Battle of Campo Santo

Battle of Campo Santo
Part of the War of the Austrian Succession
Battle of Campo Santo
Date 8 February 1743 Location Camposanto, Italy 44°47′40.5856″N11°8′44.4275″E / 44.794607111°N 11.145674306°E / 44.794607111; 11.145674306 Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Spain Kingdom of Naples	Austria Sardinia
Commanders and leaders
de Gages	von Traun Count Aspremont
Strength
11,400 infantry, 2,600 cavalry, 12 guns	9,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, 25 guns
Casualties and losses
1,755 dead, 1,307 wounded, 824 captured [1]	397 dead, 1,153 wounded or captured [2]
class=notpageimage| Location within Italy

The Battle of Campo Santo took place on 8 February 1743 outside Camposanto, Italy, during the War of the Austrian Succession. A combined Spanish-Neapolitan army under de Gages faced an Austrian-Sardinian force led by von Traun. Although the Spanish sustained heavier casualties, both sides withdrew at nightfall.

Background

In January 1743, de Gages and his army of 13,000 was based near Bologna, south of the Panaro, with von Traun and 11,000 men to the north, blocking any attempt to cross it. Traun preferred to avoid risking his army in a pitched battle with his opponent, but political pressure from Madrid forced de Gages to launch an offensive, and on the night of 3 February, he slipped across the Panaro and entered the Duchy of Modena, seeking a decisive encounter with Traun.

Fortunately for De Gages, Marshal Traun was ready to oblige him. Aware of the criticism leveled at him in Vienna where his enemies were trying to relieve him of his command, and also that Spain's recent seizure of Savoy might well induce the King of Sardinia to negotiate with the Spanish Crown, the Marshal decided that a victory would quell the uproar and induce Austria's allies to think twice about negotiating. Gathering up his army, Traun moved to block De Gages' path and prevent him from advancing further into Modena. The two armies met at the village of Camposanto.

Battle

On the morning of the battle, De Gages drew up his army on the outskirts of the village in the traditional fashion with his infantry in the centre and the cavalry on the wings. Traun also drew up his army in the same way, but being slightly outnumbered, he chose to gamble with an un-orthodox strategy. Instead of aligning himself directly opposite the Spaniards, he shifted his troops to the northwest, which meant that the centre of Traun's infantry was directly opposite the gap between Gages' infantry and the right wing of cavalry. Although this meant that Traun would have a greater superiority of numbers on this wing and that he could also deliver a flank attack on the Spanish right, his own right flank would, however, be vulnerable to a Spanish flank attack. It seems that the Marshall was relying on the troops of that wing to delay the Spanish long enough for the action on his other wing to be decisive.

Matters were helped when De Gages chose 4:00 in the afternoon to launch the attack, which left very few hours of daylight for a battle. The Spanish were initially successful on both wings, where their cavalry drove off the Austro-Piedmontese cavalry, wounding Count Aspremont in the process and leaving the Austrian infantry vulnerable.
However instead of reforming to attack the infantry, the Spanish chased them off the field. Traun stabilised his left flank, and led his infantry into the attack against the Spanish. Meanwhile, Count Schulenberg regrouped the Austrian cavalry on the Austrian right, and launched a counterattack against the Spanish cavalry. On the other flank, General Leutrum (Aspremont's replacement) led his wing forward as well, smashing the Spanish right wing.
At this time due to the darkness for both of the armies it was necessary to withdraw the field; the Spanish back across the Panaro towards Bologna. Due to the smoke and the darkness, many units lost their way. The 1st Guadalaxara marched in the direction of the advancing austro-sardian infantry columns, and it had to surrender after a short defence inside the walls of a farm.

Casualties in the battle were 1,755 dead, 1,307 wounded and 824 prisoners for the Spanish, while the Austro-Piedmontese lost 397 dead and 1,153 wounded or prisoners. Traun himself had two horses shot from under him during the battle.

Aftermath

De Gages retreated to Bologna but on 26 March he was also forced to retreat to Rimini. Despite this, the battle was widely considered a victory in Madrid, and de Gages was awarded a victory title: Count of Campo Santo. Following the battle, France promised support and co-operation with the Spanish, but for the moment Traun had saved North Italy for Maria Theresa.

References

1. Ilari p.114
2. Ilari p.114

Further reading

• Browning, R (1993). The War of the Austrian Succession (1995 ed.). St Martins Press. ISBN   978-0312125615.
• Ilari, V - La Corona di Lombardia pp. 112–114.
• Melendreras Gimeno, María del Carmen (1987). Las campañas de Italia durante los años 1743–1748. Editum. ISBN   978-84-7684-078-8