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The siege of Turin took place from June to September 1706, during the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
. A French army led by Louis de la Feuillade besieged the Savoyard capital of
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, whose relief by
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...
has been called the most brilliant campaign of the war in Italy. The siege is also famous for the death of
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
ese hero Pietro Micca. By 1706, France occupied most of the
Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy (; ) was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy f ...
, leaving only its capital Turin in the possession of its ruler, Victor Amadeus. On 19 April, Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, consolidated the French position in
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
by victory at Calcinato. Shortly afterwards, Prince Eugene resumed command of Imperial troops in Northern Italy, while Vendôme was recalled to France in July, and replaced by the Duke of Orleans. De la Feuillade began siege operations on 2 June but made little progress, while Prince Eugene out manoeuvred the French field army under Orleans, and joined forces with 7,000 cavalry led by Victor Amadeus. Despite being outnumbered overall, the Allies were able to concentrate their forces; on 7 September, they attacked the French south of Turin, and after fierce fighting, broke through their lines. The French were forced to withdraw from Northern Italy, allowing Victor Amadeus to recover most of Piedmont, although his possessions north of the Alps were occupied by France until 1713. In March 1707, France, Savoy and Emperor Joseph signed the Convention of Milan, ending the war in Italy.


Background

The
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
was triggered by the death in November 1700 of the childless Charles II of Spain. He named his heir as Philip of Anjou, grandson of
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, and on 16 November, he became king of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. In addition to mainland
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, this included the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
, large parts of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and much of Central and South America. In 1701, disputes over territorial and commercial rights led to war between France, Spain, and the Grand Alliance, whose candidate was
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
, younger son of
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...
. Fighting in Northern Italy centred on the Spanish-held Duchies of
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and
Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
, which were considered essential to the security of
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
's southern borders. In March 1701, French troops occupied both cities; Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, allied with France, in return for which his daughter Maria Luisa married Philip V. In October 1703, Victor Amadeus switched sides to join the Grand Alliance. The following year, French armies under de la Feuillade captured Savoyard territories north of the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
in Villefranche and the County of Savoy. Vendôme conducted a simultaneous offensive in
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, and by the end of 1705
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
was the only significant city still under Savoyard control. To prevent interference from Imperial forces in Lombardy, Vendôme took the offensive and his victory at Calcinato on 19 April drove them into the
Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...
valley. The Austrian commander Prince Eugene returned from
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and quickly restored order; this left 30,000 Imperial troops around
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
facing 40,000 French spread between the Mincio and
Adige The Adige is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the province of South Tyrol, near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland, and flows through most of northeastern Italy ...
rivers. On 12 May, 48,000 men under de la Feuillade arrived outside Turin, although they did not completely encircle it until 19 June. However, after a serious defeat at Ramillies in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
on 23 May, Louis XIV ordered Vendôme back to France and on 8 July he relinquished command in Italy to the inexperienced
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), who was known as the Regent, was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to i ...
, although it has been argued he was fortunate to be recalled before Prince Eugene exposed his poor strategic planning for the theatre. Orléans was given Ferdinand de Marsin as his main advisor and while neither was a match for the prince, Vendôme was confident they could prevent him intervening at Turin.


Siege

Turin's defences were divided into the outer city, containing the residential and commercial areas, with a fortified
Citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...
at its core; normal practice was to take the city first, allowing the besiegers to bombard the citadel from close range. Hoping to speed up operations, La Feuillade decided to begin firing on the citadel as soon as possible, from gun positions constructed 300 metres outside the city. Since 1696, the citadel had been significantly improved based on designs provided by the French military engineer Vauban, and much of it was now underground, including of tunnels used for counter
sapping Sapping is a term used in siege operations to describe the digging of a covered trench (a "sap") to approach a besieged place without danger from the enemy's fire. (verb) The purpose of the sap is usually to advance a besieging army's position ...
operations. Vauban pointed out firing from that distance meant they could only target the higher part of the walls, not the base, and allegedly offered to have his throat cut if Turin was captured using this approach. Leaving the Austrian general Philipp von Daun in command of the garrison, Victor Amadeus escaped from the city on 17 June with 7,000 cavalry. Attempting to buy time for Prince Eugene, he spent the next two months attacking French supply lines, while La Feuillade continued siege operations 'with more obstinacy than success.' As Vauban predicted, the bombardment inflicted considerable damage, but the citadel remained largely intact, and French
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
attempts proved unsuccessful. On 15 August, Prince Eugene began his advance on Turin, easily evading Orléans' covering force; on 29th, he reached Carmagnola south of Turin, where he was joined by Victor Amadeus. Often overlooked, this was a considerable achievement, comparable in skill and execution to Marlborough's march to the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
. Taking over a battered and defeated army, Prince Eugene first reorganised it, then ''...marched 200 miles in 24 days...crossed four major rivers, pierced lines drawn between the mountains to the seas to stop him...and drove superior numbers of the enemy before him.'' Aware of his approach, Orléans joined La Feuillade, and their combined force made three assaults between 27 August and 3 September. All were repulsed with heavy loss; Pietro Micca was killed on 31 August, after exploding a mine to prevent the French breaking into one of the tunnels underneath the citadel. Including deaths from disease, the leading cause during a prolonged siege, the French suffered losses of 10,000, the garrison 4,500.


Battle

Despite their losses, French forces around Turin still outnumbered the combined Imperial-Savoyard relief force of 30,000, but they were dispersed along of defences, and morale was low after the failed and costly assaults. On 5 September, the Savoyard-Imperial army concentrated at Collegno, between the Dora Riparia and the Stura di Lanzo rivers near a weak spot in the French lines. On 7 September, Prince Eugene divided his force into eight columns, each split into two lines, leaving gaps between each one for their artillery. Johann of Saxe-Gotha (1677-1707) commanded the right, Charles of Württemberg the left, and Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau the centre. The battle began with an artillery exchange, but the Imperial guns made little impact on the French entrenchments, and around 11:00 am, Prince Eugene ordered a general assault. Although Charles of Württemberg broke through on the left, the rest of the army was held up, before repeated attacks by Leopold, supported by a sortie led by von Daun, finally forced the French to retreat. Orléans was wounded, as was Marsin, who was captured and died the next day; French casualties ranged from 7,000 to 9,000 (including between 3,200 and 6,000 prisoners), those of the Allies ranged from 3,500 to 4,800. The French withdrew from Turin, abandoning their siege artillery, and retreated towards Pinerolo; Victor Amadeus re-entered his capital the same day.


Aftermath

On 8 September, a French detachment in Lombardy under the Count of Médavy defeated a Hessian corps at Castiglione but this did not affect the strategic position. French garrisons in Pinerolo and
Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
were withdrawn, and the forts reoccupied by Savoy. In 1708, Victor Amadeus gained the minor Duchy of Montferrat, but Nice and the County of Savoy were not returned by France until 1713. Savoyard ambitions to gain Milan remained unfulfilled for another 150 years. To the fury of his Allies, in March 1707 Emperor Joseph signed the Convention of Milan with France, ending the war in Northern Italy. In return for handing over Milan and Mantua to Austria, French and Spanish troops were repatriated with all their equipment; many were sent to Southern France, where they helped defeat an Allied attack on the French naval base at
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
in July. In April, Joseph captured the Spanish-ruled
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 ...
, leaving Austria the dominant power in Italy for the first time in two centuries. After
Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...
in the 19th century, Pietro Micca became an example of patriotism and loyalty to the new Italian state. He was the hero of the 1938 film '' Pietro Micca''; on the tercentenary of his death in 2006, a number of studies were published to mark the occasion, including ''Le Aquile e i Gigli; Una storia mai scritta'', by Cerino Badone. In 2004, construction of an underground carpark in the Piazza Vittorio Veneto uncovered 22 skeletons dating from the early 18th century; a study published in 2019 indicates these are almost certainly casualties from the 1706 siege.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Coord, 45.0667, N, 7.7000, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
1706 in France 1706 in Italy Turin 1706 1706 in the Holy Roman Empire
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
Turin 1706