PRINCE EUGENE OF SAVOY 225 taking of Neuhausel, Vicegradt, Gran, and Buda ; was the first who entered sword in hand into the intrenched camp of the Turks at Hersan ; and had re- ceived a commission as Lieutenant-general in the Austrian service. The storm- ing of Belgrade was the next great event in which Eugene was called to act ; and here, in command of a body of reserve, he attacked the walls, after the first parties hati been repulsed, and succeeded in forcing his way into the city. The regiments which had failed at first now rallied ; and the path being open, the Im- perial forces poured in in all directions, and Belgrade was taken after a most ob- stinate defence. Victor Amadeeus, Duke of Savoy, was shortly after this persuaded by his cou- sin Eugene to embrace the interests of the house of Austria ; and to enter into the great alliance which had been formed for the purpose of depressing France. The vast power which Louis XIV. had acquired, and the evident disposi- tion he displayed to extend that power to the utmost, had armed the fears of all the monarchs of Europe against him. At the same time, the armies which had conquered for him were dispersed, and the generals who had led them to victory had in most instances fallen into the grave. Perhaps these considerations might lead the Duke of Savoy to withdraw from an alliance which promised little sup- port, and eminent danger ; but he had soon reason to repent of having done so. Marshal Catinat, the best of Louis's living officers, was ordered to act against him ; the whole of Piedmont quickly fell into the hands of the French ; and on August 1 8th the duke was completely defeated by the adverse general. Eugene, who was present, though wounded with a spent ball, covered the retreat of the troops of Savoy ; but the battle was nevertheless completely lost, and influenced for long the fate of Piedmont. After various campaigns in Italy, where little was effected but a diversion of the French forces from his scene of war in Germany and the Netherlands, Eu- gene prevailed upon his cousin the Duke of Savoy, to lead his troops into France and to draw the French army from Italy, by carrying the war into their own country. The scheme was a bold one, but it proved most successful, and Embrun, Quilestre, and Gap, having fallen, the allied army, under Victor Ama- daeiis and Eugene, advanced rapidly into Dauphiny. Terror and consternation spread before them ; and in revenge for the devastation committed by the French in the Palatinate, they now ravaged the whole of Dauphiny, burning the villages and hamlets, and laying the cities under heavy contributions. The heart of France was open to the invading army ; but, fortunately for that country, a severe illness put a stop to the proceedings of Victor Amadaeus. Returning to Turin in haste, he left his army to the command of Prince Eugene ; but the Italian gener- als contrived, by hesitation in their obedience, and opposition to his wishes, to defeat Eugene's best schemes, so that he was glad, by a rapid retreat, to bring his army m safety to Savoy. Eugene was now created Field-marshal,; and received the order of the Golden Fleece ; but his gratification at these marks of approbation was bitterly alloyed by a severe defeat which he suffered near Pignerol, in company with his cousin 15
