Battle of Milazzo (1718)
Battle of Milazzo | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Holy Roman Empire | Spanish Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Count Wirich Philipp von Daun |
Marquis of Lede | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
6,000[1] | 9,300 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,500 killed or wounded 300 prisoners |
1,500 killed or wounded 200 prisoners |
The Battle of Milazzo was fought on 15 October 1718 near the city of Milazzo in Sicily, Italy between Spain and Austria as part of the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
Background
Frustrated by the loss of his Italian possessions after the War of the Spanish Succession, King
He was taking advantage of the power vacuum in France after the death of Louis XIV, and the fact that Austria was tied up in the
Meanwhile, the Spanish, with 30,000 men under command of the
On 11 August, at the
The battle
The Austrians attacked very early in the morning, taking the Spanish by surprise. The two Spanish Dragoon regiments (Batavia and Lusitania) stopped the attack, to give the rest of the Spanish army time to deploy. Both regiments were decimated, but their sacrifice gave Lede the opportunity to counterattack. The Austrians were pushed back and the Spanish pursued the fleeing army, causing many casualties.
The Austrians lost 1,500 killed or wounded and 300 prisoners. The Spanish lost 1,500 killed or wounded and 200 prisoners. Messina was taken by the Spanish, but the Marquis de Lede didn't take to opportunity to drive the Austrians completely from the island, leaving them a bridgehead around Milazzo. This bridgehead and naval supremacy after the Battle of Cape Passaro, gave the Austrians a chance to send over more troops the next year, leading to the Battle of Francavilla.
References
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
- ^ Chandler: The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough, p. 305. All statistics taken from Chandler.
Bibliography