PAPERSOLDIERS JOURNAL: BATTLE OF TURIN 1706

The regiment was raised under the name Bugey on 4 October 1692 and entrusted to Antoine Dreux d’Aix, Marquis de La Chaize, who retained its colonelcy until 1695. La Chaize belonged to a well-connected family: he was the nephew of François de La Chaize, the Jesuit confessor of King Louis XIV, and the son of François d’Aix, Comte de La Chaize, a captain in the Gardes de la Porte. According to Saint-Simon, he acquired the regiment for 42,000 livres, in addition to a royal gratification of 100,000 livres.

During the Nine Years’ War, the regiment joined the Army of Flanders in 1693. In October 1695, the Marquis de La Chaize obtained the colonelcy of Beauvoisis Infanterie and relinquished command of Bugey. On 4 October of that year, the regiment was purchased for 70,000 livres by Hyacinthe de Montvallat, Comte d’Entraigues. Under his command, it took part in the siege of Ath in 1697.

In June 1699, the Comte d’Entraigues gave up the regiment after obtaining the lieutenant-colonelcy of Royal Vaisseaux Infanterie. He was succeeded by Jean de Mathan, a former page in the King’s Chamber and an ensign in the Gardes-françaises. Mathan was only nineteen years old when he became colonel of Bugey Infanterie. His command was brief, however, as he died of dysentery at Mantua in August 1701.

At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment passed to Jacques de Bérenger, Comte du Gua et de Charme. He had previously commanded a militia regiment raised in the généralité of Grenoble and had also formed a regiment of his own in 1695, although that unit was disbanded in 1698. He became colonel of Bugey in September 1701 and was promoted to maréchal de camp in 1704.

On 10 February 1704, the colonelcy passed to his son, Charles, Comte de Bérenger. Charles remained in command until he was killed during the defence of Saint-Venant on 24 September 1710. The regiment was then entrusted, on 4 October 1710, to Pierre Bérenger, Comte du Charmes et du Gua, another son of Jacques de Bérenger. Pierre later became colonel of Vivarais Infanterie in May 1731, was promoted to brigadier in 1734 and lieutenant-general in 1744, and was made a Chevalier du Saint-Esprit in 1746.

Bugey Infanterie continued to exist until 7 October 1714, when it was incorporated into Champagne Infanterie.

In 1701, the regiment’s first battalion was assigned to the Army of Italy. On 15 August 1702, it fought at the Battle of Luzzara and subsequently participated in the capture of Luzzara and Gonzaga. During the same year, the second battalion campaigned separately in Flanders.

In 1703, the first battalion remained in the Italian theatre, taking part in the combat of Stradella, the combat of Castelnuovo, the expedition into Tyrol and the combat of San Sebastiano. The second battalion again served in Flanders.

The first battalion participated in the sieges of Vercelli, Ivrea and Verrua in 1704, followed by the siege of Chivasso in 1705. In 1706, it took part in the siege of Turin, serving with the Franco-Spanish army engaged in the operations against the Piedmontese capital.

In 1707, the regiment participated in the defence of Toulon against the Allied invasion. It was later placed in garrison at Saint-Venant in 1709 and took part in the defence of that town in 1710, during which its colonel, Charles de Bérenger, was killed.

The regiment’s final major operations occurred in 1713, when it participated in the sieges and capture of Landau and Freiburg.

The colours of Bugey Infanterie are particularly interesting because they recall the Savoyard history of the region from which the regiment took its name.

Drapeau d'Ordonnance

Over the centuries, the House of Savoy had expanded its territories through dynastic marriages, alliances and local conflicts, often at the expense of neighbouring regions such as Dauphiné and Genevois. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the possessions of the House of Savoy included Piedmont, Savoy, Bresse, the Dombes, Bugey, the Marquisate of Saluzzo, the County of Nice and several other territories and lordships.

Drapeau Colonel

The loss of Bugey arose from the conflict between France and Savoy over the Marquisate of Saluzzo. Following the extinction of its ruling dynasty in 1548, the French Crown claimed sovereignty over the marquisate and eventually incorporated it into France. The Duke of Savoy opposed this arrangement because French control of Saluzzo separated Piedmont from the County of Nice and disrupted the territorial continuity of his possessions.

After negotiations failed, war broke out between France and Savoy in 1600. French forces rapidly occupied a large part of the Savoyard territories, including several fortresses and citadels. Under the Treaty of Lyon of 17 January 1601, the Duke of Savoy ceded to France the territories situated to the west of the Rhône, including Bresse, Bugey, Valromey and the Pays de Gex. In return, Savoy obtained full sovereignty over the Marquisate of Saluzzo.