f. He drilled and instructed his soldiers, insisted not only upon
strict military discipline, but on good manners and conduct in every
particular. He won their respect and affection by his personal kindness,
and denied himself almost the necessities of life in order to be able
to add to their comforts. In the wars in the Netherlands there were few
pitched battles, and the operations consisted almost entirely of the
sieges of fortified towns or of measures for their relief.

In all these Turenne took much more than his full share, paying
attention not only to his own duties but to all that was being done,
spending his whole time in the batteries and the trenches, and in
learning all that was possible of war carried on under such conditions.
In the winter, operations were always suspended, and Turenne spent his
time in Paris, where his manner and conduct won for him the favour of
all with who he came in contact. He had been severely brought up under
a Calvinist tutor; his habits were simple, his tastes quiet and almost
ascetic, and he cared little for the amusements of the brilliant and
corrupt court. When the war with Lorraine broke out, Turenne at once
sought for employment with the French army.

He recognized that there was comparatively little to be done in the war
of sieges in Holland, and longed to enter a wider field. His request was
gladly granted, for the presence of the Duc de Bouillon's brother in the
French army was in itself some guarantee of the duke's fidelity to
his engagements with France, and Turenne was at once appointed to the
colonelcy of a regiment. He devoted himself as assiduously to his work
as he had done in Holland, and it was not long before his regiment
gained the reputation of being the best disciplined in the king's
service. He took part in a short expedition in 1630, but there was on
that occasion no fighting, and he first saw real service under Marshal
de la Force in 1634. After the siege of La Motte, the success of which
was due to the storming of the breach by Turenne and his regiment, and
for which exploit he was promoted to the rank of Marechal de Camp,
a rank equivalent to that of major general, he took part in several
sieges, until Lorraine was completely conquered and its duke driven to
abdicate and retire to Austria.

The battle of Nordlingen showed Richelieu that if France did not
resolutely enter into the conflict the Austrians would become absolute
masters of all Germany. He a