Battle of Valenciennes ( 1656 ) The Battle of Valenciennes ( 16 July 1656 ) was fought between the Spanish troops commanded by Don Juan José de Austria against the French troops under Marshal Henri de la Tour d ' Auvergne , Vicomte de Turenne , in the outskirts of the town in the Spanish Netherlands , during the Franco - Spanish War . It was the worst of only several defeats that the French Marshal Vicomte de Turenne suffered in his long career campaigning and is regarded as Spain ' s last great victory of the 17th century . Prelude . On 18 May 1656 the French troops , commanded by Henri de la Tour d ' Auvergne , Vicomte de Turenne began to close in and surround the fortified town of Valenciennes which was defended by a Spanish garrison under the command of Francisco de Meneses . The well organised siege began to exhaust the defenders . Towards the end of June , Don Juan José de Austria , the governor of the Spanish Netherlands , took the decision to come to the aid of Valenciennes as its situation was becoming unsustainable . The French army , consisting of 115 cavalry divisions and 31 of infantry , was divided into a further 2 divisions on each side of the river Scheldt , one of which was under the command of Turenne and the other , under Henri de La Ferté - Senneterre , with the communication problems that this caused . The Battle . On the night of 15 July just as the fortress was about to surrender , the Spanish army arrived consisting of 81 squadrons of cavalry and 27 of infantry . Don Juan ' s army dug in about a league from the enemy , preparing to launch an offensive . Four attacks were organised : Condé came down on Marshal ' s section with such vigour it surprised and destroyed the French resistance . Don Juan José de Austria stood out due to his brave action , unleashing his might on the French quarters . Turenne then repelled a false attack from the Spanish on his quarters , and went to the aid of Maréchal La Ferté but it was in vain , so he felt obliged to retreat as far as Quesnoy , where he reorganised his forces . The Spanish captured 400 French officers including Maréchal La Ferté , lieutenant of Turenne and a further 4 , 000 soldiers ( while French sources reduce these figures to 77 officers and 1 , 200 soldiers ) including their belongings and provisions , including an assault train consisting of 50 cannons and all the correspondence of the French command with their court , which allowed the extent of their forces to be known . As for La Ferté ' s division only 2 , 000 managed to escape after tossing their arms and making a run for it in total disarray . Aftermath . The Spanish victory at Valenciennes lifted the French siege and contributed greatly to lifting the morale of the Spanish tercio s , producing " " one of those thunderous achievements that Spain came up with in better days . " " However , Turenne had the presence of mind not to allow the French forces to be intimidated by the defeat . His rapid regrouping and redeployment of his forces prevented the Spanish from gaining a decisive advantage on the front . Philip IV of Spain ordered a gold medal to be printed to commemorate the victory and he had it sent to Condé together with a saber , also made of gold . For the Spanish , the victory at Valenciennes proved counterproductive . Emboldened by the success , the Habsburg court at Madrid refused to compromise with French demands but Spanish forces were stretched to their limit despite the great victory . The war dragged on until 1659 , when the Spanish government finally signed the unfavourable Treaty of the Pyrenees .