Battle of Turin

The battle of Turin since May 14th, 1706 put a term at the seat undertaken by the French, and called into question the invasion campaign of Savoy and Piedmont by the armies of Louis XIV. Prince Eugene and the duke Victor-Amédée II of Savoy managed to release the city while inflicting with besieging losses such as the French had to withdraw themselves from Piedmont.

Context

In the conflict which opposed France and Spain to the rest of Europe, the duke of Savoy Victor-Amédée II in 1703 had finally rejoined by opportunism the Austrian cause. The answer of Louis XIV did not delay: in 1704, a Franco-Spanish army invades Savoy then the Lombardy in a few weeks. The Spanish troops were charged to occupy Lombardy, while three French Armies encircled the Piedmont: the Savoyard ones still lost Susa, Verceil, Chivasso, Ivrea and Nice. Only the citadel of Turin, built in the middle of XVIe century, still resisted.

The Franco-Spanish troops were about to give the final attack in August 1705, but the general of Feuillade judged that it did not have forces sufficient for this operation and claimed reinforcements: this wait-and-see policy gave to Piedmontese time to supplement their defense force by prolonging the walls to the neighbouring hills, in preparation of a long seat.

The seat

The seat was carried out by 40.000 attackers and began on May 14th, 1706. The marshal Vauban was in favor to concentrate the attack of the fortress on a small side, taking into account the many against-saps that besieged had spared in front of the city. But Feuillade did not listen to it and launched 48 engineers to the realization of the usual network of trench. Besieged, which profited from the support of the population, opposed an obstinate defense, and inflicted heavy losses with the men of the genious. The skirmishes continued all the summer 1706.

June 17th, Victor-Amédée came from to leave Turin to go in the Trentin to the meeting of the Austrian troops carried out by the Prince Eugene, temporarily giving up the command of the garrison of Turin to the Austrian general Virico Daun. In spite of heroic exploits of the defenders (one of them was exploded in a sap with French workmen to ruin the attack on the citadel), the troops of attack encircled forts of the city unrelentingly.

The attack liberator

September 2nd, Victor-Amédée and the Prince Eugene examined the situation since the hill of Superga, which dominates the city and the surrounding countryside. While the garrison of Turin pushed back an ultimate attack “for the honor”, they decided to support besieged by sending large Austrian army (cavalry included/understood) towards the north-western ramparts of the city, where the French were most vulnerable. This operation succeeds and the Austrians gave an opinion between the two rivers, the Dora Riparia and the Stura di Lanzo . At this point, prince Eugene would have declared: “These people-there are already half-beat. ”

The shock took place on September 7th around 10 hours of the morning, with an attack against besieging over all the width of the lines. The Amadeus squadron discovered a fault in the French lines, and tried by there cutting the right side of the French center. After two failures to reduce this intrusion in their lines, the French relaxed themselves. When Daun ordered with the garrison to try an opening on the left wing of besieging, of the hundreds of soldiers drowned in the Dora Riparia while trying to flee.

Epilog

The French Army was folded up towards the fort of Pignerol at the beginning of the afternoon. Victor-Amadée and prince Eugene made their entry as liberators in Turin and made celebrate, according to the use, a Te Deum to commemorate this victory.

The Traité of Utrecht will recognize Victor-Amadée king of Savoy. On the hill of Superga, the House of Savoy will make build a basilica where one Te Deum will be celebrated every September 7th.

This victory, after the failure of a counter-offensive over Toulon, will carry the continuation of the conflict towards other theaters of operation (Flandres and Spain).

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