A Rescue Army in Szentgotthárd: The Daily Life of French Soldiers in War Diaries and Memoirs

Abstract This article examines the day-to-day service of French soldiers and captains at the Battle of Szentgotthárd (Saint Gotthard) between the Holy Roman Empire and the Sublime Porte in 1664. The soldiers are obscure figures in history, but they appear in correspondence, memoirs, and other personal papers belonging to captains of the first or second rank. This documentation, dispersed across archives, makes it possible to follow the captains and men of the troops. The sources, written on a day-to-day basis or after the battle, allow us to explore the many dimensions of the fighting experience. The testimonies confirm several key aspects of warfare: fear, hunger, the role of camaraderie and religion, tensions within the imperial armies, and the “war culture” of these soldiers.