Marshal General of France
|
|
The title Marshal General of France was given to signify that the recipient had authority over all "camps and armies of the King" in the days when a Marshal governed only one army usually. There were only six in the history of France.
- Charles de Gontaut, Duc de Biron, 1562–1602:
- Admiral 1592;
- Admiral & Marshal 26 January 1594
- unclear when promoted to Marshal General;
- executed 1602.
- Francois le Bonne, Duc de Lesdiguieres, 1543–1626:
- Marshal 27 September 1609:
- Marshal General 30 March 1621;
- Constable of France 6 July 1622.
- Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, 1611–1675:
- Marshal 16 November 1643;
- Marshal General 4 April 1660.
- Claude de Villars, 1653–1734:
- Marshal 20 October 1702;
- Marshal General 18 October 1733.
- Hermann-Maurice Marquis de Saxe, 1696–1750:
- Marshal 26 March 1744;
- Marshal General 12 January 1747.
- Nicholas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1769–1851:
- Marshal of the Empire 19 May 1804
- Marshal General 15 September 1847
Sources
- Quid.fr (online encyclopedia)
- web.genealogie: les militaires (also online)
- Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, edited by Trevor N. Dupuy et al. (most dates are from the latter)
Source that Biron was Marshal General is Quid.fr; unfortunately source doesn't give years of promotion for them.