Vendôme, Louis Joseph, duc de [key], 1654–1712, marshal of France; grandson of César de Vendôme and son of Laura Mancini. He fought in the War of the Grand Alliance. In the War of the Spanish Succession he was appointed (1702) commander in Italy and decisively defeated his cousin, the Austrian commander Prince Eugene of Savoy, at Cassano (1705). Sent to Flanders to repair the French defeat at Ramillies (1706), he was at first successful against the duke of Marlborough and Eugene but was defeated at Oudenarde (1708). In 1710 he went to the aid of King Philip V of Spain, Louis XIV's grandson, and by his victories at Brihuega and Villaviciosa helped ensure Philip's retention of the Spanish crown.
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