Troops of the Maison de Condé

L'Entrée de Monseigneur le Prince de Condé dans la ville de Ipre [i.e., Ypres] : [estampe]

Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, RESERVE FOL-QB-201 (39)

A recent post by the Baró de Claramunt on his blog, “La Guerra dels Segadors,” focused on the entry of the small French auxiliary corps commanded by Roger de Bossost, comte d’Espenan, into Barcelona in support of the Catalan republicans (winter 1640). This little-known episode of the Thirty Years’ War (or Franco-Spanish sub-war thereof) reminded me of the connection of Espenan and two of the three infantry regiments he brought with him to the Maison de Condé. The princes of Condé were princes of the Blood Royal. These royal “cousins,” who would occasionally oppose or rebel against royal policies or authority (typically as represented by a minister), had immense power in the France of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, and many military units were owned by them either directly or through what we might term as patronage. In effect, these units constituted a private army within (and occasionally without) the royal army. Here is a list showing the troops associated with the Maison de Condé:

 

In Volume 3 of his Histoire des princes de Condé, the duc d’Aumale provides an interesting “Note on the Troops of the House of Condé.” The statement below is based on the note, which names the various infantry and cavalry units associated with the powerful noble house.

Cavalry      July 1630 Anguien-cavalerie; 6 cos.      1634 Gendarmes de Condé; 1 co.      1636.  Gendarmes d'Anguien; 1 co.      1627.  Chevau-légers de Condé; 1 co. (40 men).      ?.  Chevau-légers d'Anguien; 1 co. (40 men).      Others. Not mentioned here are the carabins, the guards of the governments of Berry and Burgundy, the arquebusiers à cheval, the troops of the chateau de Dijon, the archers of Montrond, and other troops--provincial, frontier, and garrison. Infantry Regiments      1622 - dissolved “immediately” Anguien [Enghien] > reestablished 8 July 1635 > dissolved 1650 or 13 September 1651, according to Belhomme > reestablished 1667 > 1686 Bourbon.      25 January 1636 Conti > 1698 (4 June 1649, according to Belhomme).      1644 Condé > 1650 > reestablished 7 November 1659. This was the duc d’Albret’s regiment.      In addition, the regiments of Persan, Espenan, and Bourgogne were associated with the House of Condé, though not as proprietary regiments.      Companies in infantry regiments: Anguien: 30; Conti: 30; Condé: ?; Persan: 30; Espenan: 20; Bourgogne: 20.

Military Greats: Great Generals (3)

Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne

And herewith, the third ten. So far, no contentiousness, but I have started to make a list of people that perhaps or most definitely deserve mention among the selectees but due to the vagaries of the Delphi method were somehow left out.

Cromwell (1599-1658)

Condé (1621-1686)

Turenne (1611-1675)

Charles XII (1682-1718)

Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736)

Marlborough (1650-1722)

Frederick the Great (1712-1786)

Suvarov (1729-1800)

Washington (1732-1799)

Galvez (1746-1786)

Military Greats: Great Generals (2)

Above: Maurits van Nassau

Here is the second ten:

Subotai (c. 1172-1245)
Edward I (1239-1307)
Edward III (1312-1377)
Tamerlane (1336-1405)
Mohammed II (1432-1481)
Gonsalvo de Córdoba (1453-1515)
Babur (1483-1530)
Maurice of Nassau (1567-1625)
Akbar (1542-1605)
Gustav II Adolf (1594-1632)

Military Greats: Great Generals (1)

Above: Genghis Khan and Three of His Four Sons (BNF)

Many years ago, my colleagues and I put together lists of military greats in several categories, e.g., great generals, great land battles, great developments in military technology, etc. We eventually had 14 such lists, varying in length from 15-60 entries. I recently rediscovered my copy of the draft lists (all save one), so I thought I'd present some of them here, starting with the first 10 of the 50 great (land warfare) generals. The list is chronological from earliest times to more recent. Please note: The list is of greats, not "the 50 greatest."

Alexander III the Great (356-323 B.C.)
Hannibal Barca (247-183B.C.)
Scipio Africanus (c. 236-184 B.C.)
Marius, Gaius (157-86 B.C.)
Sulla, Lucius Cornelius (138-78 B.C.)
Caesar, Gaius Julius (100-44 B.C.)
Belisarius (c. 505-565)
Heraclius (c. 575-641)
Khalid ibn al-Walid (592-642)
Genghis Khan (1162-1227)

Contents of Turenne et l'Art Militaire

Among the contributions, I most appreciated Humbert's on Turenne in Italy and Foerster's on Turenne and Montecuccoli. There is quite a lot here, though, and if you're interested in the military epoch and comfortable with the language, you may wish to make the effort to obtain the book.

Zusmarshausen, May 17, 1648

Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting at Zusmarshausen, a sharp rear-guard action on May 17, 1648, that was the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Source: Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting at Zusmarshausen, a sharp rear-guard action on May 17, 1648, that was the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Source: 

Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting at Zusmarshausen, a sharp rear-guard action on May 17, 1648, that was the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Source:

Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting in the sharp rear-guard action at Zusmarshausen, the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the final phase of the Thirty Years' War. Source:
 

Osten, Carl Henricus de, and Cornelius von dem Busch. Schleunige oder geschwinde Action vnd Treffen, so zwischen der Kayserl. Armee vnter dem Command. des Herrn Gen. vnd Feldmars. Graff Holtzapfell, vnd gegentheils Schwed. vnter dem Command. des Herrn Gen. vnd Feldmars. Wrangels Exell. den 7. May 1648 fürgangen. Theatrum Europaeum, Oder Außführliche Und Warhafftige Beschreibung Aller Und Jeder Denckwürdiger Geschichten, so Sich Hin Und Wieder in Der Welt, Fürnemblich Aber in Europa Und Teutschlanden, Sowol Im Religion- Als Prophan-Wesen, Vom Jahr Christi ... Biß Auff Das Jahr ... Exclus. ... Sich Zugetragen. - Beschrieben Durch Ioannem Philippum Abelinum. [Frankfurt am Main]: [Merian’s Erben], 1700. 

Zusmarshausen was a victory of the Franco-Swedes, commanded by Turenne and Wrangel, over the Imperialists and Bavarians, commanded by Melander and Gronsfeld. The cooperation of Turenne, a Frenchman, and Wrangel, a Swede, is the subject of one of the essays in Turenne et l'art militaire, described in my last post. That essay: Gyllenstierna, Col. E. “Henri de Turenne et Charles Gustave Wrangel: Stratégie et tactique pendant les dernières années de la Guerre de Trente Ans,” written by a Swedish military historian, largely minimizes the very real differences between the two. The late Will Guthrie, in the second volume of his history, provides in my opinion a better, more critical account (of course he was not addressing a colloquium in Paris). But then, victory tends to smooth differences. Moreover, Guthrie's account focuses largely on the battle and stresses by contrast the poisonous relationship of Melander and Gronsfeld, good soldiers who were no match for their gifted adversaries.

Turenne

Colloque international sur Turenne et l'art militaire, and Fernand Louis Gambiez. Actes du Colloque international sur Turenne et l'art militaire: tenu à Paris, École militaire, Amphithéâtre des Vallières, les 2 et 3 octobre 1975. [Paris]: Les Belles lettres, 1978.

Napoleon famously said: “The principles of warfare are those which guided the great captains whose high deeds history has transmitted to us—Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, Eugene of Savoy, Frederick the Great….The history of their eighty-three campaigns would constitute a complete treatise on the art of war; the principles that must be followed in defensive and offensive warfare would flow from it as from a common source.”

My current reading includes this scarce volume, which is a collection of essays delivered in Paris by eminent military scholars to mark the 300th anniversary of the death in battle at Sasbach, Germany, of the great marshal-general. Although like all such collective works the quality of the many contributions vary, there is much here that I've found useful, new (to me), even provocative. And, I am not unfamiliar with the literature on Turenne, which is rather extensive. But, this is the first opportunity that I've had to read this volume, and I'll share my observations in coming posts.