Siege of Cuneo

The Siege of Cuneo was fought on 28 June 1691 during Nine Years' War in Piedmont-Savoy, modern-day northern Italy. The siege was part of King Louis XIV’s campaign against Victor Amadeus, the Duke of Savoy, who had sided with the Grand Alliance the previous year. The siege was an attempt to gain a foothold on the Piedmont Plain, thus ensuring Marshal Catinat's army could winter east of the Alps. Yet due to the incompetence of the two French commanders – and a timely arrival of Imperial reinforcements – the siege proved a disaster, resulting in the loss of between 700 and 800 men. Although French forces had taken Nice in the west, and Montmélian in the north, Catinat’s small, ill-equipped army was forced onto the defensive. Louis XIV subsequently offered Amadeus generous peace terms but the Duke, who had by now received substantial Imperial reinforcements from the Empire, considered himself strong enough to continue hostilities.
In an attempt to free himself from French vassalage Duke Victor Amadeus of Savoy had declared for the Grand Alliance in June 1690, but in the first campaign he had suffered a major defeat by Marshal Catinat at the Battle of Staffarda on 18 August. Utilising France’s main base at Pinerolo Catinat subsequently captured several other towns in the region. However, due to communication problems and poor logistics , the French were obliged to withdraw from the Piedmont plain at the end of 1690, and move into winter quarters west of the Alps.

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