Battle of Luzzara


 * This article is about the 1702 Battle of Luzzara. For the Battle of 1734 see the Battle of Guastalla.

The Battle of Luzzara was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession, fought on 15 August 1702 near Luzzara, Italy between forces of France under Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme, and forces of Austria under Prince Eugene of Savoy.

Prelude
In the summer of 1702, the French army took Guastalla, then turned north, intending to besiege Borgoforte. Vendôme set up camp near Luzzara on the right bank of the Po River.

When Eugene heard of this, he was besieging Mantua. He decided to give up the siege and assemble all available forces to intercept Vendôme.

Arriving near Luzzara, Eugene set up his headquarters a few kilometers north near the village of Riva.

The battle
Vendôme was in a favorable position, having prepared his defenses and with the Po River on his left side and the right side of the Austrians. The rest of the terrain was an open field, full of ditches, channels, fences, and high bushes.

The Austrians had more experienced troops, and commanders like Daun, Vaudemont, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Guido Starhemberg.

On the morning of 15 August, Eugene did not attack, because many of his troops were not in position, though called for urgently. He waited until all of his troops had reached the battle line.

Then around 5 PM he attacked. His plan was to push the French away from the river and surround them. He attacked several times but with no practical result, against strong French resistance.

The battle raged until darkness.

After this battle, the two armies lay facing each other until the French decamped first on 4 November, ending the 1702 campaign.