Siege of Cuneo ( 1691 ) 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 ( in fact , General Vivien de Bulonde , because of decoded messages from Louis XIV to Catinat authorizing his punishment , has been proposed by some to have been the Man in the Iron Mask ) – 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 . Background . 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 ( leading to shortages in supply and men ) , the French were obliged to withdraw from the Piedmont plain at the end of 1690 , and move into winter quarters west of the Alps . The French began the 1691 campaign early . In March Catinat crossed the border into the County of Nice to attack the southern coastal towns of Nice and Villefranche ( it was imperative to take both positions because of their potential to act as a springboard for Allied land and amphibious attacks against Provence ; conversely , their capture would facilitate French operations in southern Piedmont ) . Villefranche immediately capitulated to Catinat on 20 March ; the town of Nice also quickly surrendered , but its citadel held out against a detachment under General Vins until 1 April . Nice was captured for the loss of just 100 men , and the whole county was now almost entirely under the control of Louis XIV . Of all the Savoyard towns west of the Alps only Montmélian , in the Duchy of Savoy , remained in the Duke ’ s hands . Siege . In Piedmont the Marquis de Feuquières marched south - west out of Pinerolo on 18 April to attack the Vaudois and refugee French Huguenots in Luserna . Encountering little resistance Feuquières , who had suffered defeat at Luserna the previous year , sacked the town , killing many of its inhabitants . Catinat , meanwhile , ravaged the Turin – Susa route . Although the capture of Turin , Piedmont ' s capital , was not possible due to lack of infantry and supply , Catinat took Avigliana on 29 May , before sending a large corps under Feuquières and Bulonde to besiege Cuneo on the Stura in southern Piedmont . Cuneo ’ s capture would enable the French to spend the 1691 – 92 winter east of the Alps , but the incompetence of the two commanders turned the expedition into an unmitigated disaster . On hearing the approach of a relief force of Imperial cavalry under Prince Eugene of Savoy , Bulonde lost his nerve and raised the siege . With the loss of between 700 – 800 troops the French army abandoned its supplies , its wounded , and its heavy guns , degenerating into a fleeing rabble as it tried to regain Catinat ' s main force near Turin . Cuneo ’ s garrison had held out , and was still intact when Eugene arrived . Having reinforced the town Eugene returned to Turin . Aftermath . In July Feuquières managed to get reinforcements and cash to the main French stronghold of Casale , cut off on the far eastern border of Amadeus ’ s territory ( the only time this was achieved in the war ) . Nevertheless , French forces in the Italian theatre continued to be handicapped by supply and manning shortages . Earlier , on 9 June 1691 , Catinat had taken Carmagnola , but in August 13 , 000 Imperial troops – who had recently fought against the Ottomans in the War of the Holy League – arrived to reinforce Amadeus , raising his strength ( on paper ) to 45 , 000 . On 26 September the Allies crossed the river Po to retake the lost town . Due to the lack of available French troops , Carmagnola capitulated to the Allies on 8 October . Meanwhile , the Marquis de La Hoguette , commanding French forces in the Duchy of Savoy , raided the Aosta Valley in preparation for the siege of Montmélian . The valley was one of the two main routes into Savoy through which Amadeus could send assistance from Piedmont ( the capture of Susa in November 1690 had blocked the only other direct route ) . Hoguette reached as far south as Bard before returning to Savoy , destroying behind him all the bridges and passing points . Due to a lack of siege guns Montmélian could not be properly invested until November . However , when it became apparent that no relief was coming from Piedmont , the town ’ s governor finally yielded the citadel on 22 December . Although the French had achieved little in Piedmont Catinat now controlled almost all of the County of Nice and the Duchy of Savoy . At peace talks in mid - summer Louis XIV had insisted keeping his gains in Nice , several Piedmontese towns on the route to Casale , and Montmélian ; some 2 , 400 of Amadeus ’ s troops , together with three dragoon regiments were also expected to join with French forces against the Grand Alliance on other fronts . However , on 16 July , the King ’ s highly influential and belligerent War Minister , Louvois , died ; 12 days later Louis XIV recalled the more moderate Pomponne to sit in the " Conseil d ' en haut " , the consequences of which were to alter the political direction of the state . Now facing a superior enemy , and unable to sustain their forces on the Piedmontese plain , Louis XIV offered further peace terms in December , but these provisions bore no resemblance to the original demands at the beginning of the war in Italy in May 1690 . Louis XIV was now prepared to indemnify Savoy for the costs of the war , and the places France had conquered would be sequestrated in neutral hands ; Casale would be razed , and , in the event of the death of Charles II , King of Spain , Louis XIV would help Amadeus to conquer the Milanese . By now , however , Amadeus was not prepared to negotiate seriously , especially as he anticipated military superiority for the following campaign . The peace terms were rejected and hostilities resumed the following year .