Editing Prince Eugene of Savoy (section)

== Historical reputation and legacy ==
[[Napoleon]] considered Eugene one of the eight greatest commanders of history.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=11|ps=:The others were [[Alexander the Great]], [[Hannibal]], [[Julius Caesar]], [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus Aldolphus]], [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne|Turenne]], [[Frederick II of Prussia]], and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]].<ref>"Napoleon on Napoleon," page 31</ref>}} Although later military critics have disagreed with that assessment, Eugene was undoubtedly the greatest Austrian general.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | pp=246–247}} He was no military innovator, but he had the ability to make an inadequate system work. He was equally adept as an organiser, strategist, and tactician, believing in the primacy of battle and his ability to seize the opportune moment to launch a successful attack.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=246}} "The important thing", wrote Maurice de Saxe in his ''Reveries'', "is to see the opportunity and to know how to use it. Prince Eugene possessed this quality which is the greatest in the art of war and which is the test of the most elevated genius."<ref>De Saxe, Maurice. ''Reveries on the Art of War'', p. 119</ref> This fluidity was key to his battlefield successes in Italy and in his wars against the Turks. Nevertheless, in the Low Countries, particularly after the battle of Oudenarde in 1708, Eugene, like his cousin Louis of Baden, tended to play safe and become bogged down in a conservative strategy of sieges and defending supply lines. After the attempt on Toulon in 1707, he also became very wary of combined land/sea operations.{{sfn | Chandler | 1989 | p=224}} To historian Derek McKay the main criticism of him as a general is his legacy—he left no school of officers nor an army able to function without him.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=246}}

Eugene was a disciplinarian—when ordinary soldiers disobeyed orders he was prepared to shoot them himself—but he rejected blind brutality, writing "you should only be harsh when, as often happens, kindness proves useless".{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | pp=228–232}}[[File:Wien - Heldenplatz, Prinz-Eugen-Denkmal (2).JPG|239x239px|thumb|Eugene's monument in [[Heldenplatz]], Vienna, by [[Anton Dominik Fernkorn]].]]

On the battlefield Eugene demanded courage in his subordinates, and expected his men to fight where and when he wanted; his criteria for promotion were based primarily on obedience to orders and courage on the battlefield rather than social position. On the whole, his men responded because he was willing to push himself as hard as them. His position as President of the Imperial War Council proved less successful. Following the long period of peace after the Austro-Turkish War, the idea of creating a separate field army or providing garrison troops with effective training for them to be turned into such an army quickly was never considered by Eugene. By the time of the War of the Polish Succession, therefore, the Austrians were outclassed by a better prepared French force. For this Eugene was largely to blame—in his view (unlike the drilling and manoeuvres carried out by the Prussians which to Eugene seemed irrelevant to real warfare) the time to create actual fighting men was when war came.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=228}}

Although Frederick II of Prussia had been struck by the muddle of the Austrian army and its poor organisation during the Polish Succession war, he later amended his initial harsh judgements. "If I understand anything of my trade", commented Frederick in 1758, "especially in the more difficult aspects, I owe that advantage to Prince Eugene. From him I learnt to hold grand objectives constantly in view, and direct all my resources to those ends."<ref name="duffy17">Duffy, ''Frederick the Great: A Military Life'', p. 17</ref> To historian [[Christopher Duffy]] it was this awareness of the 'grand strategy' that was Eugene's legacy to Frederick.<ref name="duffy17" />

To his responsibilities, Eugene attached his own personal values – physical courage, loyalty to his sovereign, honesty, self-control in all things – and he expected these qualities from his commanders. Eugene's approach was dictatorial, but he was willing to co-operate with someone he regarded as his equal, such as Baden or Marlborough. Yet the contrast with his co-commander of the Spanish Succession war was stark. According to Churchill, "Marlborough was the model husband and father, concerned with building up a home, founding a family, and gathering a fortune to sustain it", whereas Eugene, the bachelor, was "disdainful of money, content with his bright sword and his lifelong animosities against Louis XIV".{{sfn | Churchill | 1933 | pp=774–775}}
The result was an austere figure, inspiring respect and admiration rather than affection.{{sfn | McKay | Baker | von Savoyen | 1977 | p=248}}

[[Sicco van Goslinga]], one of the [[Field deputy (Dutch Republic)|Dutch field deputies]] who worked very close with Eugene during his campaigns with Marlborough, described him in his memoires as follows:

{{blockquote|He had untameable courage and outdid himself during battle and in all undertakings where vigorous action was required. But he was less skilled in matters requiring brainwork, perseverance, prudence and constant attention, like when it was necessary to take up a defensive position, carefully supply it with everything necessary for its preservation and watch over its security. He was unable to concern himself with [logistical] ancillary matters, which are so necessary for the security of an army. It was said that he needed a new army every year, implying that he had little concern for the lives of soldiers.{{sfn|De Graaf|2021|p=133}}}}

=== Memorials ===
==== Places and monuments ====
[[File:Budapest princ Eugen 2.jpg|thumb|225x225px|Eugene's statue, [[Buda Castle]], Budapest, Hungary.]]
* A huge equestrian statue in the centre of Vienna commemorates Eugene's achievements. It is inscribed on one side, 'To the wise counsellor of three Emperors', and on the other, 'To the glorious conqueror of Austria's enemies'.{{sfn | Henderson | 1964 | p=xi}}
* A prominent equestrian statue of Eugene sculpted by [[József Róna]] overlooks the [[Danube Promenade]] from the royal gardens of [[Buda Castle]] in Budapest. Erected in 1900, it was originally meant as a placeholder for a planned equestrian statue of [[Franz Joseph I]], which was ultimately never completed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=van Tilburg |first1=Kees |title=Eugene of Savoy |url=https://equestrianstatue.org/savoy-eugene-of/ |website=Equestrian Statues |date=6 April 2016 |access-date=25 September 2023}}</ref>
* Prinz-Eugen-Kapelle, a chapel located at the northern corner of [[St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna|St. Stephen's Cathedral]] in Vienna{{sfn | ''Austrian Academy of Sciences''}}
* Prinz-Eugen-Straße a street in [[Vienna]] in use since 1890; Until 1911 a street in [[Döbling]] was also named Prinz-Eugen-Straße, since then the street connects [[Schwarzenbergplatz]] with the Wiedner Gürtel leading past the Belvedere Palace.<ref name="Wien Geschichte Wiki 2020">{{cite web | title=Prinz-Eugen-Straße| website=Wien Geschichte Wiki | date=3 December 2020 | url=https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Prinz-Eugen-Stra%C3%9Fe | language=de}}</ref>
* Strada Eugeniu de Savoya, a street in central part of [[Timișoara]], [[Romania]] and the nearby house of Prinz Eugene of Savoy, built in 1817, over the old entrance gate of the Timișoara, used by the general when entering in the conquered city in 1716.

==== Warships ====
Several ships have been named in Eugene's honour:
* {{SMS|Prinz Eugen|1912|6}}, an [[Austro-Hungarian Navy|Austro-Hungarian]] battleship of [[World War I]] launched in 1912
* [[SMS Prinz Eugen (1877)|SMS Prinz Eugen]], an [[Austro-Hungarian Navy|Austro-Hungarian]] Ironclad warship built in the 1870s
* [[SMS Prinz Eugen (1862)|SMS Prinz Eugen]], an [[Austro-Hungarian Navy|Austro-Hungarian]] Ironclad warship built in 1862
* {{HMS|Prince Eugene|1915|6}}, a [[Royal Navy]] monitor
* {{ship|Italian cruiser|Eugenio di Savoia||2}}, an Italian light cruiser
* {{ship|German cruiser|Prinz Eugen}} (later USS ''Prinz Eugen''), a World War II heavy cruiser.

==== Other ====
* [[7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen]], a [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Gebirgsjäger|mountain infantry]] division of the [[Waffen-SS]]. It was formed in 1941 from ''[[Volksdeutsche]]'' volunteers and conscripts from the [[Banat (1941–1944)|Banat]], [[Independent State of Croatia]], [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]. It was initially named {{lang|de|SS-Freiwilligen-Division Prinz Eugen}} (SS-Volunteer Division Prinz Eugen).<ref name="Kudlicka Szewczyk Vallet 2014 p.">{{cite book | last1=Kudlicka | first1=B. | last2=Szewczyk | first2=R. | last3=Vallet | first3=T. | title=Prinz Eugen: The Story of 7.SS-Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division 1942–1945 | publisher=Mushroom Model Publications | series=Green Series | year=2014 | isbn=978-83-63678-18-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ske9nAEACAAJ  }}</ref>
* Panzer-Regiment 33, part of the [[9th Panzer Division]] was in 1943 officially redesignated Panzer-Regiment Prinz Eugen.
* Prinz Eugen von Savoyen Prize, a prize awarded by the [[University of Vienna]] during the [[Austria under National Socialism|Nazi era in Austria]] rewarding "ethnic German culture".<ref name="Barbian 2019 p. 199">{{cite book | last=Barbian | first=J.P. | title=Literaturpolitik im "Dritten Reich": Institutionen, Kompetenzen, Betätigungsfelder | publisher=De Gruyter | series=Archiv für Geschichte des Buchwesens – Sonderdrucke | year=2019 | isbn=978-3-11-092938-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lWSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA199 | language=de|page=199}}</ref>