Prince Eugene of Savoy

A Genius for War Against Louis XIV and the Ottoman Empire

by James Falkner

Imprint: Pen and Sword Military

232 Pages, 6.25 x 9.25 in, 20 black and white illustrations

Paperback
9781526799425
October 2024
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9781526753533
April 2022
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9781526753540
May 2022

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Description
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Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignan, a French-born military genius in Habsburg service, defeated the Ottomans and French, becoming a prominent commander and diplomat.

Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignan (1663-1736), French born of an Italian mother, was destined for the church, but fled France as a young man and chose the life of a soldier. He entered the service of the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I in 1683 and rose rapidly to become one of the greatest military commanders of the age, playing a leading role in the wars against both the Ottoman Turks and the French. James Falkner, in this the first full biography of Eugene to be published in English for forty years, reconstructs his military campaigns in compelling detail and describes his career as a politician and statesman.

Eugene first showed his military genius during the siege of Vienna in 1683 where the Ottoman Turkish threat to western Europe was thrown back, and he commanded the Imperial army at the resounding victory over the Ottomans at Zenta in 1697. Most famously for English readers, he joined John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough in the victory over the French at Blenheim in 1704 and served alongside Marlborough at the subsequent victories at Oudenarde and Malplaquet. His later triumph, again over the Ottomans, at the capture of Belgrade in 1717, sealed his reputation as a great captain.

A lifelong bachelor although fond of women, Eugene was both a typical hard-bitten soldier and an accomplished diplomat, as well as a great patron of the arts. His summer palace, The Belvedere in Vienna, stands today as a fine monument to this extraordinary man.

James Falkner is a leading authority on eighteenth-century warfare and he has made a special study of the military exploits of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. His book, Great and Glorious Days: Marlborough's Battles 1704-1709, is one of the outstanding studies of the subject. His other books include Blenheim 1704, Ramillies 1706, Marlborough Goes to War: Eyewitness Accounts 1702-1713, Marlborough's Sieges, Marlborough's Battlefields, Fire Over the Rock: The Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783, Marshal Vauban and the Defence of Louis XIV’s France, Marlborough’s War Machine and The War of the Spanish Succession, 1701-1714.

“Exceptionally well written and informative… a masterpiece of historical biography and will prove to be a highly prized addition to community, college, and university library European History & Military Biography collections.” ~Midwest Book Review

"Falkner's military biography of Prince Eugene offers a fairly conventional appeal to the classic "drums and trumpets" crowd. His clear purpose, stated almost from the tart, is to revitalize the study of a great captain of the age with a clear, unapologetic military edge." ~Eighteenth-Century Studies

"If you don’t know Eugene of Savoy but keep hearing his name, then Falkner’s biography is a solid and reliable place to start." ~Beating Tsundoku

"Written in Falkner’s easy style this book is a wonderful evocation of a man and his times and the author’s liking for his subject comes through on every page. This, coupled with Falkner’s in-depth knowledge of the period has produced a first class book, that deserves to be on the shelf of any and every reader interested in the period of Eugene’s very long military career.

Unreservedly recommended!" ~Pike and Shot Society