156 - TURENNE (Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of), 1611–1675.

TURENNE (Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of), 1611–1675. Partially autograph letter, signed "Turenne," June 23, [1675], 1 page and 2 lines of a handwritten situation report in another unsigned hand, followed by 17 lines in his own hand, in-4, with a contemporary handwritten annotation on the reverse: “M. de Turenne on June 23 / P. on July 17, 1675." An interesting military report on Turenne’s final campaign on the Rhine, written just over a month before his death, in the midst of his famous tactical duel with Montecuccoli. The first part, drafted by a secretary, provides a particularly precise account of the respective positions of the French and Imperial armies. The enemy army marched “along the mountains from Offenburg to the Abbey of Schuttern” and came dangerously close to the bridge the French had built across the Rhine. Turenne responded by moving his forces to Altenheim and maintained his lines of communication with Alsace: “the armies are no more than an hour apart.” The report then describes the skirmishes between the two sides, the capture of foragers, the clash between cavalry detachments, and the fate of twenty-four French musketeers entrenched in a bell tower, who were forced to surrender under threat of having the tower set on fire. Despite the enemy’s extreme proximity, French supplies remain excellent: “Provisions are flowing abundantly to the King’s army, which is in very good condition.” The bulletin’s conclusion leaves no doubt as to Turenne’s intentions: the army “will seek every reasonable opportunity to engage the enemy,” while acknowledging “the strength of the enemy’s army.” Turenne then took up the pen himself. He acknowledged receipt of his correspondent’s letter of May 29 and referred him to “the excerpt above” to learn “the state of affairs on this side.” He hopes that operations “will continue at a pace that will satisfy the King of Sweden,” an interesting testament to the campaign’s European diplomatic dimension. He then refers to his correspondence with “Mr. the Constable” : “whenever circumstances require it, I shall continue to share my thoughts with him,” and assures his correspondent of his goodwill toward his son: “whenever there is an opportunity to please your son, I shall not let it pass.” Finally, he explains that he is not asking for news from the Court, knowing that Simon Arnauld de Pomponne, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, keeps his correspondent fully informed, and concludes with the latest military developments: “I await news of the capture of Limbourg by the first regular mail.” The letter thus dates back to Turenne’s very last weeks. During the summer of 1675, he waged a remarkable war of maneuver against Raimondo Montecuccoli along the Rhine. On July 27, 1675, in Salzbach, Turenne was killed by a cannonball while reconnoitering enemy positions, just thirty-four days after this letter was written. An exceptional, firsthand account of the great commander’s final campaign, combining a detailed report on military operations with an important conclusion written entirely in Turenne’s own hand. Includes its original cultural property export certificate from the Ministry of Culture (2003).