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Set in motion by the disputed succession of Maria Theresa and her husband to the lands and dignities of Emperor Charles VI, this series of major conflicts (1740-48) involved far more than just the fate of the Habsurgs: soon, Austria, Prussia, France, Britain, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony and the Netherlands were embroiled in their different but interlocking power struggles, with profound long-term significance for Europe and beyond. The war marks the rise of Prussia to great-power status, and the opening of the struggle between France and Britain for maritime supremacy and colonial empire in North America, the Caribbean and India. This book examines the war and its consequences in their widest context.
'You have to die in Piedmont ' An old folk song, still played in the western Alps, speaks about the French regiments that were incoming from the Mongeneve Pass in order to attack a combined Austro-Sardinian force entrenched on the Assietta Plateau at 2,500 meters (about 8,200 ft) of elevation in the Cottian Alps, which controls two main roads from France to the Kingdom of Sardinia's capital, Turin. The battle occurred 19 June 1747, and was the bloodiest single day battle not only of the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) in Italy, but also of the whole military history of the Alps, and of mountain warfare in general. The strategic goal of the French offensive was the siege and the capture of the Fort of Exilles, a fortress in the Susa Valley on the road from Brian on to Turin. An army of about 20,000 soldiers under the command of Louis Charles Armand Fouquet de Belle-Isle (called the Chevalier de Belle-Isle, the younger brother of the Marshal de Belle-Isle) was divided into two corps: one went down the Moncenisio towards Exilles, while the other advanced towards the Chisone Valley, in order to reach the Assietta ridge from the south side. Having predicted that the French would move through it, the King Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy had fortified the area with an entrenched camp garrisoned with 7,000 men of 13 infantry battalions: 9 Sardinian, and 4 Austrian. French intelligence discovered that the allied forces were fortifying the pass, while the main Austrian army had left the siege of Genoa to reach the Alps. So, the decision was taken to attack immediately. The forces involved amounted to 32 French battalions against 13 allied. The French troops were divided into three attacking columns and their movements began at about 16:30 pm. Despite the desperate effort of the soldiers and the personal value of the French officers, all the attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. In a matter of three hours of murderous firefight, five thousand soldiers, out of 27,000 men engaged, were killed, wounded or missing: even the French commander, the Chevalier de Belle-Isle, was killed in the struggle. Since that day, the Battle of Assietta became a sort of military legend for the Sardinian forces, and subsequently for the Italian Army, but no serious attempt to reconstruct the event was ever made. Only the French at the end of the 19th century tried to develop a more detailed study of the struggle by publishing the manuscript written by the Lieutenant-G n ral de Vault in the second half of 18th century. This is therefore the first full work to address the history of this battle.
While Frederick the Great was fighting Austria over Silesia and France invaded Bohemia, Austria also found its interests in Italy under assault by the Spanish and Neapolitans. This is the history of the war in Italy fought between the Austrians and their Piedmontese Allies against the combined forces of France, Spain, and Italy. It is also the story of how Genoa, which attempted to keep out of the war became the prey of the King of Sardinia. Read about how the Genoese fought to maintain their independence, were conquered by the Austrians, revolted and recovered their independence.
Early in 1733 Augustus II, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, died in Warsaw from complications of a gangrenous foot. The elective throne of Poland thus fell vacant, and the states of Europe began cautious maneuvers designed to secure for each some national advantage in the choice of a successor. Before the year was out, diplomacy had given way to military force. Yet the Age of Reason fostered a relationship between diplomacy and warfare that limited the violence of military action. The War of Polish Succession might have produced widespread carnage. It was a major struggle among the great powers of Europe with actions in Poland, the Rhineland, and Italy. Many illustrious commanders took part—Marshal Villars and Prince Eugene, Maurice de Saxe and Count Daun. Behind them stood the powerful figures of Cardinal Fleury, anxious to uphold the honor of King Louis even as he guarded against escalation of the war, and Emperor Charles VI, obsessed with his desire to keep the Holy Roman Empire in Hapsburg hands. After three years of wary military action the war ended as it had begun, in a series of secret diplomatic maneuvers. No nation was annihilated, no prince unthroned, and once again Europe's precarious balance of power had been restored. John L. Sutton's engrossing account, the first in any major European language to bring together the evidence from the great diplomatic and military archives of Europe, reveals the very essence of eighteenth-century warfare, with its grand campaigns as formal as minuets, its sieges as gentlemanly as court receptions. On another level, the plight of the mercenaries who did much of the fighting yet had no stake in the conflict beyond day-to-day survival is portrayed just as vividly in this clear-eyed examination of a dynastic war and its setting.
Exploring more than 500 years of the country's history, Italy provides readers interested in modern Italy or European history with a greater understanding of Italy's past, from the Renaissance to the present. This guide presents the milestones in Italy's history in an interesting and readable way.
Reed S. Browning explores the often-changing war aims of the major belligerents-Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and Spain-and links diplomatic and military events to the political and social context from which they arose.
The Habsburg Monarchy has received much historiographical attention since 1945. Yet the military aspects of Austria’s emergence as a European great power in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have remained obscure. This book shows that force of arms and the instruments of the early modern state were just as important as its marriage policy in creating and holding together the Habsburg Monarchy. Drawing on an impressive up-to-date bibliography as well as on original archival research, this survey is the first to put Vienna’s military back at the centre stage of early modern Austrian history.
The Habsburg Monarchy has received much historiographical attention since 1945. Yet the military aspects of Austria’s emergence as a European great power in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have remained obscure. This book shows that force of arms and the instruments of the early modern state were just as important as its marriage policy in creating and holding together the Habsburg Monarchy. Drawing on an impressive up-to-date bibliography as well as on original archival research, this survey is the first to put Vienna’s military back at the centre stage of early modern Austrian history.
The Napoleonic Wars have an important place in the history of Europe, leaving their mark on European and world societies in a variety of ways. In many European countries they provided the stimulus for radical social and political change - particularly in Spain, Germany, and Italy - and are frequently viewed in these places as the starting point of their modern histories. In this Very Short Introduction, Mike Rapport provides a brief outline of the wars, introducing the tactics, strategies, and weaponry of the time. Presented in three parts, he considers the origins and course of the wars, the ways and means in which it was fought, and the social and political legacy it has left to the world today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.