ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Spanish army of Lombardy, and the system surrounding it, within the larger framework of Madrid's concerns and policies, and to describe its structure and achievement in the final Habsburg decade. The armies and fleets included the largely neglected army of Lombardy and the Mediterranean galley fleets. The Spanish army of Lombardy, or Milan, effectively dated from Emperor Charles V's acquisition of the duchy in the 1530s and 1540s. Carlos II's reign did see some humiliating reverses and losses. The campaign of 1689 had demonstrated the potential effectiveness of the army of Lombardy, particularly against an Italian prince and when France was fighting on the Rhine and in Flanders. The Spanish system in Italy was largely geared towards the supply of the army of Lombardy. Spanish military potential also benefited in that Carlos II appropriated the largest share of the substantial quantity of artillery the departing French were obliged to leave at Casale.
