page_title: Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Fortress Navagne along the river Meuse near Moelingen, Belgium. The fortress was built by the Spanish in 1634-35 around the existing Castle of Navagne. The fortress was destroyed in 1674 by the French, rebuilt, and destroyed once more in 1702. Attributed to French cartographer Chevalier de Beaurain. Situation depicted as of 1674.
context_page_description: Bernardin Gigault, Marquis de Bellefonds was a French nobleman, soldier and courtier of the 17th century, who was appointed Marshal of France in 1668 and held a number of senior positions in the personal household of Louis XIV.
context_section_description: In the first half of the 17th century, France was divided internally and threatened externally; while it largely stayed out of the 1618–1648 Thirty Years' War, support for the Dutch Republic in its war of independence from Spain eventually led to the 1635–1659 Franco-Spanish War. At home, the French Wars of Religion that had ended with the 1590 Edict of Nantes flared up again in a series of domestic Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s.
  The accession of the five-year old Louis XIV in 1643 caused a power struggle between his regents, headed by his mother, Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin, opposed by regional magnates like Condé. This resulted in the 1648–1653 civil war known as the Fronde; Bellefonds became Governor of Valognes after his father's death in 1643 and in 1649 held it against rebel troops or Frondeurs. Similarly, in November 1651 he defended Cognac in Nouvelle-Aquitaine when besieged by Frondeurs under Condé, until it was relieved by the Comte d' Harcourt in early December.
  In the latter stages of the Franco-Spanish war, he served in Catalonia and Flanders, including the decisive Battle of the Dunes in June 1658, which led to the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees and he was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1659. He was also employed in maritime operations, acting as deputy to the duc de Guise in his failed attempt to capture Naples in 1654 and in 1666 was sent to the Dutch Republic to discuss joint fleet operations against England.
  In 1663, he was appointed head of the Maison du Roi or the King's household; given its proximity to Louis XIV, this was a position of great importance, held by an individual of proven loyalty. In the 1667–1668 War of Devolution, France quickly over-ran Franche-Comté and much of the Spanish Netherlands; after the capture of Lille in 1667, Turenne detached a cavalry force under Bellefonds and de Créquy to cut off the Spanish retreat. They inflicted nearly 2,000 casualties, with Louis looking on; in 1668, Bellefonds, de Créquy and Humières were all created Marshals of France.
  However, the Dutch preferred a weak Spain as a neighbour in the Spanish Netherlands, to a strong and ambitious France; with England and Sweden, they formed the Triple Alliance obliging Louis to return most of his gains in the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. Angered by what he viewed as ingratitude for previous French support against Spain, Louis made preparations to invade the Netherlands.
  In April 1672, Turenne was appointed general en chef or senior commander of French forces in the Netherlands; this caused problems, as the convention was Marshalls did not serve under other Marshalls. Bellefonds, Humières and de Créquy refused to serve under Turenne, arguing that to do so would diminish their personal prestige and the position of Marshal; all three were banished to their estates, while Bellefonds also lost his position as head of the Maison du Roi.
  When the Franco-Dutch War began in May 1672, the French over-ran much of the Dutch Republic and initially seemed to have achieved an overwhelming victory. By late July, the Dutch position had stabilised and they gained the support of Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold and Charles II of Spain. With new fronts opening in Spain and the Rhineland, Louis decided to withdrew from the Dutch Republic by the end of 1673. 
  Bellefonds and his two colleagues had been taken back into service in November 1672 and he was put in charge of operations in the Netherlands. All Dutch towns held by the French were evacuated except for Grave and Maastricht, providing him with an army of 15,000 troops. Ignoring orders to remain on the defensive, in May 1674 he attacked and captured Fort Navagne and Argenteau, Spanish-held positions on the Meuse between Maastricht and Liege. A large Allied army was based nearby, which left his force dangerously exposed; Conde managed to reinforce him first but Bellefonds was removed from command.
  While he never recovered his previous office in the Maison du Roi, in 1680 he was appointed head of household or Grand Ecuyer to La Dauphine, Maria Anna of Bavaria, a posi
caption: Fort Navagne, on the Meuse, taken and destroyed by Bellefonds in May 1674 but contrary to his orders; he was relieved of command
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