WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION: ARMY OF THE DUCHY OF MANTUA (GONZAGA)

 One of the most obscure aspects of the War of the Spanish Succession is the strength and, above all, the uniforms of the army of the Duchy of Mantua and Monferrato. The Gonzaga-Nevers state consisted of two geographically separated territories: the Duchy of Mantua around the city of Mantua itself and the Duchy of Monferrato, centred on Casale, in what is today southern Piedmont.

The Duchy sided with France, a decision that ultimately proved disastrous. Following the collapse of French power in Northern Italy after the Battle of Turin in 1706, Emperor Joseph I accused Duke Charles IV Gonzaga-Nevers of felony and formally deprived him of his duchy in 1707.

In the western portion of the Gonzaga dominions, the principal city was Casale Monferrato, whose famous citadel — one of the strongest fortresses in Europe and a masterpiece of military engineering— had been demolished in 1695 on the orders of Louis XIV.

The purpose of this post is therefore to examine the armed forces of the Duchy, a task made extremely difficult by the almost complete lack of surviving information on the subject. Nevertheless, I have managed to reconstruct the regiments—each consisting of a single battalion—as well as the militia that formed the Duchy's principal military force.

Moreover, these units took an active part in the war and, of particular interest to me, two of them were present at the Battle of Turin: the Duke's Guards Regiment (Regiment of the Duke of Mantua's Guards) and the Beltrambi Regiment.

By siding with the Kingdoms of France and Spain, the Duchy came under strong French influence from a military standpoint, a fact that was also reflected in its uniforms. The organization, structure, and appearance of the Mantuan troops increasingly followed French military models, making them more akin to contemporary French units than to those of the Imperial Army.

The Duchy's military establishment consisted of three regiments: the Guards du Duque de Mantou (Duke of Mantua's Guards Regiment), the Beltrambi Regiment, and the Natta Regiment, supplemented by militia forces that provided the bulk of its local defensive capabilities. the last two were raised by two noble families of the West part of the Duchy, once in Asti.