Charles Eugène de Croÿ (; ; russian: Карл Евгений де Круа, tr. ; 1651) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Field Marshal and nobleman from the French noble

House of Croÿ The House of Croÿ () is a family of European mediatized nobility, which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1594. In 1533 they became Dukes of Arschot (in Belgium) and ...

Biography

His father was Jacques Philippe de Croÿ-Roeulx (1614–1685), a descendant of Jean III of Croy-Roeulx, son of Antoine le Grand. His mother was Johanna Catharina van Bronckhorst, daughter of Field Marshal Johann Jakob van Bronckhorst. He married Wilhelmina Juliana van den Bergh, daughter of Hendrik van den Bergh, who was 13 years his senior. They had no children. Croÿ joined the Danish army during the Scanian War and was first a volunteer officer but was relatively quickly made a colonel for his bravery. He participated in the 1676

Battle of Lund The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about ...

and the siege of Malmö in June 1677 when he was seriously wounded. In November of that same year, he had recovered from his injuries and was nominated governor of the city of

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

which was the main Danish stronghold during the entire war. Unfortunately, he became quite unpopular because of his grand, continental manners and was replaced by Hans Wilhelm von Meerheim less than a month later. Later on, he fought with success in the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

army against the Ottoman Turks and participated in both the liberation of Vienna in 1683 and the attack on Belgrade in 1690. On October 18. 1692, he laid the foundation stone of the

Petrovaradin Fortress Petrovaradin Fortress ( sr, Петроварадинска тврђава, Petrovaradinska tvrđava, ; hu, Péterváradi vár), nicknamed "Gibraltar on/of the Danube", is a fortress in the town of Petrovaradin, itself part of the City of Novi Sad ...

and was promoted to

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

Field Marshal for his services. In 1697, he started serving the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, and commanded his forces in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

(Livonia at this time formed part of Sweden and the Polish Commonwealth). He led the Russian forces in the Battle of Narva on 20 November 1700 when he surrendered and was taken prisoner by the Swedes. He died in Reval (Tallinn) as a prisoner of war in 1702. On demand of his creditors, his body, which rested at St. Nicholas Church, was not buried for more than 190 years, and, when mummified, was exhibited as a curiosity.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croy, Charles Eugene de 1651 births 1702 deaths People from Le Rœulx Charles Eugene Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Field marshals of Russia Russian military personnel of the Great Northern War Mummies