Defense of Lombardy in 1705. Situational successes of Duke Vendôme and prospective failures of Eugene of Savoy

The subject of the study is the military art during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). The focus of the scientific inquiry is on specific aspects of military affairs of the era: the development of strategies and the determination of campaign plans, the strategies and tactics of conducting operations, and the forms and methods for achieving operational objectives. The author pays special attention to the role of maneuver and field combat, as well as the provision of reliable logistics and lines of communication between troops and the rear. The aim of the article is to identify the features of European military art in the early 18th century. The center of the article is the military actions between the Franco-Spanish army of Duke J. Vandome and the Imperial troops of Eugene of Savoy in Northern Italy during the summer and autumn of 1705. The methodological basis of the study is a historical-systemic approach, which involves the analysis of the research object as a coherent complex of interrelated elements. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the article, using memoirs, letters, and military-historical sources, presents a specific military campaign that has not yet been reflected in domestic historiography. As a result of the study, the author concludes that the military actions in Lombardy in 1705 exhibited both typical and specific features of military art of the period. The distinctiveness manifested itself in the active and decisive nature of military actions, and in the persistence and determination of military leaders such as Duke L.-J. Vandome and Prince Eugene of Savoy. Typical features included a tendency towards constraining methodology and templates in command, the dominance of logistics over operational tasks, the predominance of maneuvering to disrupt the enemy's lines of communication over field battles, and a positional character of warfare.

Dynastic wars, Western European military art, Louis XIV, Duke of Vendôme, Eugene of Savoy, crossing of the rivers, maneuver tactics, Rear communications, Battle of Cassano, occupation of winter quarters