Conflict
The initial attempt of Don Gonzalo Fernandez de Córdoba, Spanish governor of Milan, and Charles-Emmanuel was to partition the Mantuan-Montferrat patrimony, which lay to east and to west of Milan. The Spanish minister supported the Guastalla claimant in Mantua, as the weaker of two neighbors, and the Savoy claimant in Montferrat, the lesser of the territories. Friction between the confederates ensued, when Charles-Emmanuel moved his troops into more territory than had been agreed upon, laying siege to the town of Casale, capital of Montferrat.
The French, although Louis XIII of France and Cardinal Richelieu were concerned at home with Huguenot uprisings in Languedoc after the fall of La Rochelle in 1628, sent forces to relieve Casale near the border with Milanese territory, besieged by a Habsburg army from Milan. The French forces crossed the Alps in March 1629, forced Susa in Piedmont, on 6 March, delivered the siege of Casale on 18 March 1629 and took the fortress of Pinerolo on 30 March 1630. In the meantime the short-lived Treaty of Susa was signed with the Duke of Savoy in April 1629, whereupon they returned to France, leaving behind a small garrison. The papal envoy in negotiations at Casale was Jules Mazarin.
Emperor Ferdinand II's forces under Ramboldo, Count of Collalto invaded the Grisons and Valtelline. The governor was recalled from Milan, followed by the insults of the citizens, for bread had been scarce for months. The following winter, Milan was devastated by the bubonic plague introduced by the armies, which has been vividly described by Manzoni.
Later in 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II sent a Landsknecht army to besiege Mantua. Charles left without the promised support from Louis XIII of France. The siege lasted until July 1630, when the city, already struck by a plague, was brutally put to the sack for three days and three nights by troops led by Count Aldringen and Gallas. But the Emperor did not succeed in Mantua. Due to developments in Germany, where the Swedes were warring, he was forced to return his attention to the principal theatre of the big war.
Read more about this topic: War Of The Mantuan Succession
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