Editing War of the Polish Succession (section)

===Northern Italy===
[[File:Battle of Bitonto by Giovanni Luigi Rocco.jpg|thumb|left|A painting of the [[Battle of Bitonto]] by Giovanni Luigi Rocco|210x210px]]

French and Savoyard troops numbering over 50,000, under the command of Charles Emmanuel, entered Milanese territory as early as 10 October, against minimal resistance, as the Austrian forces in the duchy numbered only about 12,000.  By 3 November, the city of [[Milan]] itself had surrendered, although the Austrian governor, [[Count Wirich Philipp von Daun]], still held the fortress. France's great general, the [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Duke de Villars]], joined Charles Emmanuel in Milan on 11 November. While Villars wanted to move immediately against [[Mantua]] to secure the Alpine passes against Austrian reinforcements, Charles Emmanuel, mistrustful of his French allies and their dealings with Spain, sought to secure Milan. The army spent the next three months eliminating Austrian opposition from the remaining fortified towns in the duchy. Villars attempted to interest Don Carlos of Parma in joining the expedition against Mantua, but Carlos was focused on the campaign into Naples. Villars began to move against Mantua, but Charles Emmanuel resisted, and the army made little progress. In early May, an Austrian army of 40,000 under [[Count Claude Florimond de Mercy]] crossed the [[Alps]] and threatened to close in on the French army's rear by a flanking maneuver. Villars responded by abandoning his advance on Mantua and attempted to interrupt the Austrian army's crossing of the [[Po (river)|Po]]. Villars, frustrated by Charles Emmanuel's delaying tactics and refusual to cooperate, quit the army on May 27. He fell ill on the way back to France and died in [[Turin]] on 17 June.

Mercy's forces made repeated attempts to cross the [[Parma (river)|Parma]] river in June, but it was not until late in that month that they were able to cross the river and approach the city of [[Parma]], where the allied forces, now under the command of French marshals [[François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie|de Broglie]] and [[François de Franquetot de Coigny|Coigny]], were entrenched. In the [[Battle of Colorno]] and in a [[Battle of San Pietro|bloody battle near the village of Crocetta]] on 29 June, the Austrians were beaten back, Mercy was killed, and [[Frederick Louis of Württemberg-Winnental|Frederick of Württemberg]], his second, was wounded. Charles Emmanuel returned the next day to retake command, and resumed his delaying tactics by failing to immediately pursue the retreating Austrians. The Austrians retreated to the Po, where they were reinforced by additional troops and placed under the command of Field Marshal [[Dominik von Königsegg-Rothenfels|Königsegg]]. After two months of inaction, during which the armies faced each other across the [[Secchia]] river, Königsegg on September 15 took advantage of relaxed security and executed a raid on Coigny's headquarters at [[Quistello]], very nearly capturing Coigny and taking among other prizes Charles Emmanuel's china. Two days later the French withdrew to a position near [[Guastalla]] in response to Austrian maneuvers, but one detachment of nearly 3,000 men was surrounded and captured by the advancing Austrians. On 19 September, Königsegg [[Battle of Guastalla|attacked the allied position at Guastalla]], and in another bloody encounter, was beaten back, losing among others Frederick of Württemberg. Königsegg retreated across the Po, adopting a defensive position between the Po and the [[Oglio]] while Charles Emmanuel again did not capitalize on his victory. When he finally withdrew most of the allied army to [[Cremona]], the Austrians advanced on the north bank of the Po as far as the [[Adda (river)|Adda]] before both armies entered winter quarters in December 1734.