Nicolas Catinat
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Nicolas Catinat (1 September 1637 – 22 February 1712) was a French military commander and Marshal of France under Louis XIV.
[edit] Biography
Catinat was born in Paris on 1 September 1637, the son of a magistrate. He entered the Gardes Françaises at an early age and distinguished himself at the Siege of Lille in 1667.
He became a brigadier ten years later, maréchal de camp in 1680, and lieutenant-general 1688. He served with great credit in the campaigns of 1676–1678 in Flanders and was employed against the Vaudois in 1686. After taking part in the Siege of Philippsburg at the opening of the War of the Grand Alliance, he was appointed to command the French troops in the south-eastern theatre of war. In 1690 he conquered Savoy, and in 1691 Nice.
In 1693 been made a marshal of France. His victories against the Duke of Savoy at the Battle of Staffarda in 1690, and the Battle of Marsaglia in 1693, were amongst his greatest achievements, (the Duke of Savoy later abandoned the Allied coalition and concluded peace with Louis by signing the Treaty of Turin on 29 August 1696).
At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, Catinat was placed in charge of operations in Italy, but he was much hampered by the orders of the French court and the weakness of his forces. He suffered a reverse at Carpi and was soon afterwards superseded by Marshal Villeroi, to whom he acted as second-in-command during the Battle of Chieri. He died at Saint-Gratien in 1712. His memoirs were published in 1819.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- de Broglie, Emmanuel (1902). Catinat.
