Claude François Bidal, marquis d'Asfeld (Paris, 2 July 1665 – Paris, 7 March 1743) was a French

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...

. He was the son of Pierre Bidal (1612–1690), a French merchant and banker who did business with

Christina of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December ( New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death ...

.
He received from her the title of Baron of

Harsefeld Harsefeld (in High German, in Low Saxon: Harsfeld; literally in ''horse field'') is a municipality situated south-west of Hamburg (Germany). Harsefeld has a population of c. 12,500 and belongs to the district of Stade, Lower Saxony. Harsefeld i ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, then in Swedish hands, when he was French ambassador in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. When Christina abdicated her throne on 5 June 1654 in favour of her cousin Karl Gustavus in order to practice openly her Catholicism, she went to live in France, in a beautiful estate at

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris w ...

, possession of Pierre Bidal. The title Baron of ''Harsefeld'' was transformed to ''Asfeld'' in French and passed over from Pierre to Claude François. Claude François became maréchal de camp in 1702, lieutenant general in 1704 and commander in the

Order of Saint-Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a rewar ...

in 1707. He played a major role in the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

in Spain, under Berwick.
He fought in the

Battle of Almansa The Battle of Almansa took place on 25 April 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was fought between an army loyal to Philip V of Spain, House of Bourbon, Bourbon claimant to the Spanish throne, and one supporting his House of Habs ...

(1707), the conquest of

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...

and

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, the Siege of Barcelona (1714) and the capitulation of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

(1715). After the war, he was made Marquis d'Asfeld en Castille by King

Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mon ...

and knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. He was director-general of the French fortifications in 1715, member of the War council, military commander first in the

Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne (, ; oc, Guiana ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the archdiocese of Bordeaux. The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transformation o ...

province (1719), later in Italy (1733).
When Berwick was killed in the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...

by a cannonball at the siege of

Philippsburg Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim". The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718. The town is named after ...

in 1734, Asfeld became commander-in-chief of the army of the Rhine.
He was made

in 1734. In 1728, he bought the domain and title of ''Count d’Avaux''. He married in 1717 ''Jeanne Louise Joly de Fleury'', who died seven months later of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

.
He remarried in 1718 with ''Anne Leclerc de Lesseville'', who died in 1728 in childbirth. They had five children.

External links

Pedigree and portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bidal dAsfeld, Claude Francois 1665 births 1743 deaths Military personnel from Paris Viceroys of Catalonia Marshals of France French army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession French military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession Burials at Saint-Roch, Paris Commanders of the Order of Saint Louis Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain