Belle-isle, Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, Duc De

Related Category: French History: Biographies

(shärl lwē ōgüst´ fkā´ dük də bĕl-ēl´), 1684–1761, marshal of France and diplomat; grandson of Nicolas Fouquet. His support of the claims of Charles of Bavaria (Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII) was in part responsible for France's entry into the War of the Austrian Succession. The war's outcome made him unpopular, although his masterly retreat from Prague had saved the French army from surrender (1742–43). As minister of war (1758–61) he did much to reorganize the army.