The Battle of Velletri were two battles between Austria and the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

in 1744 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

around the city of

Velletri Velletri (; ; ) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, approximately 40 km to the southeast of the city centre, located in the Alban Hills, in the region of Lazio, central Italy. Neighbouring communes are Rocca di Papa, Lar ...

, then part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

.
The first battle took place in the night of 16–17 June 1744, when the Spanish-Neapolitan army launched a surprise attack and conquered 3 important hills.
The second battle occurred on 10 and 11 August 1744, when the Austrian army, after seizing

in a nighttime attack and capturing much of King Charles' royal entourage, were rapidly thrown back and retreated.

Prelude

A few years earlier (1734), during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

, Austria had lost the Kingdom of Naples to Spain. Now that Austria and Spain were at war again in Northern Italy, Maria Theresia sent an army under command of the

Prince of Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the cent ...

to the northern border of the Kingdom of Naples through the Papal States, to reconquer their former possession.
The Prince of Lobkowicz, who was in no hurry to invade, allowed King

Charles VII of Naples Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

to assembe an army of 13,000 Neapolitan soldiers reinforced with 12,000 Spanish soldiers under the Comte de Gages, march it north and take up strong positions in and around the city of

First battle (17 June) : Surprise on Monte Piccolo

On 16 June, as darkness fell, 12,000 Neapolitan and Spanish

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...

s moved towards the fortifications of Monte Piccolo. At dawn the Walloon grenadiers of the Spanish regiments occupied the battery of Monte Piccolo, while other troops occupied Maschio dell'Ariano and La Fajola and set fire to Pratoni del Vivaro. The commander of the Monte Piccolo garrison (General Pestaluzzi) was captured, probably drunk in a farmhouse of winemakers. The next day,

Jean Thierry du Mont, comte de Gages Jean Bonaventure Thierry du Mont, 1st Count of Gages (Mons, now in Belgium, 27 December 1682 – Pamplona, Spain, 31 January 1753), Viceroy of Navarre, 1746–1753, a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1745, was a Walloon born Spanish ...

gave the order to withdraw and preserve only the Artemisio ridge line.

Second battle : the surprise attack of 11 August

On 28 July Lobkowitz received a request to transfer at least one regiment to Piedmont in support of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

, which was attacked by the Bourbons through the Alps. At this point Lobkowitz decided to try to surprise the Bourbons with a pincer attack, giving Brown 6,000 men to attack the Neapolitan left wing and keeping the rest to attack the Artemesio and the Neapolitan right wing. The purpose of the surprise attack was to capture the general staff of the Neapolitan army and in particular King

. In the early hours of 11 August, General Brown marched with his 6,000 men on

. His infantry managed to force Porta Napoletana and enter the town. Once in the town the columns headed towards Palazzo Ginnetti, where King Charles was staying, but in the meantime the King had been able to escape and take refuge in Villa Antonelli, the seat of the tactical headquarters, where his bodyguard of some 800 men was located and from where he subsequently directed the battle.
Gages, who was at Artemisio, realizing what was happening, alerted the right wing of the Neapolitan army to attempt a counterattack. In the meantime, Brown's infantry had begun to pillage the town, thus losing the opportunity to inflict a decisive defeat on the Neapolitans. Brown, who saw that his force now was in danger of encirclement, had no other option than to order a retreat, which began around 7 AM and by 9 AM, most of his troops were back in the Austrian camp. They had taken 574 prisoners (including General Mariani, and 74 officers), 12 flags and 3 cavalry standards, but their main goal was not achieved. The simultaneous attack by the Austrians under command of General Andrássy on the Neapolitan right wing at Artemisio, was also repelled, with the loss of some 500 Austrian casualties.Ilari e Boeri, p. 191-198.

Legacy

Triumph of Charles III at the Battle of Velletri

Raimondo di Sangro Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero (30 January 1710 – 22 March 1771) was an Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason best remembered for his reconstruction of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples. Early ...

took part in the battle of Velletri, distinguishing himself for his courage and skill. Act 3 of the drama ''Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino'' by

Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas Angel is a given name meaning "angel", "messenger". In the English-speaking world Angel is used for both boys and girls. From the medieval Latin masculine name ''Angelus'', which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived ...

, and the opera '' La forza del destino'' by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

, based on Saavedra's play, is set during the Battle of Velletri.

References

Sources

* * Browning, Reed. ''The War of the Austrian Succession''. Alan Sutton Publishing, 1994. * Virgilio Ilari e Giancarlo Boeri, Velletri 1744. ''La mancata riconquista austriaca delle due Sicilie'', Roma, Nadir Media Edizioni, 2019, ISBN 9788894132588. {{DEFAULTSORT:Velletri Conflicts in 1744 Battles of the War of the Austrian Succession Battles involving Spain Battles involving the Kingdom of Naples Military history of Lazio

Battle of Velletri The Battle of Velletri were two battles between Austria and the Kingdom of Naples in 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession around the city of Velletri, then part of the Papal States. The first battle took place in the night of 16–17 ...

Charles III of Spain