Always on the lookout for the more elusive aspects of the campaign, I decided to tackle another apparent inconsistency between the French orders of battle and the available contemporary sources. Cross-checking the evidence—particularly by examining where each unit was operating—often makes it possible to identify the same regiment with confidence, even when its name changes over time.
This is an excellent example. In the French order of battle, within the siege park located between the Dora and the Po, a Sauzey Regiment is listed with two battalions. The first clue was its strength: a regiment fielding two battalions was almost certainly an established, long-serving unit rather than a newly raised formation.
However, no historical trace of a regiment named Sauzey could be found. The breakthrough came when I considered the possibility of a transcription error: in eighteenth-century cursive handwriting, the letters "u" and "n" are often virtually indistinguishable, while "e" and "a" can also be easily confused. Replacing these letters transforms Sauzey into Sanzay.
Further research eventually led me to identify the regiment. It was, in fact, the former Régiment de Tessé, which, in 1703, became the property of Lancelot de Turpin de Crissé, Comte de Sanzay, and was consequently renamed the Régiment de Sanzay. This neatly resolves the apparent discrepancy found in the French order of battle.
Further confirmation of this identification is provided by Charrié, who, in his work, transcribes the name as Sauzay rather than Sanzay.
This Regiment was the former Régiment de Tessé (1689–1703), which, on 17 October 1703, was transferred to Lancelot de Turpin de Crissé, Comte de Sanzay, and accordingly renamed the Régiment de Sanzay. During the War of the Spanish Succession, it joined the Army of Italy in 1704 and took part in the captures of Susa and Aosta that same year. In 1705, it participated in the Siege of Verrua and the Battle of Cassano, followed by the Siege and Battle of Turin in 1706 and the defence of Toulon in 1707. From 1708 to 1712, it served with the Army of Dauphiné, before being transferred to Spain, where it took part in the Siege of Girona in 1712 and the Siege of Barcelona in 1714. On 24 September 1716, when it was assigned to Charles-Paul Sigismond de Montmorency-Luxembourg, Duke of Olonne, it was renamed the Régiment d'Olonne.
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| Regiment Tessé/Sanzay Drapeau d'Ordonnance (1706) |
(The circumstances surrounding the transfer of the regiment to its new proprietor - the Duke of Olonne - are both curious and historically fascinating. The circumstances surrounding the transfer of the regiment from Maréchal de Tessé to Lancelot de Turpin de Crissé, Comte de Sanzay, are particularly interesting because they also explain the origin of the regiment's colours and flags. Contemporary documentation preserved in the Fonds de la Moskowa records that, on 12 January 1717, M. Le Blanc reported that the Duc d'Olonne, who had acquired the regiment, wished to place his own coat of arms on its colours. The request was refused, and the Council consequently ordered that all existing infantry colours, together with their blazons, should be officially recorded in a register in order to prevent further unauthorised alterations.
The matter was reconsidered on 1 March 1717, when Le Blanc again informed the Council that the Duc d'Olonne wished either to place his arms on the regimental colours or, at the very least, to replace the white lozenges in the four cantons with yellow ones. His argument was that Comte de Sanzay had already altered the colours when he had taken over the regiment from the Maréchal de Tessé in 1703, adapting them to his own heraldic colours despite the long-established custom that regimental colours should remain unchanged following a change of proprietor.
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| Regiment Tessé/Sanzay Drapeau Colonel (1706) |
The Council eventually agreed to a compromise, allowing the yellow colour to be introduced into the lozenges. A marginal note further records that the final approved design consisted of yellow lozenges with white bars. These documents therefore provide direct evidence not only that Sanzay modified the regimental colours after assuming command, but also that the French authorities were already attempting to regulate and restrict such personal alterations by formally recording the authorised designs of all infantry colours.
One further detail is equally intriguing. The same source notes that Sanzay apparently took the colours of his former regiment with him when he left it in 1703, a highly unusual action. .)
This unit was on 2 battalions and both partecipated to the siege of Turin in 1706.
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