"The Spanish Road" Topic
3 Posts
All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page.
Please be courteous toward your fellow TMP members.
For more information, see the TMP FAQ.
Back to the Renaissance Discussion Message Board
Areas of InterestRenaissance
Featured Hobby News Article
Featured Link
Featured Ruleset
|
Tango01 | 11 Jan 2020 10:27 p.m. PST |
"The ‘Spanish Road‘, linking Spain's northern territories with those in Italy and the Peninsula. In an ambitious undertaking, Spain used the Spanish Road to reinforce her position in the Netherlands with the new Army of Flanders in 1567. Though called a ‘road', this vital artery in fact still involved a journey by sea from Spain's Mediterranean coast to Genoa that, like Rome, was part of Spain's informal empire. Troops, money and supplies were convoyed by the Genoese galley squadron that formed an unofficial part of Spain's Mediterranean fleet. From Genoa, the men marched north to Milan, centre of Spanish power in northern Italy, where they were refreshed and often joined by recruits from Spain's Italian possessions. The main route ran from the fortress of Alessandria in the south-west Milanese lands across to Asti in Piedmont, a territory belonging to the duke of Savoy who was an ally until 1610. The road forked here, with one branch running north-west via Pinerolo which gave access to the Alpine pass of Mont Cenis and thence to Savoy proper and the upper Rhône, from where the soldiers could march north into the Franche-Comté. A subsidiary track ran along the Val de Susa west of Turin and over the Mont Genèvre. Alternatively, the men could head directly from Milan north up the Ivrea valley and cross by the Great or Little St Bernard passes through Aosta, down the Arve valley in Upper Savoy to Geneva, and then north-east along the Jura into the Franche-Comté. The three routes converged there and then headed north across the duchy of Lorraine into Luxembourg and the front. Sea transport from La Coruña covered about 200km a day, compared to the 23km a day average soldiers took to march the 1,000km from Milan to Flanders, but the overland route was safer and Spain sent over 123,000 men this way between 1567 and 1620, compared with 17,600 by sea…"
Main page weaponsandwarfare.com
Amicalement Armand
|
Gallocelt | 22 Jan 2020 10:25 p.m. PST |
That was a great find, Armand. What a useful website! I've often wondered about the specifics of that route. I've read about it mostly pertaining to the Thirty Years War. Cheers! Gallo |
Tango01 | 23 Jan 2020 12:57 p.m. PST |
Happy you enjoyed it my friend!. (smile) Amicalement Armand
|
|