Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain (15 April 1707 – 15 January 1778), French general, was born on 15 April 1707, at the Château of Vertamboz. Educated at Jesuit schools, he intended to enter the priesthood, but at the last minute obtained from

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

an appointment as sub-lieutenant. He left France, according to the gossip of the time, because of a duel; served under the Elector Palatine; fought for

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, and on the outbreak of the

war of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...

(1740) joined the army of the

elector of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

(who later became emperor under the name of Charles VII), displaying such bravery that he was promoted to the grade of lieutenant field-marshal. He left

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

on the death of Charles VII, and after brief service under

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

joined

Marshal Saxe Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus I ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and was created a field-marshal of the French army. He distinguished himself especially at Lauffeld, Rocoux and

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. On the outbreak of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

(1756) he was appointed lieutenant-general, and although he showed greater ability than any of his fellow-commanders and was admired by his soldiers, he fell a victim to court intrigues, professional jealousy and hostile criticism. He resigned his commission in 1760 and accepted an appointment as field-marshal from Frederick V of Denmark-Norway, being charged in 1762 with the reorganization of the

Danish army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structur ...

. In 1767, he and his circle, wished to make Birgitte Sofie Gabel the official mistress of Christian VII of Denmark-Norway in order to divert him from politics and take over the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

power over the government themselves.August Fjelstrup:
Damerne ved Karoline Mathildes Hof
', 1909. The plan failed because Gabel did not wish to become the king's mistress, as she found him repulsive and was in love with

Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (, German and ; 19 December 1744 – 17 August 1836) was a cadet member of the house of Hesse-Kassel and a Danish general field marshal. Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life in De ...

, and the same year, Støvlet-Cathrine became the king's official mistress instead. He soon returned to France, bought a small estate in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

near Lauterbach (close to Mulhouse), and devoted his time to religion and farming. A financial crisis swept away the funds that he had saved from his Danish service and rendered him dependent on the bounty of the French ministry of war. Saint-Germain was presented at court by the reformers Turgot and Malesherbes, and was appointed minister of war by

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

on 25 October 1775. He sought to lessen the number of officers and to establish order and regularity in the service. His efforts to introduce

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n discipline in the French army brought on such opposition that he resigned in September 1777. He accepted quarters from the king and a pension of 40,000 livres, and died in his apartment at the

Arsenal of Paris An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

on 15 January 1778.

References

Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, Claude, Comte de Saint-Germain 1707 births 1778 deaths French generals Secretaries of State for War (France) French expatriates in Denmark French Roman Catholics