''For the battle between Romans and Gauls, see

Battle of Cremona (200 BC) The Battle of Cremona was fought in 200 BC between the Roman Republic and Cisalpine Gaul. The Roman force was victorious. Towards the end of the Second Punic War, tribes in Cisalpine Gaul rebelled against the Republic, sacking the city of Place ...

. For the battle during the

Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...

, see

Battle of Bedriacum The Battle of Bedriacum refers to two battles fought during the Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69) near the village of Bedriacum (now Calvatone), about from the town of Cremona in northern Italy. The fighting in fact took place between Bedriac ...

.'' The Battle of Cremona took place on the night of 31 January to 1 February 1702 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

between a French force under Maréchal Villeroi and an Imperial/Austrian army led by

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...

Background

The Duchies of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

and

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

were strategically important as the key to Southern Austria. The French took possession of both in early 1701 but

Emperor Leopold Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria A ...

then sent Prince Eugene to recapture them. He was an extremely capable general who easily out manoeuvred his French counterparts, winning battles at Carpi and

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont ( Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Tor ...

, after which his army took up winter quarters in the pro-French Duchy of Mantua. Lack of funds and supplies from Vienna meant Eugene had to improvise; since campaigning in the winter months was not usually done, he hoped to take the French by surprise.

Battle

Eugene had a contact inside Cremona, a priest named Cuzzoli; on the night of 31 January 1702, he admitted a party of Imperial grenadiers by means of a hidden culvert and they seized control of the St Margaret Gate. Once open, approximately 4,000 troops led by Prince Eugene in person took the French by surprise, many being killed as they emerged from their barracks, and Maréchal Villeroi captured in his quarters. A second and larger force under Prince de Vaudémont was intended to storm the Po gate and the Citadel but was late in arriving. This gave the garrison time to destroy a vital bridge and prepare, the assault being repulsed by two units of the Irish Brigade, the Régiment de Dillon and the Régiment de Bourke. The defenders now regrouped and counter-attacked; with daylight and a French relief force arriving, Prince Eugene ordered his troops to withdraw, the Austrians having suffered an estimated 1,600 casualties, the French around 1,100.

Aftermath

The two Irish units lost an estimated 350 out of 600 men engaged; their commander Major Daniel O'Mahoney was later presented to Louis XIV and knighted by the Stuart exile James III. He went on to have a distinguished career, fighting in Spain and Sicily; he ended as a Lieutenant-General and died in

Ocaña, Spain Ocaña, a town and municipality of central Spain, in the province of Toledo. It is located on the extreme north of the tableland known as the Mesa de Ocaña, and has a station on the railway from Aranjuez to Cuenca. Toponymy The term ''Ocañ ...

in 1714. Villeroi was soon released but his capture commemorated in verse; ''Par la faveur de

Bellone Bellone is a white Italian wine grape variety that wine historians believed was cultivated in Roman times. By 1990, nearly of the variety was still being cultivated and eligible to be blended in the wines of several Latium ''Denominazione di o ...

, et par un bonheur sans égal, nous avons conservé Crémone et perdu notre général.'' (By the favour of Bellone, and a happiness without equal, we saved Crémone and lost our general). The battle was also commemorated as a march entitled 'The Battle of Cremona' later used in the Irish Brigade.

Notes

External links

The wild geese at Cremona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cremona Battles of the War of the Spanish Succession Battles involving Austria Battles involving France

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

Battle of Cremona 1702 in Austria 1702 in France Cremona

Background

Battle

Aftermath

Notes

Further reading

External links