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Battle of Guastalla

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Guastalla
Part of the War of the Polish Succession

Hand-colored period map (oriented with West towards the top) depicting the battle order
Date19 September 1734
Location
Guastalla, County of Guastalla (present-day Emilia-Romagna, Italy)
44°55′0″N 10°40′0″E / 44.91667°N 10.66667°E / 44.91667; 10.66667
Result Franco-Sardinian victory
Belligerents
 Sardinia
 France		 Habsburg monarchy Habsburg monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Sardinia Charles Emmanuel III
Kingdom of France Duc de Broglie
Kingdom of France François de Coigny		 Dominik von Königsegg
Frederick of Württemberg-Winnental †
Strength
40,000 men[1] 27,000 men[1]
Casualties and losses
1,403–1,602 killed
3,445–4,000 wounded
1,300 captured[2][3][1]		 1,579 killed
~4,000 wounded[3][1]
5 cannons, 7 standards[1]
1,600 horses killed
French estimate:
4,400 killed
4,600 wounded[4][2]

The Battle of Guastalla or Battle of Luzzara (19 September 1734) saw an army commanded by King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia defend itself against an attack by a Habsburg Austrian army led by Dominik von Königsegg-Rothenfels. Charles Emmanuel's Allied army was composed of troops from the French Royal Army and soldiers from the Kingdom of Sardinia. After an encounter costly to both sides, the Austrians retreated from the field, leaving the Allies victorious in this battle of the War of the Polish Succession.

In late 1733, the Allied armies under Marshal of France Claude Louis Hector de Villars, 1st Duke of Villars rapidly overran the Duchy of Milan, driving out the outnumbered Austrian forces. By early 1734, the Austrians were reinforced and held onto the key fortress of Mantua. Frustrated by a lack of cooperation between his French army and the Allied armies of Sardinia and Spain, the elderly Villars quit the campaign but died on the way back to France. Subsequently, the Austrians twice attacked but failed to defeat the Allies, the first time at the Battle of San Pietro and the second time at Guastalla.

Background

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Strategy

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The death of King Augustus II of Poland on 1 February 1733 was the spark that ignited the War of the Polish Succession. A Diet of Election was convened in August 1733 in which the nobles and gentry of the Kingdom of Poland were to select their new monarch. The Kingdom of France desired Stanisław Leszczyński to be elected because he was the father-in-law to King Louis XV. This choice was bitterly opposed by the Russian Empire and Habsburg Austria. Stanisław was an ex-king of Poland who had been deposed many years earlier by the Russians.[5] Europe had been mostly peaceful since the Peace of Utrecht in 1715. That came to an end when Stanisław revealed himself at Warsaw on 10 September 1733.[6]

France wished to hurt her traditional enemy, Austria, which was ruled by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. To fulfill this purpose, it would benefit France to have Austria's neighbor Poland as an ally. France also wanted to oppose Austria in Germany and in Italy.[7] France could not attack the Austrian Netherlands because that would bring the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic into the war against it. In Germany, France could operate against the imperial fortresses of Kehl, Breisach, and Philippsburg, while trying not to provoke the various states of the Holy Roman Empire into open opposition.[8]

In order to inflict the most harm on Austria, France needed to invade Italy and attack the Austrian possessions, the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, and the Kingdom of Sicily. To gain access to Italy, France needed to gain the Kingdom of Sardinia as an ally.[9] This was accomplished when the Treaty of Turin was signed on 27 September 1733, promising Sardinia the Duchy of Milan and giving King Charles Emmanuel III command over the combined Franco-Sardinian armies. Spain was eager to ally itself with France because it wanted to acquire the southern Italian kingdoms of Naples and Sicily.[10]

Operations

[edit]
Portrait shows a man in a flamboyant pose. He wears studio armor under a purple robe and a shoulder-length black wig.
Claude de Villars

On 12 September 1733 at Wola near Warsaw, Stanisław Leszczyński was elected king by acclamation by a large crowd of Polish nobles.[11] A Russian army led by General Peter Lacy had already invaded Poland and reached Praga on the east bank of the Vistula River on 5 October. Another election was held "under the auspices" of the Russian army and Frederick August, Elector of Saxony was declared King Augustus III. By 2 October, Stanisław left Warsaw and arrived in Gdańsk (Danzig). Lacy's army seized Warsaw on 10 October, but it did not begin the Siege of Danzig until February 1734.[12] By this time, large swaths of Lithuania in eastern Poland had been occupied by Russian soldiers.[13]

A French army under Marshal James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick began crossing the Rhine River on the night of 12–13 October 1733. The French successfully concluded the Siege of Kehl on 31 October.[14] The French army of Italy began crossing the Alps on 12 October and joined the Sardinian army at Vigevano on 29 October.[15] There were only 18,000 Austrians in Italy, mostly in garrisons. The badly outnumbered Austrians abandoned Pavia and Lombardy, leaving behind only a few garrisons. Marshal Claude Louis Hector de Villars, 1st Duke of Villars joined the French army as its commander on 11 November during the Siege of Pizzighettone.[16] After being besieged by 26,000 Franco-Sardinians, Pizzighettone surrendered on 9 December. The 3,700-man Austrian garrison was allowed to go free but its 45 cannons and 3 mortars were captured.[17]

Charles Emmanuel III

The Milan citadel capitulated to Lieutenant General (LG) Claude François Bidal d'Asfeld on 29 December. Novara surrendered to LG François de Franquetot de Coigny on 7 January 1734 and Tortona capitulated to LG Jean-Baptiste François des Marets, marquis de Maillebois on 5 February. In all three cases, the surrendered Austrian garrisons were allowed free passage to Mantua.[18] However, 475 of the 1,389-man Milan garrison deserted on the march to Mantua. Overtaken by events, the Austrian commander, Field Marshal Wirich Philipp von Daun left the army in October to plead his case in Vienna. His exit left his second-in-command Feldzeugmeister Prince Frederick Louis of Württemberg-Winnental as temporary leader of the army. Emperor Charles VI and Prince Eugene of Savoy rushed reinforcements to Italy and appointed a new army commander, Field Marshal Count Claude Florimond de Mercy.[19] Unfortunately, the 68-year-old Mercy was blind in one eye and stricken with gout.[20]

Sepia toned portrait shows a standing man holding a rolled-up map. He wears studio armor and a shoulder length wig.
Duke of Coigny

Before help arrived, Villars might have captured weakly-held Mantua, the last Austrian fortress in Italy. However, King Charles Emmanuel was satisfied with his occupation of the Duchy of Milan and showed little interest in ejecting the Austrians from Mantua.[21] Villars hoped that a newly arrived Spanish army under José Carrillo de Albornoz, 1st Duke of Montemar might help defeat the Austrians. To Villars' frustration, Montemar's army marched away in February with the goal of conquering Naples and Sicily. In February, after crossing the Brenner Pass, Mercy arrived in Mantua with 12,000 reinforcements.[22] On 2 May, Mercy's Austrian army gained a foothold on the south bank of the Po River near San Benedetto Po and forced Coigny's troops to retreat to Guastalla. On 26 May 1734, the ailing Villars was allowed to leave the army. He was disgusted with the lack of cooperation from his Spanish and Sardinian allies. Villars never made it home, dying in Turin on 17 June.[23]

Mercy suffered repeated attacks which took away the sight in his good eye, leaving Frederick of Württemberg-Winnental in command of the Austrian army. Württemberg-Winnental was urged to act aggressively by both Charles VI and Prince Eugene.[24] On 17 May 1734, the Austrian army advanced west from San Benedetto on the south bank of the Po. The incapacitated Mercy tried to interfere with Württemberg-Winnental's control of the army until the emperor ordered him to stop. With the Austrians threatening to take Parma, Coigny finally convinced Charles Emmanuel to bring his Sardinian army to the south bank of the Po. The Battle of Colorno was an indecisive clash on 4 June.[25] As the Austrian army prepared to attack Parma, a recovered Mercy suddenly appeared and assumed command. On 29 June, Mercy recklessly ordered an attack, was killed, and his army was defeated in the Battle of San Pietro.[26]

Battle

[edit]

Quistello

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In September, Field Marshal Dominik von Königsegg-Rothenfels, who replaced Mercy, renewed the Austrian offensive, winning a small victory near Quistello when his troops successfully raided de Broglio's headquarters on 14 September, taking 1,500 prisoners and capturing Charles Emmanuel's silver service, and campaign war chest. As the Austrians pursued the allies, they surrounded additional pockets of soldiers, taking another 3,000 prisoners. The allies fell back toward Guastalla, where they fortified a position between the Crostolo and Po rivers.

After pausing to reprovision on 16 September, Königsegg continued the pursuit, reaching Luzzara on 18 September. The allied leadership that evening, decided to force a battle at Guastalla as revenge for the action at Quistello.

Battle area

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The area between Guastalla and Luzzara included two small dams, and numerous other land works, including hedges and low stone walls, that were useful as cover for defending troops. To the west of Guastalla was a plain dotted with copses of trees, extending to the Po, where the allies had a boat-bridge to facilitate the movement of troops across the river. Between the bridgehead and the fortified town of Guastalla they erected a series of defensive works between the two dams, anchored by a large redoubt about halfway between the town and the bridge. The allied line extended from the village of Pieve, south of Guastalla, around to the east and north of the town, ending with battalions of cavalry on the plains in front of the defensive line, between the town and the bridge. Overall command was given to Charles Emmanuel, who led the center, with de Coigny leading the right flank and de Broglie the left. On the morning of 19 September Charles Emmanuel sent three regiments across the Po to guard against possible Austrian flanking maneuvers that could bypass his army and gain access to Milanese territory. Demonstrations by Austrian troops on the left bank of the Po on 18 September reinforced his concern over this possibility.

When Königsegg learned of this latter movement, he decided the time had come to attack the allied position at Guastalla, hoping for a decisive defeat, forcing the allies to retreat either across the Po or the Crostolo. Because he had been unable to personally reconnoiter the enemy position, and reports indicated no significant massings of enemy troops (which were largely concealed behind the numerous structures along the line of defense), Königsegg eventually concluded that the bulk of the allied troops had been withdrawn across the Po. Hoping to isolate the remaining enemy troops, he directed the bulk of his forces toward the bridgehead on the allied left.

Action

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The battle of Guastalla by Jan Peeter Verdussen

Königsegg ordered the first companies to move out early on 19 September, without explicitly telling the commanding generals that battle was to be expected. When the leading edges of his army reached the allied positions, reconnaissance indicated that there were as few as 5,000 infantry in the field, and that the enemy's cavalry appeared to be in retreat. Convinced that he was facing the rear guard of the allied army, Königsegg ordered a single line of troops forward at about 10 am to flush out the defenders. While this met with limited success, he was forced to commit more resources to the battle as it picked up in intensity about 11 am. Around noon Charles Emmanuel directed troops from the allied right to come around to assist in the defense of the left flank, where a large portion of the Austrian army was engaged in between the two dams. About 1 pm Königsegg's second, Prince Frederick Louis of Württemberg-Winnental was killed while leading a cavalry charge.

While the battle waged incessantly, Austrian grenadiers came up the river by boat, and landed just behind the allied cavalry position. In response, Charles Emmanuel ordered the left flank to retreat toward the bridgehead, and called on most of the remaining troops from the right for support. Some troops from the right flank marched to the aid of the center without orders to do so, which ultimately helped the center hold when Königsegg threw his reserves into the battle there around 2 pm.

The battle continued, with neither side able to gain ground against the other, and without further reserves to bring in, until about 4 pm. By that time, both sides were running low on ammunition, and Königsegg ordered the Austrians to withdraw back to Luzzara.

Aftermath

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Color portrait shows a man with a shoulder length wig wearing black studio armor.
Duke of Württemberg-Winnental was killed in this battle.

While the Allies held the field of battle, both sides suffered significant casualties. According to Gaston Bodart, the Austrians lost 1,600 killed and 4,200 wounded, plus 200 men, 5 cannons, and 7 standards captured. Austrian general officers Frederick of Württemberg, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Valparaiso, and Generalfeldwachtmeister Colmenaro were killed and five others wounded. The Allies lost 1,500 killed, 4,400 wounded, and 100 captured. Fatalities among French general officers were Lieutenant Generals d'Affry, Lannion, and Pezé, Mestre de camp Chaste, and Brigadier Montjeon, while 15 other generals were wounded.[1] John L. Sutton reported that the French admitted sustaining 1,403 killed, 3,445 wounded, and 1,300 captured, while claiming that they inflicted 9,000 casualties on the Austrians.[2]

Coigny described the Austrian army's retreat as a flight and that he ordered a pursuit. However, the pursuit was apparently not carried out with rigor.[2] Königsegg first withdrew to Luzzara[27] then to Motteggiana where the Austrian army stayed while the Allied army remained near Guastalla. Finally, Königsegg's army crossed to the north bank of the Po at Borgoforte on 25 September because it had depleted the forage available on the south bank. The Austrian move was made without hinderance and the Allied army also crossed to the north bank two days later, using their bridges at Guastalla.[2] The Austrian army assumed a strong position behind the Oglio River.[27] Königsegg posted his army covering Mantua and begged for reinforcements.[28]

Guastalla was the last and bloodiest battle of the war. At first, the French authorities were elated by the victory and Secretary of State for War Nicolas Prosper Bauyn d'Angervilliers sent congratulations to both Coigny and Broglie. However, the French government soon realized that both armies were in almost the same positions as they had been at the start of the campaign.[2] On 2 October, Angervilliers wrote Broglie, "I wish you hadn't lost your equipment, that the enemies hadn't crossed the Secchia, and that there hadn't been a battle at Guastalla; everyone would have benefited!"[29] The bloodshed led both sides to seek a peaceful settlement, but without an immediate resolution.[2]

Jean-Baptiste François des Marets, marquis de Maillebois was sent with eight battalions and some cavalry to besiege Mirandola, which was the last Austrian foothold on the south bank of the Po. Königsegg sent a strong force to relieve Mirandola and Maillebois was forced to retreat. Coigny tried and failed to cross the Po at Borgoforte, then pulled the French forces back behind the Adda River in November.[28] The army took up winter quarters near Cremona.[30] Frustrated with the lack of support from Charles Emmanuel, Coigny left the army and transferred to the German theater of operations in 1735.[28]

Following the allied gains of 1733, the two sides had, between this battle and that at San Pietro, killed or wounded about 12,000 men, and the 1734 campaign ended about where it began. Marshal de Broglie observed that if the battle had not been fought, the world would have been the winner.[31]

Notes

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bodart 1908, p. 182.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sutton 1980, p. 174.
  3. 1 2 Novitsky 1912, pp. 204–205.
  4. ↑ Périni 1900, p. 283.
  5. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 1.
  6. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 3.
  7. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 11.
  8. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 19.
  9. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 21.
  10. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 24–25.
  11. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 54.
  12. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 59–61.
  13. ↑ Cust 1858, p. 194.
  14. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 75–78.
  15. ↑ Cust 1858, p. 195.
  16. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 90–91.
  17. ↑ Bodart 1908, p. 178.
  18. ↑ Bodart 1908, p. 179.
  19. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 100–102.
  20. ↑ Sutton 1980, p. 106.
  21. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 103–104.
  22. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 104–106.
  23. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 109–110.
  24. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 163–164.
  25. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 165–166.
  26. ↑ Sutton 1980, pp. 168–169.
  27. 1 2 Cust 1858, p. 203.
  28. 1 2 3 Sutton 1980, p. 175.
  29. ↑ Périni 1900, p. 284.
  30. ↑ Cust 1858, p. 204.
  31. ↑ Campaigns of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Volume 19, p. 392

References

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  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905) (in German). Vienna and Leipzig: C. W. Stern. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  • Chandler, David G. (1995). The Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough. New York, N.Y.: Sarpedon Publishers. ISBN 1-885119-14-3.
  • Cust, Edward (1858). "Annals of the wars of the eighteenth century: Volume 1. 1700–1739". London: Gilbert and Rivington. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  • Périni, Hardy de (1900). "Batailles françaises, Volume 6". Paris: Flammarion. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  • Sutton, John L. (1980). The King's Honor and the King's Cardinal: The War of the Polish Succession. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-5501-2.
  • Novitsky, Vasily (1912). "Гвасталла" [Guastalla]. Военная энциклопедия (in Russian). Vol. 7: Воинская честь – Гимнастика военная. Moscow: Типография Т-ва И. Д. Сытина. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
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