Eugene of Savoy

Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished feldmarschall in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. Renowned as one of the greatest military commanders of his era, Prince Eugene also rose to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna, spending six decades in the service of three emperors.

Born in Paris, to the son of a French count and a niece of Cardinal Mazarin, Eugene was raised at the court of King Louis XIV. Initially destined for the priesthood as the youngest son of a noble family, he chose to pursue a military career at 19. Due to his poor physique and possibly a scandal involving his mother, Louis XIV denied him a commission in the French Royal Army and forbade him from enlisting elsewhere. Embittered, Eugene fled France and entered the service of Emperor Leopold I, cousin and rival of Louis XIV, in whose service his elder brother Louis Julius had just fallen in battle.

At 20, Prince Eugene of Savoy distinguished himself during the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683. Commanding troops at Buda (1686; now Budapest) and Belgrade (1688), he became a field marshal by age 25. In the Nine Years' War, he fought alongside his distant cousin, the Duke of Savoy. As commander-in-chief in Hungary, Eugene's decisive victory at the Battle of Zenta (1697) ended the Ottoman threat for nearly 20 years. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), he served Emperor Leopold I, achieving victories in Italy and forming a crucial partnership with the Duke of Marlborough, securing wins at Blenheim (1704), Oudenaarde (1708), and Malplaquet (1709). His success continued in Italy, notably at Turin (1706). Renewed Austro-Turkish conflicts saw Eugene triumph at Petrovaradin (1716) and Belgrade (1717), solidifying his legacy as one of Europe's greatest military commanders and securing peace in 1718.