Battle of Piacenza - Bourbon Retreat To Piacenza

Bourbon Retreat To Piacenza

The surrender of the garrison at Asti created major problems for the French army. Morale plummeted, and by the end of March Marshal Maillebois' army had lost 15,000 men to desertion, illness or capture. De Gages' Spanish army sat still at Piacenza, uncertain of what course of action to take in the face of the new danger caused by the Austrian concentration. Neither he nor the Infant Philip wished to retreat from Lombardy, due to the anger that this would provoke in Madrid. Unfortunately the Austrian command made the decision for them. By skilful manoeuvring the Austrians chased The Infant from Milan to Pavia. By April Parma, Reggio and Guastalla had fallen to Austria. In order to concentrate their dispersed forces the Spanish asked Marshal Maillebois to bring his French army westwards to join with the other Bourbon troops falling back on Piacenza from various directions.

Marshal Maillebois, however, was reluctant to abandon his lines of communication through Genoa and consequently only sent 10 battalions forward to Piacenza. The Spanish King Philip V and his wife Elizabeth Farnese, however, ordered De Gages to remain at Piacenza, and Louis XV, wishing to confirm Bourbon solidarity and ready to be obliging to his Spanish uncle, ordered Maillebois to place his troops under Spanish command. Reluctantly agreeing, the marshal ordered his troops to Piacenza and by June 15 the Franco-Spanish army was joined together.