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| Battle of Bitonto | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Polish Succession | |||||||
 TheBattle of Bitonto by Giovanni Luigi Rocco | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Spain |  Austria | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Duke of Montemar | Giuseppe Antonio, Prince of Belmonte | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 14,000 infantry and cavalry | 8,000 infantry 2,500 cavalry | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 99 dead 196 wounded | 1,000 dead 1,000 wounded 2,500 captured | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheBattle of Bitonto (25 May 1734) was a Spanish victory over Austrian forces nearBitonto in theKingdom of Naples (in southernItaly) in theWar of Polish Succession. The battle ended organized Austrian resistance outside a small number of fortresses in the kingdom.
KingPhilip V of Spain had always aimed to reconquer Naples and Sicily, which Spain lost to theHabsburgs as a consequence of theWar of the Spanish Succession. In 1714 he marriedElisabeth Farnese, who had dynastic interests in Italy. Under her influence he had attempted without success to recover the Italian holdings in theWar of the Quadruple Alliance. When theWar of the Polish Succession broke out in 1733, he saw an opportunity to act against the Habsburgs, who had no military support among western European powers (Great Britain and theDutch Republic opting to remain neutral), with active opposition byFrance andCharles Emmanuel III of Sardinia. In the fall of 1733 Spain and France signed theTreaty of the Escorial, the first of several Bourbon Family Compacts. The treaty pledged mutual protection and aid, and provided for the allies to work together for the conquest of Habsburg territories on the Italian peninsula.
The Spanish fleet underLuis de Córdova y Córdova landed a Spanish army inGenoa, which joined forces with the troops ofCharles of Parma, ruler ofParma in northern Italy and the eldest son of Philip and Elisabeth. From there, 21,000 men marched unopposed through thePapal States towardsNaples, where Charles entered the city virtually uncontested, and proclaimed himself king of theTwo Sicilies on 7 May 1734. Austrian garrisons in the fortresses at Gaeta and Capua were blockaded by 6,000 men, and Montemar led 12,000 Spanish troops after the retreating Austrian viceroy.
The Habsburg Viceroy, Guido Visconti, first fled toBari inApulia before the advancing Spanish, and then fled by ship on 21 May with one of his generals, leavingGiuseppe Antonio, Prince of Belmonte in command of the Austrian forces. The retreating Austrians were reinforced by troops that arrived from the island of Sicily, and a shipload of recruits that arrived atTaranto. Belmonte, aware that the Spanish were likely to get reinforcements from their fleet, moved toBitonto on 24 May to force an action with Montemar before that army grew even larger. Placing inexperienced troops in the town itself, he adapted low walls and two monasteries as a defensive line and awaited the Spanish. Montemar was, according to reports Belmonte received later, reinforced by 3,000 men, raising his troop count to about 14,000 experienced and well-equipped troops.
When the Spanish arrived on the scene at daybreak o the 25th of May 1734, Montemar lined his troops up to face the Austrians, infantry facing infantry, cavalry facing cavalry; as the Spanish cavalry significantly outnumbered the Austrian, some of them were held in reserve on the right flank. After a fewfeints in which the Spanish attempted to draw the Austrians out of their defenses, the attack commenced.
Around 10 am the Austrian cavalry finally gave way, with most of it beginning a disorganized retreat toward Bari, followed shortly after by Belmonte. The rest of the Austrian army collapsed, with some companies following the cavalry and others trying to escape to the north and into Bitonto. Defenders in the two monasteries held their ground, and those defenses were taken by storm. The garrison in the city surrendered the next day, owing to a shortage of ammunition and provisions.
Belmonte attempted to reorganize the remaining forces at Bari, but opposition from the local population, which was mobilizing in favor of the Spanish, made this virtually impossible. He ended up surrendering 3,800 men to the local authorities. Several hundred troops that escaped the battle to the north managed to reachPescara, which had not yet been taken by the Spanish.
Other cities in the kingdom recognized Spanish rule, with only two Austrian-held fortresses continuing resistance until autumn.Gaeta, blockaded early in the conflict, was placed under siege and held out until August.Traun defendedCapua until 30 November, when he finally surrendered; his garrison marched out with full honours of war.
The return of the Two Sicilies to Spain was confirmed by theTreaty of Vienna in 1738, which ended the war. Charles named MontemarDuke of Bitonto and commissionedGiovanni Antonio Medrano to erect anobelisk on the battlefield to commemorate the battle.