Charles Marie Raymond d'Arenberg (

Enghien Enghien (; ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km2. ...

, 1 April 1721 –

, 17 August 1778) was the fifth

Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot ...

, 11th

Duke of Aarschot The Duke of Aarschot (or ''Aerschot'') was one of the most important aristocratic titles in the Low Countries, named after the Brabantian city of Aarschot. The title was held by the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg. The present Duke is Leo ...

and an Austrian field marshal.

Biography

Charles Marie was the eldest son of Duke Leopold Philippe of Arenberg and Duchess Maria Francesca Pignatelli-Bisaccia (1696–1766). His sister was Marie Victoire d'Arenberg, wife of

Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden (August Georg Simpert; 14 January 1706, Rastatt, Margraviate of Baden – 21 October 1771) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden from 1761 till his death in 1771. He succeeded his brother Louis Georg ...

. Charles Marie joined his father's 1743 campaign in the

War of Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King George's War in Nort ...

, first as lieutenant-colonel and later as colonel of the second Walloon Infantry Regiment, which he had raised personally. He commanded this regiment in the 1744 and 1745 campaigns, until he became colonel of the Baden-Baden Regiment. One year later he became major general. In 1748, he played an important role in the defence of Maastricht against the French. Charles Marie also became ''Grand-Bailli'' of Hainaut and

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

in 1740. In the first years of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, he was active in the Bohemian theater of war. He participated in the

Battle of Prague (1757) Battle of Prague may refer to: * Battle of White Mountain (1620), an early battle in the Thirty Years' War * Battle of Prague (1648), the last action of the Thirty Years' War * Siege of Prague (1742), a siege during the War of the Austrian Successi ...

and the many battles that followed. In 1758, he was promoted to

Feldzeugmeister General of the Artillery () was a historical military rank in some German and Austro-Hungarian armies, specifically in artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th and 17th centuries, and survived until the beginning of the 20th century in some Euro ...

. On 14 October of that year, he played a crucial role in the victorious

Battle of Hochkirch The Battle of Hochkirch took place on 14 October 1758, during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). After several weeks of maneuvering for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Jos ...

as commander of the right wing of the Austrian Army. For this, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the

Military Order of Maria Theresa The Military Order of Maria Theresa (; ; ; ; ; ) was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire. History Founded on 18 June 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolín, by the Empress Mari ...

. In the 1759 campaign, he commanded several Army Corps and was defeated near Dresden on 29 October by Prussian troops under General Wunsch. He was praised for his actions in the lost Battle of Torgau on 3 November 1760, in which he was severely wounded. These wounds meant the end of his active career, and he retired. In 1776, he was admitted to the ''

Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

'', and he was made Field Marshal in 1777.

Family

He married Countess Louise Margarethe von der Marck-Schleiden (1730–1820), daughter of Count Louis Engelbert von der Marck-Schleiden in 1748.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Vol.2, 452 They had eight children, amongst whom: * Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (1750–1820), married Louise Antoinette de Brancas-Villars, Countess of Lauragais (1755–1812), * Leopoldine d'Arenberg (1751–1812), married Joseph, Count zu Windisch-Graetz (1744–1802) * Marie-Flore (1752–1832), married Wolfgang, 3rd Duke of Ursel (1750–1804) * Auguste Marie Raymond (1753–1833), married Marie-Françoise Le Danois (1757–1810), * Marie Louise Françoise (1754–1838), married Ludwig, Prince of Starhemberg (1762–1833). * Charles Joseph (1755–1775) * Louis Marie Eugène (1757–1795), married Anne de Mailly-Nesle (1766–1789) His sister, Princess Marie-Flore d'Arenberg, was the wife of Count Jean Charles de Merode-Deynze.

Notes

References

* ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1911. * Millar, Simon and Adam Hook, ''Kolin 1757: Frederick the Great's first defeat'', Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2001.

Biography

Family

Notes

References

Further reading