House troops of the Savoy
The history of the Savoy domestic troops spans five centuries. The corazzieri , the bodyguard of the Italian president, succeeded these domestic troops .
history
The ancestral lands of the Counts and Dukes of the House of Savoy lay on both sides of the Western Alps , in Savoy and in Piedmont . From 1720 they were also kings of Sardinia , from 1861 to 1946 of Italy .
Formation history
The existence of an archery or arcier guard of Amadeus VII of Savoy , which was responsible for the protection of the manor, is recorded from the 14th century . The official residence city at that time was Chambéry , and from 1563 Turin . Even under Emanuel Philibert of Savoy , who reorganized the military system in his duchy from 1560 , the (mounted) Arcièren company formed the trunk of his house troops ( Guardia Ducale ). A company of arquebus riders joined her in 1560 and another mounted company from 1567 to 1573. The latter unit was replaced by a company of Swiss Guards in 1579 . The Arcièren Guard served as the ruler's escort , the arquebusiers (and halberdiers ) protected the interior of the mansions, the Swiss Guards the exterior. In their respective areas of responsibility, these companies mainly took on representative tasks, and in the field, if necessary, also took on military tasks. They were subordinate to the Colonel General of the Guard .
Under the ambitious Karl Emanuel I , the Swiss Guard was significantly strengthened at times. In addition, he set up a ducal guard cuirassier company ( Corazze del Duca ), as well as two other companies arquebusier riders.
Viktor Amadeus II radically rebuilt the house troops in 1685. In place of the old companies, four companies of the Garde du Corps (the first company was the old Arcièren-Garde) and one company Garde de la porte or "Türwache" (the former arquebusiers) were created. Then there was the Swiss Guard.
Major changes, the year 1710. Situated was a company gamekeepers to protect Hofjagdreviere however, were reversed, the third and fourth company of the Garde du Corps . When Viktor Amadeus received the crown of Sicily with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 , he set up the third company with Sicilian and Piedmontese personnel. In 1720 he had to exchange Sicily for Sardinia , which is why the third company only consisted of Piedmontese. In return, a company of halberdiers was established in Sardinia in 1722 for the viceroy there . Until Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign and the retreat of Charles Emanuel IV to Sardinia, the domestic troops consisted of:
- 3 companies of the Garde du Corps on horseback
- 2 companies Garde de la porte
- 1 company of Swiss Guards
- 1 company of game overseers
- 1 company of halberdiers in Sardinia.
In 1814 they were restored in this form by Viktor Emanuel I and in 1815, after the annexation of the former Republic of Genoa , another bodyguard company was added. The personnel of the four bodyguard companies came from Savoy (1st), Piedmont (2nd), Sardinia (3rd) and Liguria (4th). They each had six officers , ten non-commissioned officers, 51 men and 50 horses .
In 1814 the Carabinieri were also founded as a military police force . In the military order they came before all other branches of arms and immediately after the house troops. In the course of time, units of the Carabinieri gradually took over the tasks of the house troops, which were completely disbanded by 1870.
Karl Albert's comprehensive army reform also affected the domestic troops. In 1831 the Swiss Guard was dissolved, as well as one of the two companies of the palace guard ( Garde de la porte ) and three of four bodyguard companies. In the course of equating Sardinia with the mainland possessions and the abolition of the viceroyalty , Victor Emanuel II dissolved the halberdier company in Sardinia in 1849 and shortly thereafter also the game warden company. The remaining bodyguard company remained in Turin as honor guard and lost all other military tasks. In the course of the unification of Italy , another bodyguard company was temporarily set up in Naples . On September 1, 1867, the Turin bodyguard company was canceled without replacement after the capital had been moved to Florence . The final dissolution of all remaining old body and palace guards took place on February 1, 1870.
On the occasion of the wedding of Crown Prince Umberto and Margaret of Savoy on February 7, 1868, an honorary escort of the Carabinieri was put together in Florence, which then remained in Rome as the Royal Guard of Honor and thus took over the duties of the former house troops. In 1946 the honor guard was taken over by the republic. Today it bears the name Corazzieri , based on the former Guard Cuirassier Company of the 17th century.
Mission history
The units of the house troops intended to accompany the duke or king distinguished themselves in various campaigns, for the first time in 1557 under Emanuel Philibert in the battle of Saint-Quentin , in the sieges of Mons (1590) and Geneva (1602) and in the campaign in of Provence (1607). In 1672 all units of the house troops took part in the campaign against Genoa with the exception of the cuirassier company and the Swiss Guard. From 1686 to 1689, Viktor Amadeus II was forced to join the persecution of the Waldensians begun by the French , in which the bodyguard companies were also used. In the subsequent loss-making battles against France, the bodyguard fought at Staffarda , Carmagnola and 1693 at Orbassano . In 1706 the life guards were again at the forefront in the battle of Turin and thus participated in the liberation of the city. The last significant combat missions of the domestic troops occurred in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession , not least because Karl Emanuel III. used to lead his troops personally.
See also
- Ministry of the Royal House (Italy)
- History of the Italian Army
- List of Savoyard and Sardinian regiments of the early modern period
literature
- Stefano Ales: L'armata sarda e le riforme albertine (1831–1842). (Ed. Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore Esercito-USSME) USSME, Rome 1987.
- Nicola Brancaccio: L'esercito del vecchio Piemonte (1560-1859). Stabilimento poligrafico per l'amministrazione della guerra, Rome 1922.
- Vittorio Cogno: 400 anni di storia degli eserciti sabaudo e italiano - repertorio generale 1593 - 1993. Edizioni Fachin, Trieste 1995.