Battle of Calcinato

Battle of Calcinato
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession
The Battle of Calcinato by Jean Baptiste Martin Schlacht.
Date 19 April 1706 Location near Calcinato, present-day Italy Result Two Crowns victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France Bourbon Spain	Habsburg Austria
Commanders and leaders
Duke of Vendôme	Christian Detlev Reventlow
Strength
41,000	19,000
Casualties and losses
500 dead or wounded	6,000 dead or wounded

The Battle of Calcinato was fought on 19 April 1706 near Calcinato, Italy, during the War of the Spanish Succession, between the forces of Bourbon France and Spain and those of the Austrian Habsburgs. It ended in a victory for Marshal Vendôme's French and Spanish army.

Prelude

In Italy the 1706 campaign had, as before, two branches: the contest for Piedmont and the contest between the French forces in Lombardy and the Austrian second army that sought to join Victor Amadeus and Starhemberg in Piedmont. The latter, repulsed by Vendôme at Cassano, had retired to Brescia and Lake Garda, Vendôme following up and wintering about Castiglione and Mantua.

The battle

In April 1706, profiting by Eugene's temporary absence, Vendôme attacked the Imperialist's camp of Montechiaro–Calcinato. His intention was by a night march to surprise the post of Ponte San Marco on their extreme left, but when day came he noticed that he could give battle to the enemy's left wing at Calcinato before their right from Montichiari could intervene. His onset broke up the defence completely and he hustled the fragments of the Imperialist army back into the mountains, where Eugene had the greatest difficulty in rallying them.

Aftermath

Vendôme was sent to Flanders after the crushing defeat there in the Battle of Ramillies. As a result of the disastrous Siege of Turin the French position in Italy deteriorated drastically, and by the end of the year, all French forces had been chased from Italy.

References

• Lynn, John A. The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714. Longman, (1999). ISBN 0-582-05629-2