Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Chevalier de Folard
Summary
Jean Charles, Chevalier de Folard, commonly referred to as the Chevalier de Folard, 13 February 1669 – 23 March 1752, was a French soldier and military theorist who championed the use of infantry columns rather than the prevailing trend towards linear formations. Although his tactics were generally dismissed in his lifetime and he died in obscurity, his ideas remained influential in the long-running debate on military theory that followed.
Jean Charles de Folard was born on 13 February 1669 to Jérôme de Folard (1631–1706), a Professor of Law, and Madeleine de Ruffi (died 1688). Originally from England, the Folard family settled in Savoy during the 13th century, before moving to Avignon at the end of the 16th.
One of seven surviving children, Foulard was the second of four brothers. The eldest, Nicolas-Joseph (1664–1734), was a canon at Nîmes Cathedral and a noted scholar, while the youngest, Melchior (1684–1739), also became a priest and wrote a number of plays which are now largely forgotten. Little is known of the last brother, Paul (1683–after 1745), who had a long and undistinguished military career, retiring in 1745 after forty years of service as a captain.
Like his brothers, Folard was educated by the Jesuits but ran away to join the French Royal Army at the age of 16, an action allegedly inspired by reading Caesar's "Commentaries". Forced to return home after his father wrote to his commanding officer, in 1687 he was allowed to join the Régiment de Béarn as an Officer cadet. Promoted Second lieutenant on the outbreak of the Nine Years War in 1688, his unit spent most of the war on garrison duty and when peace came in 1697, Folard was an obscure lieutenant.
The War of the Spanish Succession began in July 1701 and in early 1702 Folard's regiment was sent to secure Naples, where he spent most of the next three years. He used the time to produce a series of tactical ideas and suggestions which brought him to the attention of the duc de Vendôme, commander of the French forces in Italy.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.