Battle of Cassano (1705)
Battle of Cassano | |||||||
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Part of the Jan van Huchtenburgh | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France |
Habsburg monarchy Prussia Savoy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Philippe de Vendôme Armand St Hilaire |
Prince Eugene Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22,000[1][3] 24,000[4] |
20,000[4] 24,000 [1][3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
5,000 killed or wounded[5][4] 2,728 killed or wounded [6] 3,000 killed or wounded[3] |
6,050 killed, wounded or captured[6] 4,500 killed, wounded or captured[4][3] |
The Battle of Cassano took place on 16 August 1705, during the
In October 1703,
The battle is generally viewed as inconclusive since while Vendôme prevented him crossing the Adda, Prince Eugene achieved his primary aim of delaying their assault on Turin until 1706. Vendôme and many of his troops were recalled to France after the Battle of Ramillies in May 1706, allowing the Imperialists to break the Siege of Turin in September; fighting in Northern Italy ended with the March 1707 Convention of Milan.
Background
The
The war in Northern Italy centred on the Spanish-controlled Duchies of
Despite their alliance, Leopold mis-trusted Victor Amadeus, whose ultimate goal was to gain possession of Milan, while his resources were focused on suppressing an uprising in Hungary. However, with Savoy close to defeat, he sent his best general, Prince Eugene, to assume command in Italy, along with men and money, a policy continued after his death in May by Emperor Joseph. These Imperial troops were reinforced by 8,000 Prussians under Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, who were funded by England and the Dutch Republic.[11]
At the beginning of 1705, French troops in
When the Imperial army reached Iveza in the Brianza, they constructed a pontoon bridge under cover of artillery fire and Vendôme prepared to defend the crossing. This was a feint; after a perfunctory attempt to cross, Prince Eugene burned the bridge and headed towards Mantua. He then doubled back, hoping to catch the detachment at Cassano by surprise before they could be reinforced by the main French army, and on 14 August reached Romanengo, about 40 kilometres away.[14]
Battle
A deep and fast-flowing river, the Adda had limited crossing points, especially for large bodies of men. The town of Cassano was on the right bank, with a stone bridge protected by a small fortification or redoubt. The area was also divided by numerous small streams and irrigation channels, the most significant being the Retorto, an irrigation canal running parallel to the Adda. This was connected to the left bank by another bridge, protected by another strongpoint.[14]
Assuming Prince Eugene was heading for Mantua, Vendôme ordered his brother to leave Cassano, and take up blocking positions at Rivolta d'Adda, a village about 10 kilometres away on the left bank of the Adda.[15] One suggestion is his decision was based on deliberate misinformation from a Spanish officer serving in the French army who was in reality an Austrian agent.[16] After marching overnight from Romanengo, Imperial troops were already nearing the crossing point when they were spotted by a French cavalry patrol early next morning; realising their intentions, Vendôme hurried towards Cassano with around 2,000 cavalry, ordering the rest of his army to follow as quickly as possible.[17]
On arrival, he found Philippe's troops in the process of moving and in an extremely dangerous position, with the bulk of their force caught between the Retorto canal and the Adda, and the main bridge blocked by their transport. Vendôme ordered the baggage thrown into the river, and formed a line running from the Retorto on the left, his centre around the main bridge, and his extreme right resting on the road leading to Rivolta d'Adda, where his brother was positioned with four
Around 14:00, Imperial grenadiers attacked positions around the Retorto and initially succeeded in capturing the bridge, before being repulsed by St Hilaire's guns, and a French counter-attack. Vendôme sent four regiments of the Irish Brigade to reinforce his left, but after a fierce struggle, the Imperialists captured the sluice gates, which they closed, lowering the water level in the canal enough for men to wade across it.[19] Prince Eugene ordered Leopold and his Prussians into the canal to assault the French left; they managed to seize the further bank, but suffered heavily in doing so. The battle surged back and forth across the river, in the course of which Vendôme had his horse killed under him, while Prince Eugene was wounded twice and had to leave the field. The fighting lasted between three and five hours until ended by sheer exhaustion with the opposing forces back in their original positions.[20]
Aftermath
Nearly 25% of those engaged became casualties, Vendôme losing around 5,000 killed or wounded out of 22,000, his opponents over 4,500 killed, wounded or captured from 24,000.
Since Prince Eugene achieved his aim of delaying the Siege of Turin by nearly a year, he claimed Cassano as a victory, although historian John A. Lynn considers it a 'minor French tactical victory', but essentially inconclusive.[2] The two sides spent the next few weeks watching each other; Prince Eugene quickly recovered from his injuries and in early October began building barracks at Treviglio to make it seem he had decided to stay there for the winter. Vendôme returned to Southern Piedmont to meet with La Feuillade, but it was now October, and they decided it was too late in the year to attack Turin. Nevertheless, Victor Amadeus' position remained precarious; in December, Nice finally surrendered, and his possessions north of the Alps were held by France until the end of the war.[10]
Defeat at Ramillies in May 1706 forced Louis XIV to recall Vendôme from Italy, leaving the less competent La Feuillade in command. On 15 August, Prince Eugene began his advance on Turin, which he reached on 29th in a series of marches seen as comparable in skill and execution to Marlborough's more famous march to the Danube in 1704.[22] After the siege was lifted in September, remaining French forces in Italy were withdrawn and fighting in Northern Italy ended with the March 1707 Convention of Milan.[23]
References
- ^ a b c Nolan 2008, p. 72.
- ^ a b Lynn 1999, p. 301.
- ^ a b c d Bodart 1908, p. 143.
- ^ a b c d e Clodfelter 2017, p. 70.
- ^ Jones 1997, p. 286.
- ^ a b c De Périni 1896, p. 151.
- ^ Somerset 2012, p. 168.
- ^ Dhondt 2015, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Ward & Leathes 1912, p. 412.
- ^ a b Symcox 1983, p. 149.
- ^ Wilson 1998, p. 120.
- ^ Ward & Leathes 1912, p. 415.
- ^ O'Conor 1845, p. 299.
- ^ a b A Brief Historical Sketch of the Irish Infantry Regiment of Dillon and the Irish Stuart Regiments in the Service of France, 1690–1791 1905, pp. 302–305.
- ^ Folard 1761, p. 105.
- ^ Folard 1761, pp. 101–102.
- ^ De Périni 1896, p. 145.
- ^ De Périni 1896, p. 146.
- ^ Bancks 1745, p. 195.
- ^ O'Conor 1845, pp. 301–310.
- ^ Folard 1761, p. 123.
- ^ Falkner 2015, p. 255.
- ^ Lynn 1999, p. 310.
Sources
- "A Brief Historical Sketch of the Irish Infantry Regiment of Dillon and the Irish Stuart Regiments in the Service of France, 1690–1791". Royal United Services Institution. Journal. 49 (325): 302–305. February 1905. .
- Bancks, John (1745). The history of Francis-Eugene Prince of Savoy (2010 ed.). Gale ECCO. ISBN 1170621236.
- Bodart, G. (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905).
- Clodfelter, M. (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015 (4th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7470-7.
- De Périni, Hardÿ (1896). Batailles françaises, Volume VI 1700-1782. Ernest Flammarion.
- Dhondt, Frederik (2015). De Ruysscher, D; Capelle, K (eds.). History in Legal Doctrine; Vattel and Réal De Curban on the Spanish Succession; the War of the Spanish Succession in Legal history; moving in new directions. Maklu. ISBN 9789046607589.
- Falkner, James (2015). The War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473872905.
- Folard, Jean Charles, Chevalier (1761). Frederick the Great (ed.). L'esprit du chevalier Folard, tiré de ses "Commentaires sur l'histoire de Polybe", pour l'usage d'un officier, de main de maître (in French) (2011 ed.). Nabu. ISBN 978-1173641139.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Jones, Archer (1997). The Art of War in the Western World. Barnes and Noble. ISBN 978-0760707340.
- Lynn, John (1999). The Wars of Louis XIV 1667-1714. Longman. ISBN 0582056292.
- Nolan, Cathal (2008). The Wars in the Age of Louis XIV, 1650-1715: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0313330469.
- O'Conor, Matthew (1845). Military History of the Irish Nation: Comprising a Memoir of the Irish Brigade in the Service of France; (2017 ed.). Forgotten Books. ISBN 1330370775.
- Somerset, Anne (2012). Queen Anne; the Politics of Passion. Harper. ISBN 978-0007203765.
- Symcox, Geoffrey (1983). Victor Amadeus II: Absolutism in the Savoyard State, 1675-1730. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0500870105.
- Ward, William; Leathes, Stanley (1912). The Cambridge Modern History (2010 ed.). Nabu. ISBN 978-1174382055.
- Wilson, Peter (1998). German Armies: War and German Society, 1648-1806. Routledge. ISBN 1857281063.
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