Battle of Luzzara
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| Battle of Luzzara | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||
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| Combatants | |||||||
| Austria | France | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Prince Eugene of Savoy | Duc de Vendôme | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 25,000 | 30,000 - 36,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| 2,500 | 4,000 | ||||||
| War of the Spanish Succession |
|---|
| Carpi – Chieri – Cremona – Luzzara – Cádiz – Friedlingen – Vigo Bay – Ekeren – Höchstädt – Schellenberg – Blenheim – Málaga – Cassano – Calcinato – Elixheim – Ramillies – Turin – Almansa – Toulon – Oudenarde – Lille – Malplaquet – Saragossa – Almenara – Brihuega – Villaviciosa – Bouchain – Denain – Barcelona |
The Battle of Luzzara was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession, which was fought on August 15, 1702 near Luzzara, Italy.
[edit] Prelude
In the summer of 1702 , after taking Guastalla, the French under Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme turned north , with the intention to besiege Borgoforte. On this road he set up camp near Luzzara on the right bank of the Po River.
When Prince Eugene of Savoy heard of this, he was besieging Mantua. He decided to give up the siege and assemble all available forces to intercept Vendome.
Arriving near Luzzara, Prince Eugene set up his headquarter a few kilometers north near the village of Riva.
[edit] The Battle
Vendome was in a favourable position, having prepared his defenses and with the Po River on his left side and the right side of the Austrians. The rest of the terrain was an open field, full of ditches, channels, fences and high bushes.
The Austrians had more experienced troops and commanders like Daun, Vaudemont, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt and Guido Starhemberg.
On the morning of August 15, Prince Eugene waited until the rest of his units, called for urgently, had reached the battle line. Then around 5 pm. he attacked. His plan was to part the enemies from the riverside and try to surround them. He attacked several times but with no practical result, because of the strong French resistance.
The battle raged until darkness, around 9 pm. Eugen succeeded in driving Vendome from the battlefield, but did not achieve much more.
After this battle, the two armies laid facing each other until the French decamped first on November 4, ending the 1702 campaign.
