Marquis Louis de Contades (1704-1795) was a general of the Kingdom of France during the Seven Years' War.
Biography[]
Marquis Louis de Contades was born in Gizeux, Anjou, in the Kingdom of France in 1704. In 1745 he was made a Lieutenant-General after many promotions, and in 1758 he took over the Army of Westphalia during the climax of the Seven Years' War. On 24 August 1758 he was made a Marshal of France, although he was unable to prevent his army from retreating over the Rhine after losing Hanover to Great Britain. On 1 August 1759, Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel led a 37,000-strong British and German army to pursue the French and defeated his 44,000-strong army, breaking through three lines of French infantry with one line of cavalry. Contades was relieved soon after and died in 1795 in Livry.