Louis d'Aubusson de la Feuillade

Louis d'Aubusson de la Feuillade, duc de Roannais (1673 – January 28 1725) was a Marshal of France.

He was the son of François d'Aubusson de La Feuillade, also a Marshal of France. He married the daughter of Michel Chamillart, the secretary of state for war of Louis XIV of France.

Military career

When Vendôme was sent to Flanders in 1706 after the Battle of Ramillies, La Feuillade became his unlikely successor as supreme commander of the French troops in Italy.

It was his father-in-law who had recommended him to Louis XIV. La Feuillade, at the age of 33, was unexperienced, ambitious and arrogant.

La Feuillade ignored the good advice of Vauban (an expert on sieges), and attacked the citadel of Turin head on. During the long siege of Turin, he foolishly chased a small army under Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, wasting valuable resources.

After the crushing defeat at the Battle of Turin, followed by the complete withdrawal of the French troops from Italy, La Feuillade was the scapegoat.

He was ignored during the rest of the reign of Louis XIV, but was restored under Louis XV, and made a Marshal of France in 1724. He died in the Château de Marly without children; the title of duc de Roannais became extinct.