Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt
Encyclopedia
Cardona
Cardona is a town ìn Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona; about 90 km northwest of the city of Barcelona, on a hill almost surrounded by the river Cardoner, a branch of the Llobregat.Near the town is an extensive deposit of rock salt...
, was French Viceroy of Catalonia and 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...
who fought in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Biography
Philippe de la Mothe-Houdancourt was one of 12 children of Philippe (1558-1652), Seigneur de La Mothe-Houdancourt, de Sacy et de Rucoin, and his third wife (14/02/1594), Louise Charles du Plessis-Picquet.Since 1622 he fought in the Chevau-légers
Chevau-légers
The Chevau-légers was a generic French name for several units of light cavalry, roughly similar to lancers in the armies of other states during the Napoleonic Wars. Perhaps the most famous of all such units were the Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Guards and the French 2nd Light Cavalry...
against the Huguenots and was present at the Siege of La Rochelle
Siege of La Rochelle
The Siege of La Rochelle was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627-1628...
and the defeat of the English in the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)
Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)
The Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, also Siege of St. Martin's , occurred in the French isle of Ile de Ré around the fortress of the city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, when Duke of Buckingham tried to occupy the island in 1627...
.
He then fought in the War of the Mantuan Succession
War of the Mantuan Succession
The War of the Mantuan Succession was a peripheral part of the Thirty Years' War. Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the House of Gonzaga in December 1627. Brothers Francesco IV , Ferdinando and Vincenzo II , the last three dukes of Gonzaga, had all died leaving no...
and at the taking 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...
in 1630, and the battle of Carignano
Carignano
Carignano is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 20 km south of Turin. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 8,777 and an area of 50.2 km².-Geography:...
bridge, where he was wounded. On September 1, 1632 he fought in the Battle of Castelnaudary
Battle of Castelnaudary
The Battle of Castelnaudary occurred at Castelnaudary, France, on September 1, 1632, between Henri II de Montmorency and Marshal Henri de Schomberg....
against Henri II de Montmorency
Henri II de Montmorency
Henri II de Montmorency was a French nobleman and military commander.Born at Chantilly, Oise, he was the son of duke Henry I, whom he succeeded in 1614, having previously been made grand admiral...
. In the same year he was made governor of Bellegarde
Bellegarde
Bellegarde may refer to:In communes in France:* Bellegarde, Gard* Bellegarde, Gers* Bellegarde, Loiret* Bellegarde, Tarn* Bellegarde-du-Razès, in the Aude département* Bellegarde-en-Diois, in the Drôme département...
.
At the outbreak of the Franco-Spanish War (1635) he fought at the head of his own infantry regiment in the Siege of Nancy, the Battle of Les Avins
Battle of Les Avins
The Battle of Les Avins or Battle of Avein was fought on May 20, 1635 during the Thirty Years' War between a French and a Spanish army.The battle was fought in the Belgian village of Les Avins, south of Huy, in what was then the bishopric of Liège...
(May 20, 1635), the Siege of Leuven
Siege of Leuven
The Siege of Leuven was an important siege in the Thirty Years' War in which a Franco-Dutch army under Frederick Henry of Orange and the French Marshals Urbain de Maillé-Brezé and Gaspard III de Coligny, who had invaded the Spanish Netherlands from two sides, laid siege to the Spanish city of...
and the taking of the Schenk-fortress. In 1636 he defended Saint-Jean-de-Losne
Saint-Jean-de-Losne
Saint-Jean-de-Losne is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It is about southeast of Dijon.-Population:-References:*...
against Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine
Charles IV was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 to 1634, when he abdicated under French pressure in favor of his younger brother, and again from 1661 until 1675.- Biography :...
and general Matthias Gallas
Matthias Gallas
Matthias Gallas, Graf von Campo und Herzog von Lucera , was an Austrian soldier, who first saw service in Flanders, then in Savoy with the Spaniards, and subsequently joined the forces of the Catholic League as captain during the Thirty Years' War.On the general outbreak of hostilities in Germany,...
. The next years he fought several battles in Germany at the head of his own Army Corps under Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville.
As lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
he was sent to Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
to temporary take command of the army after the death of Louis, cardinal de La Valette, waiting the arrival of Henri de Lorraine, count of Harcourt
Henri de Lorraine, count of Harcourt
Henri de Lorraine , known as Cadet la Perle, was a French nobleman. He was count of Harcourt, count of Armagnac, count of Brionne and viscount of Marsan...
. Here La Mothe-Houdancourt distinguishes himself in taking Chieri
Chieri
Chieri is a town and comune in the province of Turin, Piedmont , located about 11 km southeast of Turin...
and defeating the Spanish in the Battle of Casale and the Siege of Turin (1640)
Siege of Turin (1640)
The 1640 siege of Turin was a major action in two distinct wars: the Franco-Spanish War and the Piedmontese Civil War. Thomas of Savoy and his supporters had seized the city of Turin in 1639, but French troops supporting the Regent Christine continued to hold the citadel...
against Diego Felipez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés
Diego Felipez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés
Diego Mexía Felipez de Guzmán y Dávila , vicecount of Butarque and first Marquis of Leganés, was a Spanish politician and army commander.-Biography:...
.
In 1641 he was sent to Catalonia at the head of the French Army to support the Catalan Revolt
Catalan Revolt
The Catalan Revolt affected a large part of the Catalan Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. It had an enduring effect in the Treaty of the Pyrenees , which ceded the county of Roussillon and the northern half of the county of Cerdanya to France , thereby splitting the...
. After some initial victories he besieges Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, but the city can be supplied by the Spanish over sea and he was forced to withdraw.
In September he takes the castle of Tamarite
Tamarite de Litera
Tamarite de Litera or Tamarit de Llitera is the first major town of the comarca of La Litera/La Llitera in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain.It was reconquered from the Moors by Alfonso I of Aragon in 1107....
in Aragon, returns to Tarragona and lifts the siege of Almenar by the Spanish in November.
In 1642, La Mothe won the important Battle of Montmeló
Battle of Montmeló
The Battle of Montmeló took place on 28 March 1642 in Montmeló, Catalonia during the Catalan Revolt. A Franco-Catalan army under the command of Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt fought and defeated a smaller Spanish force under Gerolamo Caracciolo....
on March 28 capturing a Spanish force of 3.600 men. For this victory he is made 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...
on April 2, Viceroy of Catalonia on June 25 after the dismissal of Urbain de Maillé-Brézé
Urbain de Maillé-Brézé
Urbain de Maillé-Brézé , was a Marshal of France during the Thirty Years' War and Franco-Spanish War .- Biography :...
and Duke of Cardona
Cardona
Cardona is a town ìn Catalonia, Spain, in the province of Barcelona; about 90 km northwest of the city of Barcelona, on a hill almost surrounded by the river Cardoner, a branch of the Llobregat.Near the town is an extensive deposit of rock salt...
in October.
On October 7, he obtained his most important victory, the Battle of Lerida
Battle of Lerida (1642)
The Battle of Lerida was a battle fought on October 7 1642 during the Catalan Revolt.After a series of victories in 1642 the Franco-Catalan army under the command of Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt controlled almost the whole of Catalonia, including Lerida...
, against Diego Felipez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés
Diego Felipez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés
Diego Mexía Felipez de Guzmán y Dávila , vicecount of Butarque and first Marquis of Leganés, was a Spanish politician and army commander.-Biography:...
.
By 1644 the balance was shifting in favor of the Spanish. They besieged Lerida again, and when La Mothe tried to lift the siege though seriously outnumbered, he lost the Second Battle of Lerida (1644)
Siege of Lleida (1644)
Siege of Lleida took place between 13 May - 30 July 1644 during the Catalan Revolt when a Spanish force under Felipe da Silva besieged and attacked the Franco-Catalan garrison of the town of Lleida - after intense fighting the town finally surrendered on 30 July.Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt,...
.
For this defeat, he was charged with treason and locked up for 4 years in the Pierre-Encise castle. Bitter by this experience he supported the claims of the Fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
and was for this relieved of command of his troops.
In 1651 he was rehabilitated and reinstated as Viceroy of Catalonia, replacing Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme
Louis II de Bourbon-Vendôme
Louis de Bourbon , was Duke of Mercœur and later the second Duke of Vendôme, and the grandson of Henry IV of France and Gabrielle d'Estrées...
to save the desperated situation there.
He breaks through the Spanish siege of Barcelona
Siege of Barcelona (1651)
The Siege of Barcelona took place between July 1651 and October 1652 during the Catalan Revolt when a large Spanish army descended on Barcelona and besieged the garrison made up of Catalans and French troops under Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt....
and defended the city for several months, but was forced to surrender on October 13, 1652.
Now Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
was definitively lost for France and Marshal de La Mothe withdrew from active service, spending the last years of his life on his domain at Fayel.
Marriage and children
He married in 1650 with Louise de Prie (1624-1709), Marchioness of Toucy, and had 3 daughters :- Françoise Angélique (1650-1711), married Louis Victor d'Aumont, Duke of Aumont;
- Charlotte Éléonore MadeleineMadame de VentadourCharlotte de La Motte Houdancourt, Duchess of Ventadour was the governess of King Louis XV of France, great-grandson of King Louis XIV. She is credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child...
(1651-1744), Duchess of Ventadour by her marriage with Louis-Charles de Lévis, governess of Louis XVLouis XV of FranceLouis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
and his children, credited with saving Louis XV from the ministrations of the royal doctors when he was ill as a child; - Marie Isabelle Angélique (or Marie Gabrielle Angélique) (1654-1726), married Henri François de Saint Nectaire, Duke of La Ferté-Senneterre.
Sources
Nouvelle biographie universelle générale, dr. Hoefer - Page 248de Nouvelle biographie - 1859