SIEGE OF TURIN 1706 - THE TURIN'S MILITIA: PART 2 ORGANIZATION

 As regards the organisation of Turin’s Urban Militia, the archives likewise preserve a wealth of detailed information, allowing us to reconstruct and clarify the thoroughly military structure of these units.

The Urban Militia was composed of all citizens residing in Turin, without distinction or exemption on grounds of nobility or social standing. Members of the nobility and other notable citizens were therefore subject to service as well, although some individuals belonging to these categories were subsequently exempted upon specific request, in exchange for providing an able-bodied servant in their place. All men between the ages of sixteen and sixty who were physically capable of serving were liable for militia duty.

The Urban Militia was divided into eight battalions, each consisting of eight companies. The companies were organised, as far as possible, by grouping together citizens belonging to similar social or professional categories—such as lawyers, notaries, nobles and other comparable groups—according to the numbers available.

Each battalion had: 

1 Colonel  

1 Lieutenant-Colonel 

1 Major 

1 Adjutant-Major 

8 Captains

8 Lieutenants

8 Ensigns (officers who, however, did not actually carry a flag)

2 Furieri, referred to as Sergeant-Majors.

32 Sergeants (4 per company)

32 Corporal (4 per company)

1 Colour

2 Drummers 

The city was divided into eight districts, each of which formed one battalion. This territorial organisation ensured that, when the militia was called to assemble, the individual companies could first muster within their own districts and then proceed directly to take up their assigned guard duties.

It should be assumed that the sergeants and corporals are included within the category of those liable for service. Accordingly, the figure of 4,318 also includes 512 NCOs. In any case, quite apart from the number of men theoretically available for service, the companies, for various reasons, remained at around 50 to 60 men each, giving an effective strength of approximately 450 men per battalion, and thus a total of about 3,600 militiamen.

All militiamen were supplied with muskets by the City Armoury, and checks were carried out to ensure that each man had been properly armed. Military reviews were held on a regular basis, involving formal parades, inspections—presumably including checks of uniforms—and training exercises. The effectiveness of this organisation and training is also suggested by the military results achieved by the militia during the siege.