Charles Eugène de Croÿ (; ; ; 1651 – ) was a German and Russian

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and nobleman from the French noble family of Croÿ.

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. In 1681, he married Wilhelmina Juliana van den Bergh (born January 20, 1638 in Zutphen, Gelderland, Netherlands; † October 1714), daughter of Hendrik van den Bergh (1573–1638) and his second wife Hieronyma Katharina Countess von Spaur (1600–1683). They had no children. Croÿ joined the Danish army during the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

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 Denmark, Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army ...

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 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 to the island of Ven, an ...

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

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Imperial army against the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

and participated in both the liberation of Vienna in 1683 and the attack on

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1690. On October 18. 1692, he laid the foundation stone of the

Petrovaradin Fortress Petrovaradin Fortress ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Петроварадинска тврђава, Petrovaradinska tvrđava, ; ), nicknamed "Gibraltar on/of the Danube", is a Bastion fort, bastion fortress in the town of Petrovaradin, itself part of the City of ...

and was promoted to Imperial Field Marshal for his services. In 1693, he failed to reconquer Belgrade from the Ottomans. In 1697, he started serving the Russian Tsar,

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, and commanded his forces in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

(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 Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

. 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