The siege of Genoa took place in 1747 when an
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n army under the command of
Count Schulenburg launched a failed attempt to capture
the capital
''The Capital'' (also known as ''Capital Gazette'' as its online nameplate and informally), the Sunday edition is called ''The Sunday Capital'', is a daily newspaper published by Capital Gazette Communications in Annapolis, Maryland, to serve ...
of the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...
.
The Austrians had
captured and then lost Genoa the previous year and made it the central objective of their strategy for 1747 before they would consider further operations against
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
or an invasion of France. Schulenburg's force reached the outskirts of the city in April, but realising they needed more troops they waited until twelve battalions of infantry from their
Sardinian allies arrived in June. The delay allowed the
French and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
to send reinforcements to the city under to bolster the garrison.
The approach of a Franco-Spanish force under
Marshal Belle-Isle and
General Las Minas pressured the Sardinians to withdraw to try to defend a possible threat to
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, and Schulenberg then abandoned the siege blaming the Sardinians. The failed siege led to recriminations between
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
with both complaining to their
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
allies in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
about the alleged betrayal of the other.
[Lodge p.262-64]
References
Bibliography
* Lodge, Sir Richard. ''Studies in Eighteenth Century Diplomacy 1740-1748''. John Murray, 1930.
Sieges of the War of the Austrian Succession
1747
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
1747 in the Republic of Genoa
Conflicts in 1747
Sieges involving France
Sieges involving Spain
Events in Genoa
{{Siege-stub