René de Froulay de Tessé
Encyclopedia
René de Froulay, comte de Tessé (14 May 1648 – 30 March 1725) was a French Marshal and diplomat.
. His younger brother Philibert-Emmanuel de Froulay, chevalier de Tessé
also became a Maréchal de camp.
In the 1670s, he fought the Dutch in the Franco-Dutch war
.
As an officer in the Dragoons (he became Colonel Général in 1692), he participated actively in the Dragonnade
, directed at the Huguenot
population around 1685.
He also carried out the pitilessly and methodically devastation of the Palatinate, ordered by Louvois
, in January and February of 1689.
In 1693 he successfully defended the fortress of Pinerolo
.
He intrigued with Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes
(mistress of the then Duke of Savoy
) to bring about a marriage with Louis XIV'S grandson and Marie Adelaide of Savoy.
He became a marshal of France
in 1703 and was in 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession
, appointed as commander-in-chief of the Franco-Spanish troops in Spain, in place of Berwick
.
His first action was to resolve the costly siege of Gibraltar
, which at the beginning of 1705 had not made much headway. Apart from the slow advance of the Spanish under Villadarias
, the problem was that the Anglo-Dutch forces were continually resupplied by sea.
Tessé concluded that it was absolutely necessary to take Gibraltar and that the enterprise only was possible with strong support of a French naval squadron. The annihilation on March 21, 1705 of this squadron near Cabrita point
put an end to this design. Tessé then lifted the siege at the end of April.
His next action was to counter the allied-Portuguese invasion, commanded by Henri de Massue, 1st Earl of Galway
. Tessé gave way somewhat to them, but stopped the allied-Portuguese army at Badajoz
and Alcántara
.
In 1706 he was sent to besiege Barcelona
, while the city was blocked from the sea-side by the count of Toulouse
. Though the artillery of the besiegers was insufficient, they finally managed to shoot three breaches in the walls. Before Tessé came to a decision whether or not to storm the city, the arrival of the allied fleet under John Leake
became imminent, and Toulouse left with the French fleet on 10 May. Tessé then hastily lifted the siege in the night of 11–12 May leaving guns, munition and wounded behind. This retreat was considered shameful and Tessé was removed of command.
On the day the siege was raised there occurred an eclipse of the sun.
But in 1707, he prevented Prince Eugene to take the French naval port of Toulon
. Eugene had crossed the Var on July 11, and, although hampered by the negligence and inefficiency of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, had reached Frejus
, and was in touch with Shovell and the British fleet, by the 16th. But the Duke's procrastination caused further delays, and gave time for the troops which Berwick was sending home from Spain to reinforce Marshal Tessé at Toulon before the arrival of the Allies (July 26). On August 14, Tessé retook the all-important heights of Santa Catarina, which the Allies had stormed a week earlier. Eugene, finding his retreat menaced and little chance of taking Toulon, had to abandon his attempt (August 22), and fall back across the Var, having lost 10,000 men in this ill-fated enterprise. Its only fruit was that, in order to prevent their ships falling into the enemy's hands, the French had sunk their whole squadron of more than 50 sail in the harbour, and thereby put it quite out of their power to contest the English control of the Mediterranean.
, and the marriage of Victor Amadeus to Anne Marie of Orléans
, a niece of King Louis XIV.
In 1708 he was ambassador in Rome
.
In 1724 he was ambassador in Spain, and convinced the former king Philip V of Spain
to resume the throne, after the death of his son and successor Louis of Spain
.
He died the following year at Grosbois.
Military career
Tessé was born at Le MansLe Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
. His younger brother Philibert-Emmanuel de Froulay, chevalier de Tessé
Philibert-Emmanuel de Froulay, chevalier de Tessé
Philibert-Emmanuel de Froulay, chevalier de Tessé , was baron d'Ambrières and a French army commander, fighting in the Williamite War in Ireland....
also became a Maréchal de camp.
In the 1670s, he fought the Dutch in the Franco-Dutch war
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, often called simply the Dutch War was a war fought by France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and England against the United Netherlands, which were later joined by the Austrian Habsburg lands, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance...
.
As an officer in the Dragoons (he became Colonel Général in 1692), he participated actively in the Dragonnade
Dragonnade
"Dragonnades" was a French policy instituted by Louis XIV in 1681 to intimidate Huguenot families into either leaving France or re-converting to Catholicism.- History :This policy involved billeting ill-disciplined dragoons in Protestant households...
, directed at the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
population around 1685.
He also carried out the pitilessly and methodically devastation of the Palatinate, ordered by Louvois
François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois
François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois was the French Secretary of State for War for a significant part of the reign of Louis XIV. Louvois and his father, Michel le Tellier, would increase the French Army to 400,000 soldiers, an army that would fight four wars between 1667 and 1713...
, in January and February of 1689.
In 1693 he successfully defended the fortress of Pinerolo
Pinerolo
Pinerolo is a town and comune in north-western Italy, 40 kilometres southwest of Turin on the river Chisone.-History:In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance...
.
He intrigued with Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes
Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes
Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes, comtesse de Verrue was a French noblewoman and the mistress of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia.-Biography:...
(mistress of the then Duke of Savoy
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
Victor Amadeus II was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont, count of Aosta, Moriana and Nizza. Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy but Victor Amadeus soon broke away...
) to bring about a marriage with Louis XIV'S grandson and Marie Adelaide of Savoy.
He became a marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
in 1703 and was in 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, appointed as commander-in-chief of the Franco-Spanish troops in Spain, in place of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, 1st Duke of Fitz-James, 1st Duke of Liria and Jérica was an Anglo-French military leader, illegitimate son of King James II of England by Arabella Churchill, sister of the 1st Duke of Marlborough...
.
His first action was to resolve the costly siege of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, which at the beginning of 1705 had not made much headway. Apart from the slow advance of the Spanish under Villadarias
Francisco Castillo Fajardo, Marquis of Villadarias
Francisco Castillo Fajardo, 2nd Marquis of Villadarias , was a Spanish general.- Service Record :...
, the problem was that the Anglo-Dutch forces were continually resupplied by sea.
Tessé concluded that it was absolutely necessary to take Gibraltar and that the enterprise only was possible with strong support of a French naval squadron. The annihilation on March 21, 1705 of this squadron near Cabrita point
Battle of Cabrita point
The Battle of Cabrita Point, usually referred to as the Battle of Marbella, was a naval battle that took place while a combined Spanish-French force besieged Gibraltar on 10 March 1705 during the War of Spanish Succession.The battle was an allied victory which effectively ended the Franco-Spanish...
put an end to this design. Tessé then lifted the siege at the end of April.
His next action was to counter the allied-Portuguese invasion, commanded by Henri de Massue, 1st Earl of Galway
Henri de Massue, 1st Earl of Galway
Henri de Massue, Marquis de Ruvigny, afterward Earl of Galway PC was a French Huguenot soldier and diplomat who was influential in the English service in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession.-Biography:...
. Tessé gave way somewhat to them, but stopped the allied-Portuguese army at Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
and Alcántara
Alcántara
Alcántara is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word al-QanTarah meaning "the bridge".-History:...
.
In 1706 he was sent to besiege Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, while the city was blocked from the sea-side by the count of Toulouse
Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de Toulouse
Louis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse , duc de Penthièvre , d'Arc, de Châteauvillain and de Rambouillet , , was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Madame de Montespan...
. Though the artillery of the besiegers was insufficient, they finally managed to shoot three breaches in the walls. Before Tessé came to a decision whether or not to storm the city, the arrival of the allied fleet under John Leake
John Leake
Sir John Leake was an English Admiral in the Royal Navy and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1715.Leake was born at Rotherhithe, the second son of Richard Leake, Master Gunner of England....
became imminent, and Toulouse left with the French fleet on 10 May. Tessé then hastily lifted the siege in the night of 11–12 May leaving guns, munition and wounded behind. This retreat was considered shameful and Tessé was removed of command.
On the day the siege was raised there occurred an eclipse of the sun.
But in 1707, he prevented Prince Eugene to take the French naval port of Toulon
Battle of Toulon (1707)
The Battle of Toulon was fought from July 29 to August 21, 1707 at Toulon, France during the War of the Spanish Succession. During the battle, a French and Spanish force defeated one from Austria, the Dutch Republic, Savoy and Great Britain....
. Eugene had crossed the Var on July 11, and, although hampered by the negligence and inefficiency of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, had reached Frejus
Fréjus
Fréjus is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one town...
, and was in touch with Shovell and the British fleet, by the 16th. But the Duke's procrastination caused further delays, and gave time for the troops which Berwick was sending home from Spain to reinforce Marshal Tessé at Toulon before the arrival of the Allies (July 26). On August 14, Tessé retook the all-important heights of Santa Catarina, which the Allies had stormed a week earlier. Eugene, finding his retreat menaced and little chance of taking Toulon, had to abandon his attempt (August 22), and fall back across the Var, having lost 10,000 men in this ill-fated enterprise. Its only fruit was that, in order to prevent their ships falling into the enemy's hands, the French had sunk their whole squadron of more than 50 sail in the harbour, and thereby put it quite out of their power to contest the English control of the Mediterranean.
Diplomat
Between 1693 and 1696 he conducted secret negotiations with Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, which led to the treaty of RyswickTreaty of Ryswick
The Treaty of Ryswick or Ryswyck was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick in the Dutch Republic. The treaty settled the Nine Years' War, which pitted France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces.Negotiations started in May...
, and the marriage of Victor Amadeus to Anne Marie of Orléans
Anne Marie of Orléans
Anne Marie d'Orléans was the first Queen consort of Sardinia and the maternal grandmother of Louis XV of France...
, a niece of King Louis XIV.
In 1708 he was ambassador in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
In 1724 he was ambassador in Spain, and convinced the former king Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
to resume the throne, after the death of his son and successor Louis of Spain
Louis of Spain
Louis I was reigned as King of Spain from 15 January 1724 until his death in August the same year...
.
He died the following year at Grosbois.