Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria
In 1635 and 1636 Werth's forays extended into Lorraine and Luxembourg, after which he projected an expedition into the heart of France. Starting in July 1636, from the country of the lower Meuse, he raided far and wide, and even urged his commander-in-chief, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, to "plant the Double Eagle on the Louvre". Though this was not attempted. Werth's horsemen appeared at Saint-Denis before a French army of fifty thousand men at Compiègne forced the invaders to retreat. The memory of this raid lasted long, and the name of "Jean de Wert" figures in folk-songs and serves as a bogey to quieten unruly children.