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His father Nicolas de Neufville, Marquis de Villeroi, marshal of France (1598-1685), created a duke by Louis XIV, was the young king's governor, and the boy was thus brought up in close relations with Louis. An intimate of the king, a finished courtier and leader of society and a man of great personal gallantry, Villeroi was marked out for advancement in the army, which he loved, but where career soldiers had always a juster appreciation of his incapacity than Louis. In 1693, without having exercised any really important and responsible command, he was made a marshal. In 1695, when Luxembourg died, he obtained the command of the army in Flanders (see War of the Grand Alliance), and William III found him a far more complaisant opponent than the "little hunchback."
In 1701 he was sent to Italy to supersede Nicolas Catinat and was soon beaten by the inferior army of Eugène at Chiari (see War of Spanish Succession). In the winter of 1701 he was made prisoner at the surprise of CremonaCremona is a city in Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left shore of Po river in the middle of Pianura padana (Po valley). It is a small city, capital of the province of Cremona. Founded in 218 BCE by the Romans as a military outpost, it quickly grew in, and the wits of the army made at his expense the famous rhyme:
"Par la faveur de BelloneThe term Bellona refers, among other things, to: # Roman counterpart of Greek goddess Enyo. Asteroid 28 Bellona. Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian Environmental organization.,
et par un bonheur sans égal,
Nous avons conservé Crémone
--et perdu notre général."
In the following years he was pitted against Marlborough in the Low Countries. Marlborough's own difficulties with the Dutch and other allied commissioners, rather than Villeroi's own skill, put off the inevitable disaster for some years, but in 1706 Marlborough attacked him and thoroughly defeated him at RamilliesThe Battle of Ramillies was a major battle in the War of Spanish Succession, May 23, 1706. The Duke of Marlborough, leading English, Dutch, and German troops, decisively defeated a French army led by the duc de Villeroi at Ramillies-Offus, near Namur, on. Louis consoled his old friend with the remark, "At our age, one is no longer lucky," but superseded him in the command, and henceforward Villeroi lived the life of a courtier, much busied with intrigues but retaining to the end the friendship of his master.
Under the RégenceThe era of the French Regence ( 1715 1723) covers the minority of Louis XV, when France was governed by the regent, the child-king's uncle, Philippe d'Orleans. The Regence marks the temporary eclipse of Versailles as center of policy-making, since the Reg Villeroi was governor of Louis XVLouis XV ( February 15, 1710 May 10, 1774) was king of France from 1715- 74. He was born at the Palace of Versailles. Until the royal legal age of maturity at fourteen, his uncle, Philippe d'Orleans, acted as Regent. Cardinal Fleury, until his death ( 174 as a child and held held several other high posts between 1717 and 1722, when he fell in disgrace for intriguing against the regent, and was sent to be governor of LyonThis article is about the French city. For other usages (as Lyons , see Lyons (disambiguation). Lyon Region Rhone-Alpes Departement Rhone Arrondissement Lyon Cantonschief town of 14 cantons Population (1999)453,187 Population of the metropolitan area aire, virtually an exile. Louis XV recalled him when he came of age.