Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches
German Imperial Field marshal
Died when: 73 years 361 days (887 months)Star Sign: Leo
Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches (16 August 1608 to 12 August 1682), also known as Ludwig de Souches, was a French-born professional soldier who spent a number of years in the Swedish Army before switching to Imperial service in 1642.
Although he was a capable officer who reached the rank of Field Marshal, his career was marred by a tendency to quarrel with his colleagues and superiors.
Born into a family of minor French Protestant nobility, de Souches went into exile after the Siege of La Rochelle in 1629.
He served in the Swedish army when it entered the Thirty Years' War against Emperor Ferdinand III and by 1642 was colonel of an infantry regiment.
However, he fell out with his superior officer and switched sides, joining the Imperial army.He established his reputation in the defence of Brno against the Swedes in 1645 and was promoted Field Marshal in 1664.
When Emperor Leopold joined the Franco-Dutch War in 1673, de Souches was appointed commander of Imperial forces in the Low Countries but had a poor relationship with his Dutch and Spanish allies and was removed in December 1674.
This was the end of his military career; he retired to his estates in at JeviĊĦovice in Moravia, where he died on 12 August 1682 and was buried in the Church of St.
James (Brno).