Victor François, Duc de Broglie

In the German War 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 in 1756 he was made maréchal de camp. He subsequently served with Marshal 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 d'Estrées, 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 his own sovereign and that of prince of the empire from the emperor Francis I.

In 1760 he won an action at Corbach, but was defeated at Vellinghausen 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 Revolution, which he opposed with determination. After his emigration, de Broglie commanded the "army of the princes" for a short time (1792). He died at Münster in 1804.

This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.