The Spaniards, this time with thirty thousand men, including four regiments of Dragoons, again led by the Marquis of Lede, and a fleet of three hundred and fifty ships, and over two hundred and fifty pieces of artillery, invade Sicily.

The Spanish forces capture Palermo on July 7, then divide their army in two.

De Lede follows the coast to besiege Messina from July 18, while the Duke of Montemar moves to conquer the rest of the island.

Tensions between Spain and Britain are high.

The Treaty of Passarowitz, which had finally ended the war with the Ottoman Empire on July 21, 1718, leads to the formation of the Quadruple Alliance, with the Emperor now joining the Triple Alliance on August 2, 1718.

A British fleet led by Sir George Byng on August 11 effectively eliminates the Spanish fleet stationed off Sicily at the Battle of Cape Passaro.

The French, Austrians, and British demand the Spanish withdrawal from Sicily and Sardinia.

The attitude of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy is ambiguous, as he accepts an offer to negotiate with the Spanish Prime Minister, Cardinal Alberoni, to form an anti-Austrian alliance.

The British fleet lands a small Austrian army assembled in Naples by the Austrian Viceroy Count Wirich Philipp von Daun, near Messina to lift the siege by the Spanish forces.

The Austrians attack very early in the morning of October 15, taking the Spanish by surprise.

The two Spanish Dragoon regiments (Batavia and Lusitania) stop the attack, to give the rest of the Spanish army time to deploy.

Both regiments are decimated, but their sacrifice gives Lede the opportunity to counterattack.

The Austrians are pushed back and the Spanish pursue the fleeing army, causing many casualties.

The Austrians lose fifteen hundred killed or wounded and three hundred prisoners.

The Spanish loss fifteen hundred killed or wounded and two hundred  prisoners.

Messina is taken by the Spanish, but the Marquis de Lede does not take this opportunity to drive the Austrians completely from the island, leaving them a bridgehead around Milazzo.

This bridgehead, and naval supremacy after the Battle of Cape Passaro, will give the Austrians a chance to send over more troops in the coming year.