ITALY, PIEDMONT & THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION 1701-1712
◗ Ciro Paoletti
◗ Helion & Company (2021)
◗ £35.00
◗ 340 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781913336493
◗ helion.co.uk
Number 63 in Helion’s Century of the Soldier 1618-1721 series continues the story begun in the author’s William III’s Italian Ally, published by this publisher in 2019.
The first three chapters describe the European and Italian situation in 1700, with particular emphasis upon Savoy-Piedmont, the various other Italian states and the forces at their command, the Spanish Succession issue and the enforced French-Piedmontese military alliance.
Chapter 4, Early Eighteenth-Century Warfare in Italy and Abroad; much of Chapter 5, The Duke of Savoy’s Army (except for the section on artillery which has been revised to reflect the changes to that arm in December 1696 when it became a military corps); and Chapter 6, Piedmontese Logistics, were first published in the author’s earlier book.
The remainder of the book falls into two sections: the first, shorter section of three chapters narrates the events of the beginning of the war and the campaign of 1702 when Savoy-Piedmont was allied to France; the second, much longer section, the course of the war in Italy from 1703, after Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy had secretly negotiated an alliance with the Emperor, when he supported Prince Eugene in a series of successful campaigns.
As a result of judiciously changing his allegiance, Victor Amadeus was rewarded by becoming King of Sicily in 1713, one of only eleven kings in Europe and the only one in Italy. He had, perhaps, gained the most of out of the Treaty of Utrecht of all the participants in the war.
Eight colour plates by Bruno Mugnai depict Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy on horseback at the Battle of Turin, 7th September 1706, and fourteen figures of troops of Savoy-Piedmont, the Papal States and the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. A full-page colour table shows the uniform details – coat, cuffs, lining, waistcoat, breeches, stockings and buttons – of Savoy-Piedmont infantry regiments, provincial and foreign regiments. Six colour plates, also by Mugnai, show fourteen infantry colours and a dragoon cornet. A final plate is a reproduction of a painting of the Review of the Infantry Regiment Ruspoli in Rome, 1708.
Approximately 185 black and white illustrations include a full-page map of Italy in 1696, essential for understanding the geographical locations of the various states, and another of the Adriatic Coast, together with numerous reproductions of contemporary portraits of rulers, politicians and generals, pictures of troops, fortresses and plans of battles. It is a pity that English translations have not been provided for the keys or explanations that appear on the contemporary plans of battles and sieges which would have increased their usefulness, and that there are no modern battle plans to accompany the author’s narrative. Six pages of commentaries on the colour plates and a sixteen-page bibliography conclude the book; there is no index.
This book offers a different perspective on the War of Spanish Succession, that of small, independent Italian states trying to survive when affected by the power struggle between France and the Empire, that presents wargamers with a variety of unfamiliar actions and sieges to refight instead of Marlborough’s more famous victories. The interesting politico-military situation also offers a challenging setting for a map campaign resulting in tabletop battles, which could easily be fictionalised and adapted to suit eighteenth century ‘ImagiNations’ armies.