Jean Philippe Eugène de Mérode

Who was Jean Philippe Eugène de Mérode?

Jean-Philippe-Eugène, Count de Mérode, 5th Marquis van Westerloo was a Belgian military and Feldmarschall of the Holy Roman Empire.

Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Merode was the only surviving child of Maximilian de Merode and Isabella-Margaretha de Merode. His father died one year after his birth and his mother remarried with the Joachim Ernest II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Rethwisch. This was an army commander who guided Jean-Philippe towards a military career. At the age of five Jean-Philippe was already present at the siege of Oran in Northern-Africa.

During the consecutive wars which raged in the Spanish Netherlands, Jean-Philippe switched sides a few times to maintain his possessions. First he and his Regiment of Westerloo served the anti-French coalition under King William III of England and King Charles II of Spain. In 1694 he was made Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece.

During the War of Spanish Succession he served the new Bourbon King Philip V of Spain, and fought on the side of the French and Bavarians under Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, new governor of the Southern Netherlands. He played an important role in the Battle of Eckeren in 1703.