The French-born Austrian general Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736) led the military campaigns that laid the foundation of Hapsburg power in central Europe. He was widely admired as a model soldier, diplomat, and patron of the arts.

Prince Eugene of Savoy was born in Paris on Oct. 18, 1663, the fifth son of Count Eugene Maurice of Soissons and Olympia Mancini. His father died in 1673, and Eugene was brought up haphazardly at the French court, where he acquired a longing for military glory and a dislike for the ecclesiastical career intended for him. When Louis XIV denied him permission to join the battle against the Turks besieging Vienna in 1683, Eugene left Paris secretly and went to Austria, casting his lot thenceforth with the house of Hapsburg.

Fighting in Hungary against the retreating Turks, Prince Eugene rose from colonel to major general in 1685 and to lieutenant general in 1687. Wounded at Belgrade in...