LOS DRAGONES AMARILLOS (aka CALYUS)
The Dragones Amarillos originated in the Spanish Duchy of Milan. The unit was raised on 1 May 1684 in the territories of Pavia from five companies of Croatian horsemen. On 9 April 1685, it was expanded to twelve companies and organised as a Tercio de dragones arcabuceros under the command of the Count of Sheldon. Owing to the distinctive colour of its uniform, it became widely known as Los Dragones Amarillos, or the “Yellow Dragoons”.
In 1687, on the eve of the Nine Years’ War, the tercio was sent to Milan. In 1692, a detachment of 200 men joined the army of the Duke of Savoy and participated in operations at Pinerolo, Susa, Casale and Embrun, before advancing to Gap. In 1693, the unit took part in the attack on the Fort of Santa Brigida outside Pinerolo and fought at the Battle of Marsaglia. Two years later, in 1695, it participated in the siege and capture of Casale. In 1696, the tercio returned to Lombardy and took up quarters at Pavia.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, dragoons acquired increasing importance within the Spanish Army, reflecting their tactical versatility as troops capable of operating both mounted and dismounted. This development was accompanied by a progressive strengthening of dragoon regimental establishments. In 1703, it was decided that each dragoon regiment should consist of ten companies, each with an establishment of approximately 50 men. In 1705, the establishment was further increased to twelve companies per regiment, including one company of horse grenadiers.
In principle, a dragoon regiment of 12 companies was tactically organised into three squadrons of four companies each.
Each dragoon company comprised:
- 1 capitán (captain)
- 1 teniente (lieutenant)
- 1 alférez (standard-bearer)
- 1 mariscal de logis (quartermaster)
- 2 brigadieres (brigadiers), acting as NCOs
- 1 tambor (drummer)
- 1 pífano (fifer)
- 28 dragoons
This gave a nominal company strength of 36 men, including officers, NCOs and musicians.
However, the deployment shown on the Turin map appears to indicate a different field arrangement. There, the regiment seems to be represented as four squadrons, each apparently formed from three companies, with a strength of roughly 100 men per squadron.
This may reflect the difference between the official administrative establishment and the tactical organisation actually adopted in the field. Early eighteenth-century regiments did not always deploy according to their paper establishment, particularly after campaign losses, detachments, or the temporary redistribution of companies.
These organisational reforms are particularly relevant to the Dragones Amarillos, which had already possessed a substantial establishment since the late seventeenth century. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment formed part of the increasingly important dragoon arm of the Spanish Bourbon forces.
Like other dragoon units of the period, the Dragones Amarillos were tactically flexible. They could be employed as conventional mounted troops when circumstances required, but they could also dismount and fight as infantry. This versatility was especially valuable during siege operations, in the defence of fortified lines, and in actions where cavalry could not operate effectively on horseback.In 1701, the unit was reorganised as a regiment and thereafter served as a regular dragoon regiment in the Bourbon armies operating in Northern Italy.
The successive commanders of the unit included:
The association with the Marquis de Caylus explains why contemporary records may refer to the regiment simply as Caylus. This designation must not be confused with the later French regiment bearing the same name. In the Italian campaigns of the War of the Spanish Succession, Caylus refers to the Spanish-Milanese Dragones Amarillos.
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| (Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE) |
Service during the War of the Spanish Succession
In 1701, the tercio left its quarters to join the Franco-Spanish army assembling in the Duchy of Milan under the Prince de Vaudémont. It was initially deployed on the left of the second line along the Adige. On 14 June it was cantoned at Segua, near Rivoli.
On 9 July 1701, the unit fought at the Combat of Carpi, where it suffered considerable losses. Some contemporary accounts, however, identify the French Mauroy cavalry rather than the Spanish Monroy dragoons, so the attribution should be treated with some caution. During the night of 31 August to 1 September, the regiment crossed the Oglio near Rudiano and subsequently took part in the Battle of Chiari; here too, some sources alternatively identify the French Mauroy cavalry.
After the battle, on 3 September, the army withdrew to the camp of Urago near Pavia, with the regiment serving in the rearguard. On 31 October, together with two tercios of Lombard infantry, it was entrusted with guarding a bridge at Urago and was surprised by an Imperial detachment of approximately 1,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry under the Prince de Commercy. On 13 November, the regiment entered winter quarters.
For the campaign of 1702, the regiment was assigned to the left wing of the first line. On 13 July, it was reviewed by King Philip V at Cremona. Three days later it crossed the Po, and on 22 July it crossed the Taro as part of the effort to compel the Imperial army to abandon the siege of Mantua. On 13 August it served in the corps of the Prince de Vaudémont during the relief of Borgoforte, and on 15 August fought in the Battle of Luzzara. On the following evening it helped repel a sortie from Guastalla, before marching towards the Oglio at the end of the month.
In 1704, the regiment took part in the campaign in Piedmont, including the operations connected with the blockade of Turin and the fighting along the Adda. On 16 August it successfully repelled an enemy attack.
The following year was particularly active. On 2 February 1705, the regiment attacked Imperial outposts along Lake Garda and the Adige, reportedly capturing around 1,000 men, six colours and the enemy baggage. On 9 April it participated in the capture of Nice, on 11 May it was present at the siege of Mirandola, and on 16 August it fought in the Battle of Cassano.
By this stage the organisational reforms affecting the Spanish dragoon arm had reached their fullest wartime form. The 1705 establishment of twelve companies included a horse grenadier company, providing each regiment with an élite mounted element. These horse grenadiers could perform the same flexible functions as the rest of the dragoon regiment, fighting on horseback or dismounting when required.
In 1706, the Dragones Amarillos remained part of the Bourbon army operating in northern Italy. On 19 April, they participated in the Battle of Calcinato, one of the principal Franco-Spanish victories of the campaign.
The regiment subsequently joined the forces defending the Lines of Turin during the siege of the city. It was therefore still present with the Bourbon army in Piedmont when the decisive Battle of Turin was fought on 7 September 1706. The defeat forced the Franco-Spanish forces to abandon the siege and begin their withdrawal from Piedmont.
As dragoons, the men were trained to operate both mounted and dismounted. Their employment (dismounted) in the fortified lines around Turin was entirely consistent with the tactical flexibility expected of dragoon units in the early eighteenth century, particularly during siege operations where mounted troops could be used on foot to reinforce defensive positions.
In 1707, following Spain’s agreement to evacuate Lombardy, the regiment marched through France towards Pamplona, arriving there in May 1707. It was then brought back up to strength and supplied with new arms and horses. While moving towards Tudela, it received orders to remain in Aragon.
In 1708, the regiment joined the Army of Extremadura.
At the beginning of the campaign of 1709, it was deployed on the extreme right of the first line. On 7 May, it fought in the Battle of La Gudiña, where it executed a successful flanking manoeuvre that cut the retreat of three British regiments and forced them to surrender. The regiment also captured eight artillery pieces during the action.
In 1710, the Dragones Amarillos again served with the Army of Extremadura. At the end of May, 200 dragoons were attached to General Montenegro’s column. On 2 June, this force stormed Miranda de Douro, capturing approximately 400 Portuguese soldiers and twenty guns. On 14 June, the same column seized Carvajales, taking a further 200 men together with artillery, ammunition and provisions. It then crossed the Leria and advanced towards Bragança, attacking the bridgehead at Puebla and forcing its defenders to seek refuge in the Convent of San Francisco.
After Philip V’s defeat at Saragossa in August, the Marquis de Bay was ordered to reinforce the Army of Catalonia, which was retreating towards Castile under pressure from the forces of Archduke Charles. By the end of November, Philip V had reorganised his forces near the bridge of Almaraz on the Tagus.
The regiment subsequently participated in the fighting around Brihuega on 9 December 1710 and, on the following day, in the decisive Battle of Villaviciosa, where it joined the pursuit of the Allied cavalry towards the Ebro and Cinca.
In 1711, the regiment initially continued to serve with the Army of Extremadura before being transferred to the Army of Catalonia. During the siege of Gerona, it was positioned on the left of the second line.
In 1712, it moved from Catalonia to Castile.
By an order dated 17 August 1713, the regiment was directed to march to the District of Aragon to operate against the Catalan insurgents.
In 1714, it continued these operations, fighting and defeating several insurgent bands led by commanders such as Nebot, Moragas and Poal.
Throughout the War of the Spanish Succession, the Dragones Amarillos therefore served in both the Italian and Iberian theatres, taking part in major battles, sieges, raids and counter-insurgency operations. Their service at Turin in 1706, under the Marquis de Caylus, represents the final major episode of their long employment in northern Italy before their transfer to Spain in 1707.
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| (Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE) |
One of the most distinctive questions concerning this regiment’s participation in the Siege of Turin is whether it served there mounted or dismounted. During the Battle of Turin itself, given its position, the regiment appears to have been employed mainly in screening and covering the retreating Bourbon troops.
Its presence during the siege is certain and is also confirmed by contemporary maps showing its position on the plain west of Turin. The regiment took part with four companies, one of which was almost certainly a grenadier company, given the siege role assigned to the unit.
The sources indicate that the regiment served dismounted. This was by no means unusual for dragoon formations, including French units; indeed, at the Battle of Turin itself, some thirty squadrons of French dragoons fought on foot.
This interpretation is supported by two further elements. First, the official Spanish accounts state that the regiment also fought dismounted at the Battle of Cassano on 16 August 1705. Second, when the regiment finally reached Spain in 1707, the sources specifically record that it was then supplied with mounts—that is, horses—rather than merely receiving replacements or reinforcements. This strongly suggests that, up to that point, it had continued to operate without horses and had therefore fought on foot.
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| Detail of the position of the Calyus - Dragone Amarillos Regiment during the siege of Turin |
The terminology used in the accounts of its withdrawal from Turin provides an additional indication: the regiment is said to have “marched” through France, a wording consistent with a unit moving on foot. Taken together, these elements provide strong confirmation that the regiment fought dismounted, at least throughout the campaigns of 1705–1706.
At the end of the seventeenth century and during the opening years of the eighteenth, Spanish dragoons did not normally carry the same type of square standard used by the cavalry. Their distinctive colour was the guión farpado, a forked standard ending in two rounded tails or points. This form was already rooted in seventeenth-century Spanish military practice and remained characteristic of dragoon units during the early Bourbon period.
The guidon was generally smaller and more elongated than an infantry colour. It was fixed to a lance or staff surmounted by a metal spearhead or finial and was frequently richly decorated with gold lace, braid or fringe. Red ribbons or a corbata could also be attached beneath the finial.
The colours of the field were not yet completely standardised in the early years of Philip V’s reign. Surviving regulations and later descriptions indicate that dragoon guidons could be white for the Coronela and blue, green, crimson or red, depending on the regiment, squadron or company facing.
For the Calyus Regiment hence the crimsom colour applies to the Compania's guidons.
One of the most characteristic Spanish devices was the Cross of Burgundy, or Borgoña, recalling the long-established military emblem of the Spanish Monarchy. On dragoon guidons it could occupy the principal face of the standard (both Coronela and Compania) and might be represented in red, yellow or gold according to the colours of the individual guidon.
The opposite side of the guidon could be quite different. Seventeenth-century Spanish practice frequently employed a religious image, often enclosed within an oval or ornamental frame. Such images could represent the Virgin, Christ, a saint, or another sacred protector associated with the unit or its commander.
To make order we can say: the opposite of the Coronela was with the Coat of Arms of the Colonel. The same the Second Squadron (crimsom), the third blue, and the fourth in blue.
Religious iconography was entirely natural in the military culture of the Spanish Monarchy and appeared on both infantry colours and cavalry or dragoon standards.
Another possibility was the use of the personal arms of the captain or commander.
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Bandera Coronela (Coat of Arms Calyus)
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE) |
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Bandera Compania of the 2th Squadron (Coat of Arms Calyus)
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE) |
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Bandera Compania of the 3th (and 4th) Squadron
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE) |
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Regimiento Dragones Amarillos . Alferez Capitana. (Verso)
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE) |
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Regimiento Dragones Amarillos . Alferez Bandera Coronela. (Verso)
(Copyright Michele L. SAVASTA FIORE)
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