Large plan of the French attack of Tournai and its fort

[Attaque des Ville et Citadelle de Tournay 1746 ].

Europe Low Countries
  • Publication date: 1746 [but 1745].
  • Inventory reference: 2709

Notes

Large plan of the French attack of Tournai and its fort.

The Siege of Tournay by the French commander Maurice de Saxe heralded the beginning of the military campaigns of 1745. The siege began on the 25th April 1745, with an estimated 90,000 French troops surrounding teh town, facing a Dutch garrison of 9,000 men; the city and citadel managed to hold out until 19th June.

The plan shows, rivers, field boundaries, fortifications, roads, houses, and elevation. Entensive French trench work is shown to the north west of the town and fort.

Provenance

From the Library of the Dukes of Luynes.

Charles Louis d’Albert de Luynes (1717-1771) was a French nobleman and member of the House of Albert. He was the fifth Duke of Luynes as well as Duke of Chevreuse.

He took part in the war in 1733 in the War of the Polish Succession. He also took part in campaigns in 1735 and 1745, the latter in the War of the Austrian Succession, and was injured in combat at Sahay at the head of the Dragoons. He participated in the attack of Prague in 1742, and also assisted in various sieges and battles of the era.

In 1754, he was created a Colonel General of the Dragoons. From 1757 to 1771, he was the Gouverneur de Paris (Military governor of Paris), an ancient and prestigious rank representing the king in the capital. He also was created a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit at Versailles on 2 February 1759.

He died in Paris in his Hôtel. He was buried at the Chapelle de Saint Jean l’Évangeliste at the Église Saint-Sulpice, Paris.

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