de PuységurSecretary of State for War
13 Jul 1789 - 16 Jul 1789Succeeded by
Jean-Frédéric de la Tour du Pin-GouvernetFrançois-Marie (1742) · Victor-François (1745) · Achille-Léonce-Victor-Charles (1804) · Jacques-Victor-Albert (1870) · Louis-Alphonse-Victor (1901) · Louis-César-Victor-Maurice (1906) · Louis-Victor-Pierre-Raymond (1960) · Victor-François Marie Léon (1987)
Categories:- 1718 births
- 1804 deaths
- People from Paris
- Marshals of France
- Dukes of Broglie
- Secretaries of State for War (France)
- Recipients of the Order of the Holy Spirit
- French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession
- French military personnel of the Seven Years' War
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