Charles Marie joined his father's 1743 campaign in the
lieutenant-colonel and later as colonel of the second Walloon Infantry Regiment, which he had raised personally. He commanded this regiment in the 1744 and 1745 campaigns, until he became colonel of the Baden-Baden Regiment. One year later he became major general. In 1748, he played an important role in the defence of Maastricht
In the first years of the Seven Years' War, he was active in the Bohemian theater of war. He participated in the Battle of Prague (1757) and the many battles that followed.[2]
In 1758, he was promoted to
Feldzeugmeister. On 14 October of that year, he played a crucial role in the victorious Battle of Hochkirch as commander of the right wing of the Austrian Army. For this, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. In the 1759 campaign, he commanded several Army Corps and was defeated near Dresden on 29 October by Prussian troops under General Wunsch. He was praised for his actions in the lost Battle of Torgau
on 3 November 1760, in which he was severely wounded.
These wounds meant the end of his active career, and he retired. In 1776, he was admitted to the Geheimrat, and he was made Field Marshal in 1777.
Family
He married Countess Louise Margarethe von der Marck-Schleiden (1730-1820), daughter of Count Louis Engelbert von der Marck-Schleiden in 1748.[3]