Battle of Tornavento

The Battle of Tornavento was a battle fought in Italy on June 22, 1636 during the Thirty Years' War.

Battle of Tornavento
Part of Franco-Spanish War (1635)
Date22 June 1636
Location
Tornavento, near Oleggio and Lonate Pozzolo
(present-day Italy)
Result Stalemate
Belligerents
 France
 Savoy		  Spain
Commanders and leaders
Charles de Créquy
Victor Amadeus I		 Marqués de Leganés
Strength

16,700[1]

  • 6,000 infantry
  • 1,200 cavalry
  • 8,000 infantry
  • 1,500 cavalry

14,500

  • 10,000 infantry[2]
  • 4,500 cavalry[3]
Casualties and losses
3000 killed and wounded[4]

2,500[5]

  • 800 killed
  • 500 wounded

In 1636, Cardinal Richelieu had persuaded the Duke of Savoy (Vittorio Amedeo I) to launch an offensive on the Spanish Duchy of Milan.

A French Army crossed the Ticino river between Oleggio and Lonate Pozzolo, but was checked by a larger Spanish army, and dug in to await their Savoyard allies.
On June 22 the Spanish attacked, but were held back after the arrival of the army of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy. Fighting in the summer heat was savage and bloody, in a heathland described by Spanish officers as "sin àrbol, y con falta de agua" ("treeless, and lacking water").[6]

The Spanish abandoned the battlefield and retired to Boffalora. The Franco-Savoyard army remained some days near Tornavento, sacking nearby towns and damaging a canal, but decided to conduct a withdrawal from Milanese territory. Little had been achieved with this battle and the invasion of Lombardy turned out to be a complete failure.

Reenactment

Every year in the hamlet of Tornavento a colourful and spectacular reenactment of the battle is held by volunteers, clothed and armed with uniforms and weapons in use at that time, from pike to musket and cannon.

References

Citations
  1. Hanlon 2016, p. 83.
  2. Hanlon 2016, p. 95.
  3. Hanlon 2016, p. 85.
  4. Hanlon 2016, p. 139.
  5. Hanlon 2016, p. 137.
  6. "Tornavento, 22 giugno 1636: strage in riva al Ticino" (in Italian). Varesenews. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 1 April 2011.

Bibliography
  • Hanlon, Gregory (2016). Italy 1636: Cemetery of Armies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-873824-4.
  • Hanlon, Gregory. "Italia 1636: Sepolcro degli eserciti", LEG Edizioni (2018)
  • Thion, Stéphane. French Armies of the Thirty years War Lrt Publishing (2008) ISBN 2-917747-01-3

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