Italian WAS Campaign Background Reading

In my last post on the subject of my proposed Po Valley Campaign for the 1740s I mentioned my next steps. Firstly:

• Identify orders of battle
• Set-out campaign objectives

So to tackle both of these I started reading. I read the relevant parts of the book below. And I searched on t'internet. I found this which gives a very brief, but useful overview of the Italian theatre in the WAS:

https://warhistory.org/@msw/article/the-war-of-austrian-succession-in-italy-1740-1748

I'd recommend it to anyone who's vaguely interested in the subject. I used it to draft a brief narrative. I wasn't able to find a lot of other resources in English on the subject. The usual rule seems to apply: if the Brits (and later Americans) weren't there it might as well not have happened in the Anglophone world. At least there is something on the subject - more than say on the War of the Polish Succession*. At least Britain had some involvement via the Royal Navy (and subsidies to belligerents) in the WAS in Italy.

* The book peaking out from underneath the Anderson does have something on the WPS in northern Italy.  Alexander Burns' 'Infantry in Battle 1733-1783', a Christmas present I was in the middle of reading when I decided I needed more background on the WAS in Italy.

One resource I found, in a slightly odd location was this:

https://bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com/2020/09/30/what-was-the-war-of-the-austrian-succession/

It is another useful overview, of the whole WAS, with a section on Italy. There's LOTS more of interest on that site.

Wikipedia is pretty limited on the subject. And there are some dead ends. For example, you can find a Wiki page on the Second Battle of Casteldelfino (1744), but the link to the First Battle (1743) leads you back to the Second. But if you search in Italian you can find both, though to be fair, they are also brief. I've found before when searching for stuff for this period on Wiki that you can often find things in other languages when they are not available in English. Translation is relatively easy these days with all the tools available, but to be honest, a lot of it is fairly clear if you have a smattering of the language (or even a related language) and military terminology. I like to have a stab at reading it first then use a translation tool to check and fill in the gaps/correct my errors.

So, that lead me to this resource in Spanish:

https://arrecaballo.es/siglo-xviii/guerra-de-sucesion-austriaca-1740-48/

Naturally there is going to be a lot more available in Spanish as they were one of the major participants. Arguably, if it wasn't for the Spanish, there wouldn't have been much campaigning done in Italy. Austria had its own wish list but being occupied fighting in Germany and the Low Countries, it probably wouldn't have started fighting in Italy at that time, but for the Spanish Bourbon family's desire to acquire new territory. The Arrecaballo site has a handy little table of army strengths (although for France and Austria this includes numbers elsewhere). However, I am confident I can infer numbers from elsewhere.

So all of this reading has helped give me a better idea of what went on. I had a rough idea of campaign objectives but it helped expand on that and fill in a notable gap: the Austrian wish to re-gain the Kingdom of Naples.  In addition I found a few maps which have helped me flesh out my sketch map. It still needs a bit of work but it's nearly there. I have quite a few notes to review and make sense of, which I'll be doing this week.

The main areas of the prospective game that I still feel are somewhat lacking are supply and intelligence. I want to have some simple rules/guidelines that are admin light but permit these important aspects to be 'modelled'. Somehow.

I'm aiming to get things ready for next week as the Margravina will be away and the youngsters are back at uni, allowing me a relatively free hand in the evenings. There is the small matter of a football match to go to, but knowing the weather forecast and the track record of that place, there's a good chance it will be postponed.

Better get cracking!