SIEGE OF TURIN 1706. FRENCH REGIMENT GASSION

 This regiment represents another attempt to reconstruct the uniform of a unit for which precise sources are lacking, except for its ordonnance flag, which already provides a considerable amount of useful information.

Drapeau d'Ordonnance

The regiment was raised on 12 January 1702 by Jean, Marquis de Gassion, who remained its colonel until 16 February 1709, when command passed to the Comte de Beaujeu. The latter retained ownership of the regiment until its disbandment in 1714.

At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment was employed in garrison duties in several fortified places in Roussillon. In 1704, it was transferred to the Cévennes, where it joined the royal troops engaged in suppressing the Camisard rebellion.

The following year, the regiment was sent to the Italian front and took part in the Siege of Nice. In 1706, it served before Turin and participated in the long siege of the Savoyard capital. On 7 September, it was also involved in the disastrous Battle of Turin. During the subsequent French retreat, the regiment reportedly distinguished itself while withdrawing towards Pinerolo. 

In 1708, the regiment was transferred to the Army of Flanders. On 11 July, it fought at the Battle of Oudenarde and, later that same year, took part in the Combat of Leffinge.

This was therefore one of the first regiments raised in 1702, as early as January. In many respects, it represented a form of tribute offered by the noble families of France to the King’s cause. In this particular case, that contribution came from the Gassion family, which had maintained a long and distinguished military tradition over the previous sixty years.

It is precisely thanks to this tradition that it has been possible to reconstruct the colour of the regiment’s linings, which were most probably greyish white, by starting from a genuine and historically grounded point of reference. This reconstruction also rests on the broader consideration that tradition played an essential role in both military and aristocratic circles, with customs, colours and symbols often being passed down from one generation to the next.

In fact, the proprietor of the regiment was Jean III Marquis de Gassion, who was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Holy Spirit on 2 June 1743. He served as a musketeer and brigadier in the King’s armies, later becoming Governor of Dax, colonel of the Navarre Regiment, and commander of the regiment bearing his own name.

Gassion was the son of Pierre de Gassion, a procureur at the Parliament of Pau, who died in 1707, and the great-nephew of Marshal Jean de Gassion (1609–1647). His mother, Madeleine de Colbert (1655–1755), was a distant cousin of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV’s famous finance minister. In 1714, Gassion also purchased the estate of Alluyes from François Gilbert Colbert, Marquis de Saint-Pouange and Chabanais.

It is precisely this descent from Marshal Jean II de Gassion that provides a useful uniformological connection. Indeed, a portrait of the Marshal still survives, showing a yellow uniform—the family livery—with  red facings.

Detail of the red facing

The drummer’s livery follows the colours of the flag and of the portrait mentioned above.

Regiment Gassion - Drummer

Drapeau Colonel

BATTLE OF TURIN 1706. (GHOST) FRENCH REGIMENT: SIOUGEAT

 Here we have a fine example of a “ghost regiment”. Why a ghost? Because this regiment appears to be entirely absent not only from the order of battle for Turin in 1706, but also from the records of the siege itself. Nor is that all: there is no mention of it in Flags and Uniforms of the French Infantry under Louis XIV, 1666–1714 by Robert Hall and Giancarlo Boeri. A complete ghost, then.

Drapeau d'Ordonnance

And yet the regiment certainly existed and even took part in the Battle of Turin. It is in fact mentioned on the Kronoskaf website, although without any particular emphasis. It was one of the first regiments raised in January 1702, considerably earlier than the main waves of new formations created in May and then September of that year. This would seem to reflect a certain degree of promptness and initiative on the part of its commanding officer.

In particular, the regiment was raised on 7 January 1702 by Jean de Layser, Marquis de Siougeat, who remained its commander throughout its entire existence. In 1704, it was sent to the Army of Italy, where it took part in the sieges of Vercelli, Ivrea and Verrua.

Two years later, the regiment was employed in the Siege of Turin. On 8 September 1706, it fought in the Battle of Turin and was completely annihilated. Jean de Layser, Marquis de Siougeat, had commanded the regiment from the day of its formation until its destruction in the battle.

The losses were so severe that the regiment effectively ceased to exist and was never raised again.

Very little information survives about this regiment, to the point that it seems almost to have vanished from the historical record. Yet it took part in some of the most important battles and sieges fought in Piedmont during the campaigns of 1704 and 1705, before being completely destroyed at the Battle of Turin in 1706.

What is particularly remarkable is that the regiment is scarcely mentioned even in contemporary and later accounts of the battle, including some of the most detailed narratives. Despite the severity of its losses and the fact that its destruction brought its brief existence to an end, its role has remained almost entirely overlooked.

It is therefore time to restore this forgotten regiment to its rightful place in the history of the campaign and to give due recognition to the men who served and died in its ranks.

The difficulty in reconstructing the regiment’s uniform therefore stems from the almost complete absence of surviving sources. However, research suggests that the Royal Armoury of Turin may preserve a black drapeau d’ordonnance attributed to the Régiment de Siougeat.

This would be entirely plausible. Since the regiment was destroyed at the Battle of Turin, its colours may well have been captured during the fighting and subsequently preserved in the Savoyard collections. Such a flag could therefore provide one of the very few surviving clues to the regiment’s appearance and identity.

How was this reconstruction of the flag arrived at? It is interesting to note that the source refers to a “black flag” for this regiment. In addition, the coat of arms of the Colonel-Proprietor’s family was itself almost entirely black, crossed by a yellow or gold diagonal bend.

By combining these two elements, the flag has been reconstructed with a predominantly black field crossed by yellow bands, intended as a reminder of the family arms. Other possible combinations of yellow and black could have been adopted, but they would risk being confused with the flags of other regiments.

Coat of Arms of the Family Layser de Siougeat

For the colonel’s colour, the usual design was naturally retained.

Drapeau Colonel

The principal issue that remains is the colour of the facings. Here, however, the reconstruction can be based on a reasonably solid process of historical deduction. There had already been an earlier regiment bearing the same name, the Régiment de Siougeat, which existed from 1695 to 1698.

This first regiment was created on 6 December 1695 and formally constituted on 23 December from the Espiffaudière battalion of the Régiment de la Reine, for Jean de Layser, Marquis de Siougeat. During the War of the League of Augsburg, it served with the Army of the Meuse and was eventually disbanded on 18 November 1698.

Two distinct elements immediately stand out. Both the first regiment, raised during the War of the League of Augsburg, and the second, created during the War of the Spanish Succession, were formed by the same man: Jean de Layser, Marquis de Siougeat.

It therefore seems highly likely that, for reasons of prestige and continuity, he retained the same facing colour for the later regiment. He may well have continued to rely on the same suppliers and could even have possessed stocks of cloth and other materials left over from the earlier unit. The first reasonable assumption is therefore that the two regiments wore the same facings.

There is, however, a further and even more significant point. Following the logic of military tradition and historical continuity, the origins of the first Régiment de Siougeat are particularly revealing. It had been created as an offshoot of the Régiment de la Reine: an entire battalion, effectively the full strength of the new regiment, was detached from La Reine and transformed into an independent corps. In modern terms, it was almost a military “spin-off” of the parent regiment.

Regiment Siougeat

It may therefore be assumed that the newly formed regiment initially retained the uniform traditions of the Régiment de La Reine, including red facings, a blue waistcoat and red stockings. Since the new corps had been created directly from one of La Reine’s battalions, it would have been natural for it to preserve at least the principal features of the parent unit.

The blue waistcoat and red stockings may, however, have been abandoned, or at least gradually replaced, for reasons of cost and practicality. By contrast, the cut and arrangement of the pockets were probably retained. After all, these may still have been the same uniforms, or uniforms made to the same pattern, only a few years later. It is even possible that veterans of the first Régiment de Siougeat, who later helped to form the second regiment, continued to use or preserve items from their earlier service.

The buttons would likewise have followed the pattern of the Régiment de La Reine and were therefore most probably of white metal, giving an overall silver appearance.

At this point, the question of the drummer naturally arises. In the Régiment de La Reine, the drummer wore a red livery. Clearly, however, it would have been impossible for a mere marquis to appropriate the Queen’s own livery. He must therefore have adopted his own household colours instead, most probably with a black ground — or rather a very dark grey in practical rendering — and yellow facings.

Regiment Siougeat - Drummer

Regiment Siougeat - Officer

A further problem concerns the position occupied by this “ghost regiment” during the Battle of Turin. I believe that its absence from the orders of battle for both the siege and the battle can largely be explained by the very limited number of men it was able to field.

As a privately raised regiment, rather than a Royal regiment, it would have found it far more difficult to replace its losses. Its effective strength at Turin was therefore probably no more than about 30 per cent of its original establishment, especially considering that it had already taken part in all the major sieges of the 1704 campaigns and surely also the 1705 campaigns, operations that had inevitably proved extremely costly in manpower.

It is therefore possible—indeed highly likely—that the regiment took part in the battle with no more than approximately 150 to 180 men (max 200 men) , which would explain why it was not listed separately among the participating units.

Although its precise position within the French deployment is theoretically unknown, it can nevertheless be reconstructed with a reasonable degree of confidence. The statement that the regiment was destroyed “during the battle” clearly indicates that it was actively engaged.

For the sake of clarity, the battlefield may be divided into four principal sectors: the area of the main battlefield itself, Zone 1; the area between the Dora Riparia and the Po, identified as Zone 2; the area south of Turin - Valentino as Zone 3; the hill sector, Zone 4; and the rear defensive deployment, Zone 5.

Zones 2, 3 and 4 can probably be excluded, since neither witnessed particularly intense fighting during the battle in those areas. Zone 1 may also be ruled out, as the regiment does not appear in the surviving order of battle for the principal French line.

The most plausible location is therefore the rear defensive position Zone 5. In fact, several (unknown) units were stationed there to hold fortified farmhouses and other strongpoints. These positions were later subjected to direct attacks, both by Prince Eugene’s troops after they had broken through the main French line and by forces advancing from the Turin garrison.

Given that the unit was completely annihilated, it may reasonably be assumed that it had been assigned to the defence of a fortified farmhouse located relatively close both to the city of Turin and to the main French defensive line.

SIEGE OF TURIN 1706 - FRENCH REGIMENT FROULAY aka FROULLAY-CARMOYSIN

 The Froulay Infantry Regiment is a unit whose uniform requires a particularly careful reconstruction, based not only on the limited surviving evidence but also on a broader process of uniformological deduction. The regiment was raised on 22 March 1702 by Victor-Maurice, Comte de Broglie, and initially bore his name.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, command of the regiment passed through several hands. Victor-Maurice, Comte de Broglie, remained its colonel from its creation until April 1703, when the regiment was transferred to an officer identified in the sources only as the Chevalier de Froulay. In 1711, it passed to N. de Tiraqueau, under whose name it continued to serve until its disbandment in 1714.

The regiment began its wartime service in 1702 with the Army of Flanders. In the following year, after passing to the Chevalier de Froulay, it was transferred to the Italian theatre of operations. Its most important and best-documented service took place in 1706, when it participated with 1 battallion - in the Siege of Turin from May until September. On 7 September, it was also present at the disastrous Battle of Turin, which ended in a decisive defeat for the Franco-Spanish army. It was deployed in the zone between the Dora and the Po river.

In 1707, the regiment was transferred back to Flanders. There it took part in the defence of Ath, where the garrison was eventually compelled to surrender and the regiment was taken prisoner. It was exchanged later that same year and subsequently assigned to the Lines of the Lauter, where it continued its service during the final phase of the war. In 1711, it became the Régiment de Tiraqueau, before being finally disbanded in 1714.

The gaps in the surviving uniformological evidence can, however, be partly addressed by considering that the regiment’s proprietor had already owned a cavalry regiment towards the end of the seventeenth century. That earlier unit wore red facings, red breeches and gold buttons. It is therefore reasonable to deduce that the infantry regiment raised in 1702 adopted the same distinctive colours and details.

When the regiment changed proprietor in 1703, its uniforms would almost certainly not have been altered immediately. In such cases, it was common practice to retain the existing uniform even after a change of ownership, both because military dress tended to preserve a degree of continuity and, more practically, because replacing an entire regiment’s uniforms would have involved a considerable and unnecessary expense.

A further point must also be taken into consideration. Whereas Broglie was a marquis and therefore a man of considerable wealth and social standing, the regiment’s subsequent proprietor, the Chevalier de Froullay-Carnoysin, belonged to a cadet branch of that family, itself a junior line of the broader Froulay family. Another regiment owned by the Froulay family likewise wore red facings. It therefore seems beyond reasonable doubt that the regiment in question also had red facings, as well as red breeches.

Regiment Froullay - Carmoysin. 
Drapeau d'Ordonnance

Regiment Froullay - Carmoysin. 
Drapeau Colonel

Regiment Froullay - Carmoysin. 
Drummer

Unlike the uniform of the ordinary rank and file, a precise description survives for the drummer of this regiment. This provides further confirmation that the ordinary soldiers wore red facings, since the drummers’ livery was traditionally based on the colour of the regiment’s facings.

DUCHY OF MONFERRATO. REGIMENT NATTA: STANDARD BEARERS & DRUMMER & OFFICER

Wishing to expand the range of figures, and having noticed the beauty of the ordonnance colour of the Natta Regiment of the Duchy of Montferrat, I decided to reproduce it. I prefer to refer to it as the Duchy of Montferrat rather than the Duchy of Mantua, since these troops were recruited within the territory of Montferrat, which was united with the Duchy of Mantua only through the Gonzaga crown.

Duchy of Monferrato. Regiment Natta. Standard Bearer
Drapeau d'Ordonnance

Duchy of Monferrato. Regiment Natta, Drummer

Duchy of Monferrato. Regiment Natta. Standard Bearer
Drapeau Colonel

SIEGE OF TURIN 1706 - MAPS OF THE FORTS AND REDOUBTS DEFENDING THE HILLSIDE

For the first time, through the study of an old 1708 map, I was able to identify the names of the farmsteads located around the Hill of Turin, together with its fortifications and redoubts, which as a whole formed the defensive system to the east.

Farmstead around the Hill of Turin

Even more interesting—and for this reason I decided to produce two separate maps—is the military defensive system, based on five forts (Cappuccini, Milanesio, Giaglione, Buoncompagni and Airasca), six redoubts (Galbagnia, Por, Fontanella, Franchignono, Canera, and Santi Bino ed Evasio), and one fortified bastion, the Crownwork of Borgo Po.

1) Forte dei Cappuccini

2) Crownwork Borgo Po

3) Redoubt Santi Bino ed Evasio

4)Redoubt Franchignono

5) Redoubt Canera

6) Forte Airasca

7) Redoubt Fontanella

8) Redoubt Por

9) Redoubt Galbagnia

10) Redoubt Boncompagni

11) Redoubt Milanesio

12) Redoubt Giaglione

Here too, this is the first map to identify by name the city’s defences on the eastern side. Therefore, what I had referred to in previous posts as Fort Genero was in fact the Fontanella Redoubt, located where Villa Genero stands today.

SIEGE OF TURIN 1706. FRENCH REGIMENT PISANCON

 A search through all my sources, however, ruled out the existence of any regiment bearing that name. Further research proved equally fruitless, even in sources that preserve at least some trace of regiments raised from local militias. There was absolutely nothing.

This naturally raised the suspicion—and in cases such as this it is entirely legitimate—that the original handwritten sources had been misread and incorrectly transcribed. The non-existent “Besançon” might therefore have been another name beginning with the same letter, ending in a similar way, and with an illegible central portion.

Coat of arms of the Family La Croix de Chevrières de Pesançon

Regiment Pesançon 

Regiment Pesançon - Officer

Drapeau d'Ordonnance

Drapeau Colonel

SIEGE OF TURIN 1706. FRENCH REGIMENT TARNAULT

 This was one of the lesser-known regiments raised in 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was formed on 14 May 1702 by N. de Tarnault, who became its first colonel.

On 16 February 1707, command of the regiment passed to Louis de Frétat, Comte de Boissieux, under whom it continued to serve until its disbandment on 10 December 1714.

The regiment was assigned to the Army of Italy in 1702. In 1706, it took part in the Siege of Turin  with 1 battalion and was deployed in the sector between the Dora Riparia and the River Po. However, it does not appear to have participated in the Battle of Turin on 7 September. In 1707, the regiment took part in the defence of Toulon. The following year, it joined the Army of the Rhine, and from 1709 to 1713 it served with the Army of Dauphiné.

Regiment Tarnault - Drapeau d'Ordonnance

Regiment Tarnault - Drapeau Colonel

The reconstruction of the uniform has, of course, required a certain degree of historical flexibility. The starting point was a number of secure elements: the regiments raised in 1702 all wore the usual grey-white coat, while the facings were commonly red. The choice of red is further supported by the ordonnance flag, which has a red field, and by the cavalry regiment of the same name, which likewise had red facings. To complete the picture, the family coat of arms was also based on red, with distinctive devices in gold.

Regiment Tarnault - Officer

Regiment Tarnault - Drummer

Regiment Tarnault