Battle of Velletri (1744)

Battle of Velletri
	Part of the War of the Austrian Succession
	; Charles VII of Naples at the Battle of Velletri by Camillo Guerra. Oil on canvas (1850).
Date	12 August 1744
Location	Velletri (present-day Italy)41°42′0.000″N 12°40′59.999″E
Result	Spanish-Neapolitan victory; Austrian invasion of the Kingdom of Naples crippled
Belligerents
Kingdom of Naples; Kingdom of Spain	Habsburg Monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Charles VII of Naples; Duke of Castropignano; Comte de Gages	Prince of Lobkowicz
Strength
12,000	10,000
Casualties and losses
Less than half of those of the enemy	2,000 dead; 2,000 captured
	Location within Italy Battle of Velletri (1744) (Europe)

The Battle of Velletri occurred on 12 August 1744 in the War of the Austrian Succession, between Austria and the Kingdom of Naples. After seizing Velletri in a nighttime attack and capturing much of King Charles' royal entourage, the Austrian army joined battle with Charles' army outside the city. The Austrians were rapidly thrown back and retreated north toward Rome with Charles in pursuit.

The surprise on Monte Piccolo

On 17 June, as darkness fell, 12,000 troops moved towards the fortifications of Monte Piccolo. At dawn the Walloon greneers of the Spanish regiments occupied the battery of Monte Piccolo, while other troops occupied the Artemisio Male, La Fajola and set fire to the Pratoni del Vivaro, the commander of the Monte Piccolo garrison (Jan. Pestaluzzi) was captured, probably drunk in a farmhouse of winemakers. The next day, Jean Thierry du Mont, comte de Gages gave the order to withdraw and preserve only the Artemisio ridge line.

Legacy

Painting of Victory at Battle of Velletri

Raimondo di Sangro took part in the battle of Velletri, distinguishing himself for his courage and skill. Act 3 of the drama Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, and the opera La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi, based on Saavedra's play, is set during the Battle of Velletri.

References

Levillain, Philippe (2002), The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, Routeledge, ISBN 0-415-92230-5

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.