Battle of Campo Santo The Battle of Campo Santo was fought in Campo Santo , Italy on 8 February 1743 between Spain and Austria , as part of the War of the Austrian Succession . The Spaniards and their Neapolitan allies under General De Gages were fought to a standstill by the Austrians and their Sardinian allies under Field Marshal Traun on the Panaro . The Spanish sustained heavy casualties , but as darkness fell , Traun ordered a general retreat ; de Gages , rather than pursue , himself drew back over the river . Preliminary Maneuvering . In January 1743 , General De Gages ' Spanish army — 13 , 000 strong — lay at Bologna , south of the Panaro . Count Traun ' s Austrian and Piedmont - Sardinian army — 11 , 000 strong — lay to the north of the river , blocking De Gages ' attempts to cross the formidable barrier . Traun preferred a maneuvering defense to risking his army in a pitched battle with his opponent , but concerns in Madrid were more political than strategic . Needing a victory , Philip V of Spain and his Queen Elizabeth Farnese demanded that De Gages launch an offensive or tender his resignation . Accordingly , leaving Bologna on the night of 3 February , De Gages slipped across the Panaro and entered the Duchy of Modena , seeking a decisive encounter with Traun . Fortunately for De Gages , Marshal Traun was ready to oblige him . Aware of the criticism leveled at him in Vienna where his enemies were trying to relieve him of his command , and also that Spain ' s recent seizure of Savoy might well induce the King of Sardinia to negotiate with the Spanish Crown , the Marshal decided that a victory would quell the uproar and induce Austria ' s allies to think twice about negotiating . Gathering up his army , Traun moved to block De Gages ' path and prevent him from advancing further into Modena . The two armies met at the village of Camposanto . The battle . On the morning of the battle , De Gages drew up his army on the outskirts of the village in the traditional fashion with his infantry in the centre and the cavalry on the wings . Traun also drew up his army in the same way , but being slightly outnumbered , he chose to gamble with an un - orthodox strategy . Instead of aligning himself directly opposite the Spaniards , he shifted his troops to the northwest , which meant that the centre of Traun ' s infantry was directly opposite the gap between Gages ' infantry and the right wing of cavalry . Although this meant that Traun would have a greater superiority of numbers on this wing and that he could also deliver a flank attack on the Spanish right , his own right flank would , however , be vulnerable to a Spanish flank attack . It seems that the Marshall was relying on the troops of that wing to delay the Spanish long enough for the action on his other wing to be decisive . Matters were helped when De Gages chose 4 : 00 in the afternoon to launch the attack , which left very few hours of daylight for a battle . The Spanish were initially successful on both wings , where their cavalry drove off the Austro - Piedmontese cavalry , fatally wounding Count Aspremont in the process and leaving the Austrian infantry vulnerable . However instead of reforming to attack the infantry , the Spanish chased them off the field . Traun stabilised his left flank , and led his infantry into the attack against the Spanish . Meanwhile Count Schulenberg regrouped the Austrian cavalry on the Austrian right , and launched a counterattack against the Spanish cavalry . On the other flank , General Leutrum ( Aspremont ' s replacement ) led his wing forward as well , smashing the Spanish right wing . At this time due to the darkness for both the army it was necessary to withdraw the field ; the Spanish back across the Panaro towards Bologna . Due to the smoke and the darkness , many units lost their way . The 1st Guadalaxara marched in the direction of the advancing austro - sardian infantry columns , and it had to surrender after a short defence inside the walls of a farm . Casualties in the battle were 1 , 755 dead , 1 , 307 wounded and 824 prisoners for the Spanish , while the Austro - Piedmontese lost 397 dead and 1 , 153 wounded or prisoners . Traun himself had two horses shot from under him during the battle . Aftermath . De Gages retreated to Bologna but on 26 March he was also forced to retreat to Rimini . Despite this , the battle was widely considered a victory in Madrid , and de Gages was awarded a victory title : Count of Campo Santo . Following the battle , France promised support and co - operation with the Spanish , but for the moment Traun had saved North Italy for Maria Theresa .