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79-798: In the course of the French Italian campaign of 1796, the Signoria of Venice under Doge Ludovico Manin had rejected an alliance with the France , whereupon General Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the city on 14 May 1797, leading to the fall of the Republic of Venice and the establishment of the Provisional Municipality of Venice . In exchange for renouncing all rights to the Austrian Netherlands and recognizing

158-800: A French ally during the first phase of the War of the Spanish Succession , but changed sides later. France invaded again, and Savoy was saved by Austrian troops led by the duke's cousin, Prince Eugene of Savoy at the siege of Turin . At the end of the war in 1713, Victor Amadeus II received the Kingdom of Sicily . By the Treaty of London , Victor Amadeus II reluctantly exchanged Sicily for Sardinia in 1720. The various dominions held in personal union by Victor Amadeus II included Sardinia, Savoy, Piedmont , Aosta Valley, Nice , and Oneglia . The collection

237-763: A French army under the command of Jean Moreau crushed the Austrians at the Battle of Hohenlinden in Germany. Later that month on 25-6 December, a French army under the command of Guillaume Brune defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Pozzolo on the Mincio River in northern Italy. Brune then continued to press the Austrian forces and eventually pushed them back to Treviso in Veneto. In Treviso on 16 January 1801,

316-522: A ceasefire ( Armistice of Treviso ) was signed between the French and the Austrians. Under the terms, Austria agreed to surrender multiple strongholds in northern Italy including Peschiera, Verona, Legnago, Ancona and Ferrara. Ultimately, a peace treaty ( Treaty of Lunéville ) was negotiated in Paris. The final terms of the peace treaty included the surrender of the critical Austrian fortress at Mantua along with

395-598: A consequence of its participation in the Burgundian Wars , Savoy lost all its possessions north and south-east of Lake Geneva to the Swiss . When Philibert II died in 1504, he was succeeded by Charles III the Good , a weak ruler. Since 1515, Savoy had been occupied by foreign armies, and Francis I of France was just waiting for the opportunity to permanently annex Savoy and its possessions. In 1536, Francis I ordered

474-901: A counter-invasion of Savoy by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (a member of the First Coalition ). After the revolt in Lyon had been suppressed, the French under General Kellermann managed to push back the Piedmontese with just 12,000 troops, winning engagements at Argentines and St Maurice in September and October 1793. The conflict soon escalated with Austrian and Neapolitan forces being mobilised for an invasion of southern France to recover Nice and strike into Provence . The Allied forces were bolstered by some 45,000 Austrians, Piedmontese, and Neapolitans, with additional support from

553-590: A further victory at Mondovì . Sardinia was forced to accept the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April, knocking it out of the war and the First Coalition. It had taken Bonaparte just a month to defeat Sardinia (between his arrival and the armistice), a country which had resisted the French armies for over three years. Total losses during the lightning campaign were 6,000 French troops and over 25,000 Allied. Bonaparte reorganised his newly enthused army following

632-417: A heavy defeat on the Austrians and was then well-placed to strike at the rear of Wurmser's army. Reacting slowly to this new threat, the Austrians were again defeated at the Battle of Bassano , where their army was reduced to just 12,000. The remaining troops marched rapidly towards Mantua, but became trapped there by General Masséna 's advance party. Additional Austrian forces arrived whilst Bonaparte's army

711-488: A number of French garrisons and continued his relentless advance. Macdonald engaged Suvorov in the Battle of the Trebbia and was crushed. Macdonald retreated with the remnant of his army to Genoa whilst Suvorov reached Novi. The Austrian high command ordered a halt to Allied offensives whilst the French garrisons of Mantua and Alessandria were overrun (see siege of Mantua and siege of Alessandria ). Soon after this Moreau

790-593: A small army of 9,000 troops on 19 November, and the Battles of Ferentino , Otricoli , and Civita Castellana , together with an affair at Calvi Risorta and Capua pushed King Ferdinand IV into Castel Sant'Elmo , and led to the declaration of the Parthenopean Republic at Naples , incurring some 8,000 Neapolitan casualties and 1,000 French. In April, Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo marched into Calabria with an army of 17,000 soldiers and reinstated

869-554: A timely arrival with reinforcements and drove back Melas, thus turning a French rout into a French victory. In this counter-attack Desaix was killed, but Bonaparte later honoured him with monuments commemorating his bravery and his name has the place of honour on the face of the Arc de Triomphe , which was erected to celebrate Napoleon's victories. Immediately after their victory at Marengo, the French pressured Austrian General Melas to sign an armistice ( Convention of Alessandria ) which led to

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948-657: The French Revolutionary Army in 1792 and annexed to France. Savoy was first incorporated as the department of Mont-Blanc ; then, in 1798, it was divided between the departments of Mont-Blanc and Léman . Savoy, Piedmont, and Nice were restored to the House of Savoy at the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815. Under the 1847 Perfect Fusion the duchy was merged with the other parts of the Savoyard state into

1027-656: The Rhine , seized the initiative and led the survivors back to Genoa and began preparing a defence of the city. However at that time the Allied high command in Vienna ordered Suvorov to move out of Italy and concentrate on breaking through the Swiss front. The respite thus given the reeling Army of Italy led to a turning point in the war. Melas, who resumed command of Coalition forces in Italy, now almost exclusively Austrian, paused

1106-526: The Tiberina Republic were recognized as sister republics. In Rome, Berthier declared the establishment of a Roman Republic , overthrowing the previous Elective monarchy . However, shortly after, coalition forces intervened, causing internal struggles within the so-called " Roman Council ", which lasted until the Neapolitan invasion in 1799. Governor Jacques Macdonald defended the city with

1185-909: The Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 including the Venetian Terraferma, Venetian Dalmatia and all of Istria were confirmed. By means of the Treaty of Lunéville, Austria finally withdrew from the War of the Second Coalition and ended the war in northern Italy. This left only the British to continue the war until they themselves concluded peace in March 1802 with the Treaty of Amiens . Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( Italian : Ducato di Savoia ; French : Duché de Savoie )

1264-858: The Upper Rhenish Circle . Its territory included the current French departments of Savoie , Haute-Savoie , and the Alpes-Maritimes , the current Italian region of Aosta Valley , a large part of Piedmont and the County of Geneva in Switzerland, which was then lost to the Old Swiss Confederacy . The main Vulgar languages that were spoken within the Duchy of Savoy were Piedmontese and Arpitan . The Duchy of Savoy

1343-572: The Alps, which was faced by a further 20,000 Allied troops. Bonaparte had no chance of gaining reinforcements as the Republican war effort was being concentrated on the massive offensives planned on the Rhine. At the Battle of Montenotte Bonaparte defeated the Austrians and fought a second engagement around Dego soon after. Following these battles he launched an all-out invasion of Piedmont and won

1422-466: The Austrians launched an attack against the depleted and poorly supplied Army of Italy. Nominally 107,000-strong, the Army of Italy could only manage to field an effective force of about 30,000. Kellermann, who had resumed command, appealed to Carnot for reinforcements. Instead, General Bonaparte was appointed to the general staff where he devised a third plan for an attack towards Vado and Ceva . Kellermann

1501-501: The Brenta river, but his counter-offensive was seriously hampered by Vaubois ’ defeat over five days in the villages of Cembra and Calliano under Alvinczy's lieutenant, Paul Davidovitch and he was forced to retreat to Verona. Alvinczy, following Bonaparte, held off a French attack at Caldiero on 12 November and Bonaparte was forced to withdraw. In the following three-day Battle of Arcole , Bonaparte, fighting outnumbered and faced with

1580-673: The British Royal Navy . Before the Allies could launch this assault the French, under tactical command of André Masséna , launched the Saorgio Offensive (April, 1794), which was planned by the army's artillery commander, General Napoleon Bonaparte . This two-pronged French offensive drove back the Allied force, despite their strong positions, and firmly captured the mountain passes that led into Piedmont. A further offensive, also designed by General Bonaparte to exploit

1659-598: The Cittadella (remnants of the Cittadella can still be seen, although it was largely destroyed by the subsequent expansion of the city). From his military experience in Flanders , Emmanuel Philibert learned how to run an army, having won the famous Battle of St. Quentin (1557) . He was the first duke of Savoy to establish a stable military apparatus that was not composed of mercenaries but rather by specially trained Savoyard soldiers. His son, Charles Emmanuel I , extended

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1738-514: The Duchy of Savoy. The Savoys themselves referred to their possessions as a whole as " the States of the Duke of Savoy " ( Italian : "gli Stati del Duca di Savoia"). Today, historians use the term Savoyard state to indicate this entity, which is an example of composite monarchy where many different and distinct territories are united in a personal union by having the same ruler. The duchy

1817-567: The European powers and found support from the Habsburgs . The policy of Charles Emmanuel was in fact based more on actions of international warfare, such as the possessions of the Marquis of Saluzzo, and the wars of succession in the duchies of Mantua and Montferrat. Generally, Savoy sided with Spain, but on occasion allied with France (as, for example, the Treaty of Susa required). During

1896-462: The First Coalition broke out in autumn 1792, when several European powers formed an alliance against Republican France . The first major operation was the annexation of the County of Nice and the Duchy of Savoy (both states of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia ) by 30,000 French troops. This was reversed in mid-1793, when the Republican forces were withdrawn to deal with a revolt in Lyon , triggering

1975-553: The French Cisalpine Republic , Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor gained the conquered Venetian territory including the Dalmatian coast but not the smaller Ionian Islands , beyond. As with the other Habsburg realms of the time, this new province of Venice was held as a de jure separate entity in a personal union , with Francis taking the additional title of "Duke of Venice". Like many of his other realms it

2054-492: The French Republic . Josephine's letters claim Barras had promised the command to Bonaparte, before she'd consented to marry him. Barras is cited by his colleagues as saying of Bonaparte, "Advance this man or he will advance himself without you." Bonaparte had shown himself to be highly ambitious and had made a name for himself following 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. By placing him in command of the Army of Italy, Bonaparte

2133-590: The French Revolutionary Wars French victory First Coalition: [REDACTED]   French Republic Second Coalition: [REDACTED]   French Republic First Coalition: [REDACTED]   Habsburg Monarchy [REDACTED] Kingdom of Sardinia (until 1796) [REDACTED]   Naples (until 1796) Other Italian states : [REDACTED]   Republic of Venice (1796) [REDACTED] Papal States (1796) The Italian campaigns of

2212-604: The French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1801) were a series of conflicts fought principally in Northern Italy between the French Revolutionary Army and a Coalition of Austria , Russia , Piedmont-Sardinia , and a number of other Italian states . The campaign of 1796-1797 brought prominence to Napoleon Bonaparte , a young, largely unknown commander, who led French forces to victory over numerically superior Austrian and Sardinian armies. The War of

2291-551: The French army, the Allies launched an assault on Savona . Ignoring Carnot's orders, the commander of the French Army of Italy , André Masséna , launched a counter-offensive and secured supply routes to Genoa following victory at the First Battle of Dego . Following this the French consolidated the front and awaited further opportunities. The main focus of the war then shifted north to the Rhine, until 29 June 1795, when

2370-616: The French, making it possible for the French to continue their advance eastwards towards Austria. After a brief campaign during which the Austrian army was commanded by the Emperor's brother, the Archduke Charles , the French advanced to within 100 miles of Vienna, and the Austrians sued for peace . Bonaparte's campaign, by threatening Vienna directly, was the trigger that led to Austria sending negotiators to Leoben to ask Bonaparte for peace with France. The peace treaty that resulted,

2449-475: The House of Savoy becoming rulers of Portugal. After Victor Amadeus II assumed power, Savoy became hostile to France, which invaded in the Nine Years' War . Savoy defeated the French in the siege of Cuneo , but was dramatically defeated in the battles of Staffarda and Marsaglia . Savoy became a French satellite, and Victor Amadeus II married Anne Marie d'Orléans , niece of King Louis XIV. Savoy remained

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2528-796: The Monarchy, initiating a siege of Naples in June. With British assistance, the Parthenopeans collapsed soon after. A Neapolitan invasion in September led to the dissolution of the Roman Republic which was subsequently replaced by the Papacy until the Napoleonic Wars . The second phase of the war in Italy began in 1799 as part of the War of the Second Coalition and was different from the first in that Russian forces participated in

2607-525: The Po failed on 11 May. Moreau's army was in tatters with just 9,000 men remaining. An attempted counter-attack was beaten back by Russian General Petr Bagration . Suvorov soon occupied Turin and proclaimed the restoration of Piedmont to its king . The Army of the Alps engaged the Austro-Russian forces in a series of minor skirmishes, but did not come to the rescue of the Army of Italy. Suvorov overran

2686-645: The Republic soon after. Napoleon then declared war on the Papal States for a second time, sending 9,000 troops under General Louis-Alexandre Berthier to occupy Rome and dissolve the state. Refusing to renounce his temporal authority, Pius VI was exiled from Rome, and later died in Valence, France . Napoleon officially dissolved the Papal States in February 1798, at which the Anconine Republic and

2765-680: The Rhine, much further north. Melas moved forward slowly, laying siege to Genoa and halting his advance elsewhere. It was at this time that the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte (who had seized French power in the Brumaire Coup of 9 November 1799) led his Reserve Army through the Great St Bernard pass with the aim of relieving Masséna in the Siege of Genoa , who was threatened by severe food shortages resulting from

2844-469: The baroque style. After his death in 1675, there followed the period of the regency (1675-1684) of his widow, the new Madama Reale , Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours . Charles Emmanuel II was succeeded by his 11-year-old son, Victor Amadeus II ; his mother, the French born Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours was regent. Marie Jeanne sought to marry her son to the daughter and heir presumptive of King Peter II of Portugal . This could have led to

2923-503: The battles of Lonato and Castiglione . The Austrian commander was forced back into the Alps . Wurmser was reinforced once again to compensate for some 20,000 losses sustained in the past two months and made an attempt to relieve the siege of Mantua. Some 45,000 Austrian troops were left behind to guard against any new French offensive whilst the main body of the Austrian army moved on Mantua. At Rovereto on 4 September, Bonaparte inflicted

3002-401: The campaign. However, at the beginning of the conflict the Russians were yet to arrive. Bonaparte, meanwhile, was away from the continent, as from May, 1798 to September, 1799 he was leading the Egyptian Campaign . Some 60,000 French troops under Schérer faced off against an equal number of Austrians. An additional 50,000 Russians were expected to arrive shortly. The French were occupied with

3081-424: The combination of encirclement on land and naval blockade by the British. Genoa fell before the First Consul could reach it. He concentrated his army and struck at the Austrians in an attempt to beat them before they too concentrated their forces again. The Reserve Army fought a battle at Montebello on 9 June before the main confrontation at Marengo . The consul was almost defeated here until General Desaix made

3160-459: The cultivation of the arts in the Italian Piedmont. However, his first son Amedeo died prematurely in 1431 and was succeeded by his second son Louis . Louis was in turn succeeded by the weak Amadeus IX , who was extremely religious (he was eventually declared blessed), but of little practical power, to the point that he allowed his wife, Yolande (Violante) of Valois , sister of Louis XI , to make very important decisions. During this period, France

3239-606: The death of Victor Amadeus I in 1637. He was succeeded for a short period of time by his eldest surviving son, the 5-year-old Francis Hyacinth . The post of regent for the next-oldest son, Charles Emmanuel II , also went to his mother Christine of France , whose followers became known as madamisti (supporters of Madama Reale ). Because of this, Savoy became a satellite state of the regent's brother, King Louis XIII of France. The supporters of Cardinal Prince Maurice of Savoy and Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (both sons of Charles Emmanuel I), together with their followers, took

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3318-426: The death of Charles Emmanuel I (26 July 1630). First of all, the plague ran rampant in 1630 and contributed significantly to the already widespread poverty. The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was very bloody in the countryside and subjected Casale Monferrato to a long siege (1629). Developments of arms and politics affected the economy and future history, exacerbating the already difficult situation after

3397-404: The duchy to the detriment of the lordships of Montferrat and the territory of Saluzzo, previously ceded to France, in 1601 under the Treaty of Lyon . The wars of Charles Emmanuel ended mostly in defeats. Nevertheless, he is remembered as "Charles the Great", since he was a versatile and cultured man, a poet and a skillful reformer. He was able to manage the duchy at a time of severe crisis vis-a-vis

3476-436: The establishment of the first public school-system in 1661. A cultured man, but also a great statesman, Charles Emmanuel imitated King Louis XIV of France at the sumptuous Palace of Venaria , a masterpiece of Baroque architecture , and a copy recreated in Italy of the magnificence of the Palace of Versailles . It was a time of great urban expansion, and Charles Emmanuel II promoted the growth of Turin and its reconstruction in

3555-424: The evacuation of northwestern Italy west of the Ticino River and the suspension of all Austrian military operations in Italy. Austria and its ally Great Britain then sought to negotiate a join peace treaty with France, but Napoleon insisted on separate treaties with each nation and the negotiations failed to come to fruition. As a result, conflict with Austria and Great Britain resumed in late 1800. On 3 December,

3634-436: The failure of his repeated efforts to capture a pivotal bridge at Arcole, won an important and hard-fought victory against Alvinczy. Both sides were reinforced before Alvinczy launched another attack in January. Bonaparte defeated this renewed assault at the Battle of Rivoli , inflicting some 14,000 casualties. Then he surrounded and captured a second Austrian relief column near Mantua. Soon after, Mantua finally surrendered to

3713-430: The future policy of Savoy, managing to put an end to the more than twenty-year long occupation. The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis , signed in 1559, restored full autonomy to the duchy, with his marriage to Margaret of France . Emmanuel Philibert realized that Savoy could no longer trust France. He therefore moved the capital from Chambéry to Turin in 1562, which he protected with a complex system of fortifications known as

3792-407: The military decisions made by the Duke. On 18 August 1655, the Pinerolo Declaration of Mercy was issued, which constituted a peace treaty between Charles Emmanuel II and the Waldensians. The government of Charles Emmanuel II was the first step towards major reforms carried out by his successor Victor Amadeus II in the next century. Of particular importance were the founding of militias in Savoy and

3871-454: The name of principisti (supporters of the Princes). Each warring faction soon besieged the city of Turin . The principisti made early gains, severely looting Turin on 27 July 1639. Only in 1642 did the two factions reach an agreement; by now, the widow of Victor Amadeus I had placed Victor's son Charles Emmanuel II on the throne and ruled as regent in his place, even past his age of majority. A resurgence of religious wars took place during

3950-407: The newly founded Cisalpine Republic , and recognize Joseph Bonaparte as the ambassador to Rome . Following the dissolution of the First Coalition , a Republican Revolt staged by General Bonaparte and Brigadier General Mathurin-Leonard Duphot led to the killing of Duphot at Joseph's palace by Papal State troops. An apology was issued by the Pope on December 29, 1797, however it was rejected by

4029-417: The occupation of the duchy, which was invaded by a strong military contingent. Charles III realized too late the weakness of the state, and tried to defend the city of Turin . However, the city was lost on 3 April of the same year. Charles III retreated to Vercelli , trying to continue the fight, but never saw the state free from occupation. Emmanuel Philibert was the duke who more than any other influenced

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4108-430: The offensive and consolidated his forces, now that the Russians had been removed from Italy. By the spring of 1800 Russia had withdrawn entirely from the Coalition. The situation in Italy, however, was still very much on the side of the Coalition. Melas had some 100,000 men under his command, opposed by just 50,000 French troops who were thoroughly dispersed. The Allies prepared for a thrust into southern France and across

4187-493: The offensive, striking at Austrian forces mobilising in the vicinity of the fortress of Mantua . A series of minor Coalition defeats resulted in the garrison at Mantua being reinforced to 12,000. Placing Mantua under siege , Bonaparte then led a French division south to invade and occupy the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal States , defeating Papal forces at Fort Urban . Next he turned north and with 20,000 men defeated some 50,000 Austrians under Field Marshal Wurmser at

4266-465: The pacification of Naples and this halved their effective strength to face the Austrians. In order to avoid a completely untenable situation arising, Schérer attacked as soon as possible in an attempt to preempt Austrian attacks. Austrian commander Pál Kray defeated the French at Verona and Magnano in late March and early April. Schérer retreated back and left a small detachment of 8,000 in several forts. The Austrian commander, Michael von Melas ,

4345-412: The peacetime year of 1660, then 26,178 in 1672, and 35,000 in 1705 (with 10,000 militia called up to bolster them and more uncalled). The militia was relatively well-armed and consisted of 24,000 men in 1566, of whom about a third could be used outside of their immediate district. The flag of Savoy was a white cross on a red field. It is based on a crusader flag, and as such is identical in origin to

4424-445: The province did not have a long existence. After the Grande Armée had defeated the forces of the Austrian Empire at Austerlitz , Francis, as per the 1805 Treaty of Pressburg , had to cede the Venetian territory to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy . In 1815, it was returned to Austria under the terms of the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna and became part of the crown land of Lombardy–Venetia . Italian campaigns of

4503-425: The recognition of the sovereignty and independence of the French client republics of Cisalpine, Ligurian, Batavian and Helvetic. In addition, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was ceded to France. Those Italian princes who lost territory, including the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Duke of Modena, were to be compensated with territory in Germany east of the Rhine. In return, the Austrian territorial acquisitions stipulated in

4582-415: The regency. Subsequently, in 1655, Savoyard troops massacred large numbers of the Protestant population of the Waldensian valleys, an event known as the Piedmontese Easter ( Pasque Piedmont ). Reports from the massacres spread quickly throughout Protestant Europe, sparking outrage, especially in Britain. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell threatened the Duchy of Savoy with intervention, somewhat shaping

4661-404: The rest of the Renaissance era for Savoy. The reign of Amadeus VIII was a turning point for the economy and the policy of the state, which deeply marked the history of the nation. His long reign was highlighted by wars (the country expanded its territory by defeating the Duchy of Montferrat and Marquisate of Saluzzo ), as well as reforms and edicts, and also some controversial actions. The first

4740-410: The seventeenth century, the influence of the court of Versailles put pressure on Savoy. Due to the proximity of the Spanish controlled Duchy of Milan and Savoyard defeats in the previous century, French troops were garrisoned in forts (such as Pinerolo ) in a number of key Alpine passes on the Italian side. This severely threatened the independence of the duchy. During the Thirty Years' War , Savoy

4819-439: The short let-up in operations that followed Sardinia's defeat. Following this he manoeuvred his army into more opportune positions along the Po River . A small French victory at Codogno led to a retreat by Coalition forces across the Adda River. At the river, the Austrian army of General Beaulieu was defeated in the Battle of Lodi on 10 May. The Army of Italy was now reinforced to almost 50,000 men and Bonaparte continued on

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4898-401: The size of the army quickly rose. In 1625, the duchy had an army of 26,600 regulars (25,381 infantry and 1,213 cavalry), plus about 8,000 militia. The regulars consisted of 5 to 7 regiments of Piedmontese, with mercenaries comprising the rest, including 9 regiments of French and 2 regiments of Italians. In 1635 the regular army was down to 12,250, then 15,710 in 1637, 18,000 in 1649, then 5,500 in

4977-412: The treaty of Campo Formio , also effectively ended the War of the First Coalition , as Austria was the main combatant remaining in continental Europe still fighting the French at that time. On 5 December 1797 Napoleon arrived in Paris. Napoleon 's invasion of Northern Italy caused disorder in the Papal States . Under the Treaty of Tolentino , Pope Pius VI was forced to cede the Romagna region to

5056-479: The unitary Kingdom of Sardinia. Savoy itself would be given to France under the terms of the Treaty of Turin (1860) . The duchy was a notable regional military power, often getting involved in wars between the French and Habsburgs. In the 17th century, peacetime strength tended to hover around 4,800 professional soldiers (3,600 infantry and 1,200 cavalry), with a large peasant militia. In times of war, militiamen were trained and impressed and mercenaries were hired, and

5135-400: The victory at Saorgio, was called off under orders from war minister Carnot , who was concerned about supply lines being cut by rebels behind the front. The commanders in the field were unhappy about this decision, but appeals were interrupted by the overthrow of the Committee of Public Safety and its leader, Maximilien de Robespierre (28 July 1794). During the political chaos that ensued in

5214-407: Was a territorial entity of the Savoyard state that existed from 1416 until 1847 and was a possession of the House of Savoy . It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor , raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII . The duchy was an Imperial fief, subject of the Holy Roman Empire , until 1792, with a vote in the Imperial Diet . From the 16th century, Savoy belonged to

5293-421: Was being assigned to an obscure front: of the Republic's thirteen principal field armies, the Italian force was the most neglected and was in terrible condition when Bonaparte arrived. Bonaparte launched attacks almost immediately after he arrived on the front on 27 March. His 38,000 men and 60 guns were facing more than 50,000 Allied troops in the theatre. His only chance of support came from Kellermann's Army of

5372-447: Was created in 1416 when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor ( r.   1433–1437) awarded the title of " Duke " to Count Amadeus VIII . Being landlocked at its conception in 1388, the then- County of Savoy acquired a few kilometres of coastline around Nice . Other than this expansion, the 14th century was generally a time of stagnation. Pressure from neighboring powers, particularly France , prevented development, which characterized

5451-410: Was dispatched to the Rhine and Joubert was sent to command the Army of Italy. Suvorov, acting under orders from the Coalition high command, paused to gather his strength for an offensive in autumn. On 9 August, the French launched offensive of 38,000 men called the Battle of Novi . The offensive was thoroughly defeated by Suvorov, and resulted in the death of Joubert. Moreau, who had yet to depart for

5530-418: Was in 1434, when he chose to withdraw to the Château de Ripaille, where, living the life of a hermit , he founded the Order of St. Maurice . In 1439, he received an appointment as antipope , which he accepted (under the name of Felix V), although he subsequently resigned a decade later out of a fear of undermining the religious unity of Christians. The second important action of the Government of Amadeus VIII

5609-464: Was more or less free to control the affairs of Savoy, which bound Savoy to the crown in Paris. The Duchy's economy suffered during these years, not only because of war, but also because of the poor administration by Violante. The future of the nation was entrusted to the hands of a boy, Philibert I , who died at the early age of seventeen, after reigning for ten years. He was succeeded by Charles I , who died aged 21, and Charles II , who died aged 6. As

5688-610: Was not subject to the Holy Roman Empire . The province was directed by an Austrian governor, but continued to use former Venetian legislation and maintained its currency, the Venetian lira . The western border of the province was shifted in favour of the Cisalpine Republic by the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville , and drawn up along the thalweg of the lower Adige river. Unlike the previous 1,100-year-old republic,

5767-765: Was one of the states of the Holy Roman Empire that largely sided with France and against both the Emperor and Spain. Savoyard troops participated on the side of the French in the Savoyard-Genoese War , the War of the Montferrat Succession , the Tornavento campaign and, in part, in the Piedmontese Civil War , among other places. The strong French influence, plus various misfortunes, repeatedly hit Savoy following

5846-421: Was replaced by General Schérer soon after and he carried out the attacks, gaining victory at Loano . Bonaparte was appointed commander-in-chief on 2 March 1796. The motives for Bonaparte's appointment were most likely political. On 9 March, Bonaparte had married Joséphine de Beauharnais , who had shared her imprisonment (under Robespierre ) with Thérésa Tallien , wife to Tallien , one of the then Directors of

5925-506: Was slow to pursue the retreating French and was soon replaced as overall Coalition commander in the theatre by the brilliant Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov . Schérer too was soon replaced by General Moreau , a man of greater fame and prestige. The French defeats at Lecco and Cassano on 26–28 April were followed by withdrawal from Lombardy and an overall unfavourable situation for the French. General Macdonald's army returned from Naples to support Moreau. An initial Allied attack across

6004-547: Was the central and most prominent of the territories possessed by the House of Savoy, and hence this title was and still is used often to indicate the whole of their possessions. In reality, the Savoys ruled not a unitary state, but a complex array of different entities and titles with different institutional, cultural, and legal backgrounds. These included for example the Duchy of Aosta , Principality of Piedmont , and County of Nice , which were distinct and not juridically part of

6083-518: Was the creation of the Principality of Piedmont in August 1424, the management of which was entrusted to the firstborn of the family as a title of honor. The duke left the territory largely formed from the old Savoy domain. As a cultured and refined man, Duke Amadeus gave great importance to art. Among others, he worked with the famous Giacomo Jaquerio in literature and architecture, encouraging

6162-543: Was usually referred to as "Sardinia", meaning the kingdom. Charles Emmanuel III , son and successor of Victor Amadeus II, joined the War of the Austrian Succession and concluded it with a resounding victory against the French in the Battle of Assietta . Gaining parts of western Lombardy like Angera and Vigevano in the subsequent treaty. After the French Revolution , Savoy was invaded by

6241-633: Was weakened by disease and his supply lines threatened by rebellion. Government political commissars, especially Cristoforo Saliceti , brutally put down the uprisings, but the French position was weakened. To stabilise the situation Bonaparte created the client states of the Transpadane Republic and the Cispadane Republic . Following this a new Austrian commander, Joseph Alvinczy , arrived and made another attempt to relieve Mantua. Bonaparte halted and drove Alvinczy back across

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