t
the head of the battalions on the left, forced the entrenchments at the
first charge. The duke of Savoy met with the same success in the centre,
and on the right near Lucengo. The horse advanced through the
intervals of the foot, left for that purpose; and breaking in with vast
impetuosity, completed the confusion of the enemy, who were defeated on
all hands, and retired with precipitation to the other side of the
Po, while the duke of Savoy entered his capital in triumph. The duke
of Orleans exhibited repeated proofs of the most intrepid courage, and
received several wounds in the engagement. Mareschal de Marsin fell into
the hands of the victors, his thigh being shattered with a ball, and
died in a few hours after the amputation. Of the French army about
five thousand men were slain on the field of battle; a great number of
officers, and upwards of seven thousand men were taken, together with
two hundred and fifty-five pieces of cannon, one hundred and eighty
mortars, an incredible quantity of ammunition, all the tents and
baggage, five thousand beasts of burden, ten thousand horses
belonging to thirteen regiments of dragoons, and the mules of the
commissary-general, so richly laden that this part of the booty alone
was valued at three millions of livres. The loss of the confederates did
not exceed three thousand men killed or disabled in the action, besides
about the same number at the garrison of Turin, which had fallen since
the beginning of the siege. This was such a fatal stroke to the interest
of Louis, that madame de Main-tenon would not venture to make him folly
acquainted with the state of his affairs. He was told that the duke of
Orleans had raised the siege of Turin at the approach of prince Eugene,
but he knew not that his own army was defeated and ruined. The spirits
of the French were a little comforted in consequence of an advantage
gained about this time by the count de Medavigrancey, who commanded a
body of troops left in the Mantuan territories. He surprised the prince
of Hesse in the neighbourhood of Castiglione, and obliged him to retire
to the Adige with the loss of two thousand men; but this victory was
attended with no consequence in their favour. The duke of Orleans
retreated into Dauphine, while the French garrisons were driven out
of every place they occupied in Piedmont and Italy, except Cremona,
Valenza, and the castle of Milan, which were blocked up by the
confederates.

{ANNE, 1701--17