Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne

Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne (11 September 1611 – 27 July 1675), better known simply as Turenne, was a French general who rose to become one of only six Marshals General of France. As the most famous member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family, his career spanning roughly fifty years made him widely regarded as one of history's great military leaders.

He was born into a Huguenot family in Sedan, the second son of the Duke of Bouillon and a daughter of William the Silent. His father was also a Marshal of France, so Turenne learned the art of war early. As a child, he gave much of his money to the poor.

Background and early career

He got a Huguenot education and the usual training for a young noble, but physical weakness held him back, though he excelled at history and geography and admired Alexander the Great and Caesar. He was initially a lazy student, but after his father remarked that his intellectual laziness was as big an obstacle to joining the army as his physical weakness, he began studying on his own. After his father died in 1623, he threw himself into physical training and largely overcame his natural frailty.

Turenne and his mother were devout Calvinists and distrusted Cardinal Richelieu, so at age fourteen he started his military career in the Dutch States Army under his maternal uncles, Maurice of Nassau and later Frederick Henry. He began as a private in Maurice's bodyguard during the Eighty Years' War. In 1626, Frederick Henry made him a captain. Turenne personally drilled his troops, won their respect through charity and a simple lifestyle, and his company was considered the best-drilled and most disciplined in the army.

He demanded not just discipline but high moral standards, and his kindness made him popular throughout the army. He took part in sieges, learning about fortifications and siegecraft. In 1629, he served at the siege of Bois-le-Duc as an artillery and reconnaissance commander, earning praise for his skill but a reprimand for recklessness. He also learned army leadership details like posting guards and reconnaissance.

In 1630, motivated by career prospects and his mother's wish to show loyalty to the French crown, Turenne left the Netherlands for French service. Cardinal Richelieu immediately made him colonel of an infantry regiment, though he continued serving with the Prince of Orange at intervals during their alliance with France.