10,400 14,000 Date 22 June 1636 | 2,000 dead, 1,000 injured 800 dead, 500 injured Result French-Savoyard victory | |
 | ||
Combatants Duchy of Savoy, Early modern France Similar Battle of Les Avins, Relief of Thionville, Siege of Leuven, Battle of Honnecourt, Siege of Fuenterrabía | ||
The Battle of Tornavento was a battle fought in Italy on June 22, 1636 during the Thirty Years' War.
In 1636, Cardinal Richelieu had persuaded the Duke of Savoy (Vittorio Amedeo I) to launch an offensive on the Spanish Duchy of Milan.
A French Army crossed the Ticino river between Oleggio and Lonate Pozzolo, but was checked by a larger Spanish army, and dug in to await their Savoyard allies.
On June 22 the Spanish attacked, but were held back after the arrival of the army of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy. Fighting in the summer heat was savage and bloody, in a heathland described by Spanish officers as "sin àrbol, y con falta de agua" ("treeless, and lacking water").
The Spanish abandoned the battlefield and retired to Boffalora. The Franco-Savoyard army remained some days near Tornavento, sacking nearby towns and damaging a canal, but decided to conduct a withdrawal from Milanese territory. Little had been achieved with this battle and the invasion of Lombardy turned out to be a complete failure.
Reenactment
Every year in the hamlet of Tornavento a colourful and spectacular reenactment of the battle is held by volunteers, clothed and armed with uniforms and weapons in use at that time, from pike to musket and cannon.