The Conquest of Piemont. The War of the Spanish Succession, 1701-1714

The purpose of this article is to identify the features of military art as an integral part of Western European culture in the period of late feudalism using the example of a separate campaign of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). The focus of the study is the military operations in Piedmont in 1704 and their reflection in the military documentation, memoirs as well as in the correspondence of Louis XIV, the French minister of war Chamillard with the French command in Piedmont and Savoy. The article examines an episode of Western European military history that has not yet been reflected in Russian historiography. It presents an interest in terms of the prospects for a comparative military-historical analysis of the era of Peter the Great and Europe on the eve of the Modern Age. The article reflects the conditionality of Western European wars by intra-dynastic conflicts and contest between the ruling monarchical houses as well as the typical features of Western European military art namely the decision-making mechanism within the framework of the so-called “cabinet” command and control, the limitation of operational goals, the positional nature of the strategy, the rejection of determinateness in favor of passive methodism, commitment to siege warfare and maneuver tactics, the growing role of military engineering and logistical support.