1702- SIEGE OF BRESCELLO INITIAL TROOPS: TERCIO (RGT.) CONDE DE BONESANA

THE TERCIO DEL CONDE DE BONESANA

The Tercio of Count Bonesana was an Italian infantry formation of the Spanish Army of the Duchy of Milan. It belonged to the long-established military establishment of Spanish Lombardy and was already in existence by the late seventeenth century. Its colonel/proprietor was Francesco, Count of Bonesana, from a Lombard noble family.

By 1702 the unit was operating within the Bourbon army of Philip V in Northern Italy. Contemporary and near-contemporary listings place it among the Italian tercios of Lombardy, alongside formations such as those of Tommaso Caracciolo and Ciarletta Caracciolo.

Organisation & Uniforms

The regiment developed from the older tercio organisation into the battalion system increasingly adopted during the War of the Spanish Succession. For 1702, the Bonesana Regiment had two battalions. This unit was present (with both battalions) at the beginning of the Siege of Brescello in 1703 where we find it quoted  as“Quartiere Generale di Toralba col Tercio di Bonesana”. Thus, the Bonesana Tercio was certainly present at Brescello, together with Torralba's headquarters. 

In 1699 the Regiment had 922 men on 9 companies.

This unit underwnet the early eighteenth-century reorganisation of the Italian tercios of the Spanish army points toward a normal battalion establishment of approximately 13 companies, generally 12 fusilier companies and one grenadier company, although actual organisation and strengths fluctuated considerably. This tactical change was already completed by the time of the siege of Brescello. The men present at the Siege were around 700/800 men on 2 battalions. 

The reconstruction for unifoms for Bonesana Tercio/Regiment in 1702 is:

Coat: natural white or slightly greyish-white
Facings/cuffs: red
Breeches: probably red, though not certain
Stockings: white 
Hat: black tricorne
Cockade: red

Buttons/lace: yellow metal/gold.

This regiment, too, provides an example of uniformological investigation. The conclusions I have reached therefore deserve to be set out and explained.

The white coat: The strongest general evidence concerns the coat colour. Documentation concerning the infantry of the State of Milan in the late seventeenth century indicates a national colour system in which the Italian infantry wore white. This should not necessarily be understood as brilliant modern white. The cloth was often undyed or only lightly treated wool and could therefore appear: off-white, ivory, pale grey or greyish white.For the reconstruction we produced, a slightly warm natural white is therefore preferable to pure snow white. In any way it is lighter/more white than French or Imperial grey. This is a particularity of Spanish uniforms of that period.

Red facings: The red facing colour is now the strongest part of the reconstruction after the white coat. I found a later portrait of a  (quite famous) member of the Bonesana/Beccaria family, approximately forty years after the 1702 campaign. In that portrait the family member wears a dark coat with unmistakably: red collar/facings with gold decoration.It is significant evidence that red was a persistent Bonesana family distinction. This fits the family heraldry, in which red is a principal colour, associated with white/silver and, in some variants, gold.

Breeches and stockings: There was no universal Spanish rule requiring red breeches and red stockings. During this period Spanish and Italian regiments could use their distinctive colour not only on the cuffs and lining, but sometimes also for the stockings: Consequently, red breeches are perfectly plausible for Bonesana, particularly if red was its regimental distinguishing colour.

 

Buttons and gold distinctions: The later Bonesana portrait shows red combined with gold ornamentation. The family's heraldic traditions likewise make red–gold or red–silver combinations plausible. For the soldier reconstruction we therefore used yellow-metal/gilt-looking buttons and hat lace.

Cockade: red as  normal is the Spanish Army.

Tercio/Regimiento Bonesana - Bandera Sencilla

Tercio/Regimiento Bonesana - Bandera Coronela

Until 1704, the colonel’s colour bore neither lions nor castles, but was plain.

In the Ordonnance  of 10 April 1702 it was established that each tercio (since 1704 called Regiment) shoud be on 1 battalion, except this regiment. It had 13 companies, whose 1 of grenadiers. 

Each company had:

1 Captain

2 Lieutenants

2 Sergeants

3 Corporals

3 Lanspesadas

37 Men (arquebusers)

10 Pikemen

1 Drummer

The Battalion staff ("plana mayor") 

1 Field Master

1 Lieutenant Field Master

1 Sergeant Major

1 Adjutant

1 Quartermaster

1 Chaplain

1 Surgeon

This Regiment had the 6th place in order of precedence of the Corps of the Lombardy State. In 1703 the pike and arquebusers were abolished.

1703 THE SIEGE OF THE FORTRESS OF BRESCELLO - A SCENARIO

 

My fellow wargamers are always on the lookout for fresh scenarios based on little-known episodes. Here, then, I can offer an attractive alternative to the more familiar settings: the siege of the fortress of Brescello, which was held by Imperial forces from January 1702 until its capitulation in July 1703 and which, above all, provided the principal cause for the French invasion of the Duchy of Modena.

Brescello was a particularly important fortress. Situated south of the River Po, on the frontier with the pro-French Duchy of Parma, it also served as an important supply base for the Imperial army. The stubborn resistance of its garrison—eventually completely surrounded and isolated by the forces of the Two Crowns—represents a virtually forgotten episode of the War of the Spanish Succession, which I am pleased to bring back to life.

Brescello Fortress in 1703
Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE

FRENCH ORDER OF BATTLE

Command: Marquis de Sennectère

• II Battalion, Régiment d’Auvergne
• I Battalion, Régiment Royal des Vaisseaux
• II Battalion, Régiment Royal des Vaisseaux
• III Battalion, Régiment Royal des Vaisseaux
• I Battalion, Régiment de Leuville
• II Battalion, Régiment de Leuville
• One composite or reduced battalion, Régiment d’Anjou
• 6 mortars

Total: seven infantry battalions (totalling 3.100 men)

The map above (taken from the best one) has North on the left. I overimpressed it on the current map of the zone

Please note that the course of the Po river changed a lot during these centuries.

Imperial Garrison of Brescello – 26 July 1703
Commandant: Lt-Col. Johann Adam de Wendt, Kriechbaum Infantry

Infantry

• IV Battalion, Liechtenstein Infantry Regiment
• Detachment / battalion element, Guttenstein Infantry Regiment
• Detachment, Kriechbaum Infantry Regiment
• Residual detachments from the 1702 reinforcements: Bagni, Herberstein, Reventlau, Solari, Rheingraf 

Fortress troops

• Imperial artillery
• fortress staff / engineers / specialists

Total: c. 1,400 men
Sick or wounded: c. 500
Fit for duty: c. 900

FRANCE 1705 THE (MODENESE) RANGONI REGIMENT

 THE HISTORY OF THE REGIMENT

The Régiment de Rangoni, also recorded in French documents as Rangony, was a short-lived Italian infantry regiment in French royal service during the War of the Spanish Succession. Despite its brief existence, the unit is particularly significant because it represents that part of the Modenese military establishment which was incorporated into the Bourbon military system during the French occupation of the Duchy. Louis Susane records the regiment in the following terms: “RANGONI, italien. — Formé 15 septembre 1705 par N. Rangoni, avec des milices du Modenais. Licencié 9 octobre 1706.”

The regiment was therefore officially “formed”— not newly “raised”, meaning putting together troops already forming a previous military unit, i.e. the Militia Modena Regiment, — on 15 September 1705 by a member of the Rangoni family, using – as said - militia drawn from the Modenese territories, and was disbanded on 9 October 1706. Susane identifies its commander only as “N. Rangoni”; an earlier document, however, provides important evidence concerning the origins of the regiment. In a letter sent by the Marquis d’Esclainvilliers to Chamillart from the camp at Soncino on 2 July 1705, more than two months before the regiment’s official formation, it was reported that: “Tous les officiers qui composent le régiment des milices dans ce pays sont les domestiques de Mr de Rangony.”

Thus, all the officers of the militia regiment then existing in the Modenese territory were described as members of the household or personal following of Monsieur de Rangony. Some of these officers had previously been removed from their posts because their loyalty to the French authorities was considered doubtful, as it will be the entire regiment in the following months.

The Rangoni mentioned in this correspondence appears to have been Marquis Taddeo Rangoni, head of the Modenese Consulta and, more importantly, military commander of the city of Modena under the arrangements imposed during the French occupation. The family already possessed established connections with the Bourbon courts. Taddeo’s brother, Marquis Ludovico Rangoni, had been sent by the Duke of Modena to Spain in 1702 to announce the birth of the Duke’s daughter. Having failed to find Philip V, who was then campaigning in Italy, Ludovico continued his journey to Paris and visited the court of Louis XIV. On that occasion, the French king presented him with a jewel of exceptionally great value. This episode demonstrates the position enjoyed by the Rangoni family and its direct access to the French royal court.

The French commission of 15 September 1705 therefore appears to have transformed the existing Modenese militia regiment—or selected elements of it—into a regular infantry regiment formally serving Louis XIV. The new formation presumably retained its local recruitment and at least part of its existing officer cadre, drawn from the dependants of the Rangoni family, while becoming part of the military organisation of the Bourbon occupation. It should consequently be regarded as a Modenese regiment in French royal service, rather than as an ordinary Este unit merely placed temporarily under French command.

Its origins and circumstances point towards its employment primarily as a territorial auxiliary formation, particularly within the city of Modena and in those parts of the Duchy effectively controlled by the French. Its probable duties included garrisoning towns and military posts, guarding gates, magazines and other installations, maintaining public order, protecting communications and possibly escorting convoys, supplies and collected contributions. By undertaking these essentially static duties, the Rangoni regiment would also have released regular French infantry for service with the field army.

Significantly, the regiment was disbanded on 9 October 1706, only a month after the Imperial victory at Turin and before the recovery of the city of Modena by the Allied and Este forces on 20 November. The timing strongly suggests that its “dissolution” was connected with the collapse of the French strategic position in northern Italy and, possibly, with a deterioration in the reliability of its locally recruited soldiers that in fact were (almost all) imprisoned. The disappearance of the regiment as an organised formation did not, however, end the military and political problem represented by its former members. They reappear in fact the conditions negotiated for the surrender of the Citadel of Modena on 6 February 1707. In its response to Article 1, the Allied command excluded from the general safe conduct to Mantua:“tous ceux du régiment de Rangony, qui ont pris parti” This wording suggests that some former members of the regiment had individually re-enlisted or continued to serve in the French ranks after the unit had been disbanded. Article 2 also referred to:“les soldats prisonniers du régiment de Rangony, depuis la réforme du régiment” This second clause is particularly revealing. It establishes that soldiers of the former Rangoni regiment had been held prisoner following the unit’s disbandment. Since the prisoners were apparently within the power of the French garrison and their release formed part of the proposed conditions of capitulation, the passage strongly suggests a serious breakdown in discipline or loyalty.

France 1705  - The Rangoni Regiment

The chronology makes it plausible that, after learning of the French defeat at Turin, a substantial part of the locally recruited regiment refused to continue serving the Bourbon authorities. The French may consequently have dissolved the formation, retained a small number of soldiers willing to remain in their service and imprisoned those who resisted. Although the capitulation does not expressly describe a formal collective mutiny, the combination of the regiment’s sudden dissolution, the continued service of certain former members and the imprisonment of others provides substantial evidence of an internal rupture.

Uniforms (Privates, Officers, Drmmers) and Colours in the future booklet.

DUCHY OF MODENA ARMY & CAMPAIGNS - THE FUTURE BOOKLET - RESERVING A COPY

As I mentioned, I have begun preparing a booklet on the Duchy of Modena, focusing in particular on the military campaigns in which it became involved—largely against its will—and on its army. Its title, as shown on the cover reproduced below, is:

I am gathering a considerable amount of information, including material on the Modenese army—whose organisation I have finally managed to reconstruct—and on the contingent that sided with the French, namely the Régiment de Rangoni. I have also prepared a map showing how the army of the Two Crowns advanced into the territory of the Duchy of Modena without ever occupying it in its entirety. Full details and a key to the map will, of course, be provided in the booklet.

To make a print run viable—the work is not yet complete—I believe I would need approximately 100 advance reservations. Anyone interested may leave a comment below saying “1 copy”. Thank you.

I don't have idea about the price but I would like to stick more or less to that of Century of the Soldiers  (by Helion & Company) so around 35,00 Euro.

Extract:

1706 SPAIN. RGT. "FIGUEROA" (aka REGIMIENTO ESTRANJERO DEL ESTADO DE MILAN aka COPPOLA) Part 2

 For the standard of the Figueroa Regiment, which derived directly from that of the Regimiento Extranjero del Estado de Milán, there are very precise sources describing it in detail. On this basis, the standard of the Colonel’s Company was reconstructed: it was white, bearing the arms of Philip V on one side and those of the Duchy of Milan on the other. The same process was then followed for the remaining company standards, for which the sources explicitly state that the field was crimson.

Regimiento de Caballeria Figueroa aka Estranjero del Estado de Milan
Bandera Coronela Recto
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)

The motto associated with the Milanese serpent in the example you found is: “NO HAY QUE TEMER A LA SOMBRA DE LOS ESTANDARES REALES.” Literally, this means: “There is nothing to fear in the shadow of the Royal Standards.” (A slightly more natural English rendering would be: “Nothing is to be feared beneath the protection of the Royal Standards.”)

The expression “No hay que temer…” is Spanish and belongs to the period of Spanish rule and Spanish military heraldry connected with Milan. The historical example you found here shows the Milanese biscione inside a laurel wreath, crowned above, with the motto displayed on a ribbon beneath it. The inscription is arranged approximately as: NO HAY QUE TEMER / A LA SOMBRA / DE LOS ESTANDARES REALES.

This motto came from an earlier  motto in the Latin: “NIHIL PAVENDUM EST TESSERA HAC REGALI”, which can be understood approximately as: “Nothing is to be feared under this royal emblem/standard.”

The emblem used with it consists of the crowned Milanese biscione, surrounded by a laurel wreath, with the motto on a scroll beneath.

Regimiento de Caballeria Figueroa aka Estranjero del Estado de Milan
Bandera Coronela Verso
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)

One particular feature mentioned in the sources is that the two streamers hanging from the staff were not both red: one was white and the other crimson.

Regimiento de Caballeria Figueroa aka Estranjero del Estado de Milan
Bandera Coronela Recto & Verso
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)

Regimiento de Caballeria Figueroa aka Estranjero del Estado de Milan
Bandera de las Companias Recto & Verso
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)

1706. SPAIN THE DRAGONES AMARILLOS (aka CALYUS) - STANDARDS

The reconstruction shown here represents the white guidon of the first squadron, corresponding to the senior or colonel’s squadron of a Spanish dragoon regiment in the early eighteenth century. Its design follows the principles traditionally associated with the Reglamento de 1638 (Regulations of 1638), - still valid for Cavalry until 1728 - which prescribed that each escuadrón (“squadron”) should carry an estandarte (“standard”) of damask. According to the formula preserved in Spanish cavalry historiography, the anverso (“obverse”) was to display the armas reales bordadas sobre el aspa de Borgoña (“Royal Arms embroidered over the Cross of Burgundy”), while the reverso (“reverse”) carried the armas propias del cuerpo (“the regiment’s own arms”). The guidon of the primer escuadrón (“first squadron”) was white, whereas those of the remaining squadrons could be blue or crimson.

Regimiento Dragones Amarillos . Alferez Guion del Primer Escuadròn. (Verso)
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)

In the present reconstruction, the white damask field is dominated by the red Aspa de Borgoña (“Cross of Burgundy”). At its centre is placed the full Royal Arms of Philip V, crowned and incorporating the Bourbon-Anjou escutcheon, thereby identifying this side as the royal face, or anverso (“obverse”), of the first squadron’s guidon. The Royal Arms are superimposed directly upon the crossing of the Burgundian saltire, in accordance with the wording traditionally attributed to the 1638 regulations.

Additional royal devices—crowns at the extremities of the saltire, castles and smaller cross-shaped ornaments—complete the composition and reflect the broader heraldic vocabulary used in Spanish military colours of the period. The whole is surrounded by a broad gold edging and fringe and is attached to a staff surmounted by a gilt spearhead. Beneath the finial is a red corbata (“cravat” or “ribbon”), an identifying feature commonly associated with Spanish colours.

Because the unit represented is one of dragones (“dragoons”), the colour takes the form of a guión farpado (“swallow-tailed guidon”), rather than the more nearly square estandarte (“standard”) normally associated with cavalry proper. For this reason, in strictly contemporary terminology it is more accurate to describe it as the guión del primer escuadrón (“guidon of the first squadron”) rather than as a bandera coronela (“colonel’s colour”), a designation more characteristic of infantry usage.

Guion del Primer Escuadròn (Coat of Arms Calyus)
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)

The reverse would according to the same regulatory tradition have borne the armas propias del cuerpo (“the regiment’s own arms”), that is, the distinctive heraldic device or emblem of the regiment, rather than the Royal Arms. The later Real Orden de 1728 (“Royal Order of 1728”) introduced a much greater degree of standardisation and prescribed encarnado (“red/crimson”) fields for cavalry standards.

BATTLE OF TURIN 1706 - FRANCE BOZELLI REGIMENT. (SERGEANT)

 At the Battle of Turin, and precisely at the defense of the Caste of Lucento, there were 30 squadrons of French Dragoons on foot. This French Regiment fought on 2 squadrons, 171  men. Vety often thi regiment is reported as Spanish, while in 1706 it was French.

(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)