Spain wishes for an advance along the …

Years: 1744 - 1744
June

Spain wishes for an advance along the coast of Italy through Genoa to occupy the lands around Parma, which it already has been decided are going to be the future realm of Infante Philip, the third son of King Philip V of Spain and his wife, Elisabeth Farnese.

France's chief aim is to humble Piedmont-Sardinia and to force her to detach herself from Austria, or better yet, force her to drop out of the war entirely.

The French commander, the Prince of Conti, will not accept the Spanish plan of attack because he thinks it unsound, while the Spanish queen will brook no opposition to what she believes should be the key thrust of the joint Bourbon armies.

A compromise is negotiated: Spain's plan is not to be followed until after the humbling of Piedmont-Sardinia, after which the joint armies will march into Lombardy to secure the Infante Philip his new realm.

The principal plan for invading Piedmont is devised by Lieutenant General Pierre-Joseph Bourcet, who is France's leading expert in alpine warfare.

The main problem for any army invading Piedmont is the problem of surmounting the alpine passes that guard its approaches.

Even a small number of defenders can effectively block an advance.

Bourcet's reasoning is that with a numerical superiority of thirty-three thousand to twenty-five thousand, the best result would be obtained by separating the attacking force into several columns, which would then attack outlying outposts in a multi-pronged advance.

Using infiltration tactics, it would be easy to envelop the Piedmontese positions, allowing attacks to be launched where most unexpected.

Finally, by putting pressure along the whole front it is reasoned that the Piedmontese defense perimeter will crack at some point, and then the columns can re-unite and push through the gap.

The Franco-Spanish army with this in mind begins in June to regroup in the Dauphiné region.

Once concentrated, the attacking columns lie on a front between Briançon and St. Etienne.

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