The Battle for Turin

I don't think I consider myself a "history buff" but I have always been fascinated by history. Especially if it is explained in a way that keeps my interest. This last Sunday, after the meeting a few of us went to a free museum that just opened in Turin. It is called: "Turin 1706: The Dawn of a Kingdom". It is a museum all about the "Battle of Turin" that was a turning point in the independence of Piemonte. During the tour we actually went down and walked around in tunnels excavated in the 1700's and retraced the steps of the Hero of Turin, Petro Micca. It was fascinating... Here is a little history that I gleaned from the tour.
On May 14, 1706 the French Regent Phillip the II (Also called The Duke of Orleans)
led a siege on the city of Turin as part of a campaign in northern Italy that had already won them a number of cities nearby. Finally ready to attack 40,000 French troops showed up knocking on Turin's door. However being a fairly old city and pretty well protected it stood up well under the siege. The city at the time was made up of a citidel and the actual city behind it. Pietro Micca, a Torinese hero, is considered the one who, through his act of bravery (which cost him his life) turned the tide in the siege.
Under the Citadel they had built a network of tunnels that were used to ferry supplies and move around the citadel without exposing themselves to the fire of the French. Interestingly they also extended parts of these tunnels underneath the field of battle where the French were attacking. They would set barrels of explosives, fill in the tunnel with dirt and when they heard the French troops passing overhead, they would set off the explosives. So not only did the French have the fire from the citadel, the Italian mortars that rained down on them, but also explosions from underneath that all made Turin an almost unassailable city. The siege lasted a long 5 month until September 7th the king of Turin, Victor Amadeus the II, with the help of the Austrians drove the French back, winning the battle. The most interesting thing is as of September 7th, 1706 Turin only had enough gunpowder to last another 3 days, and had no hope of being resupplied. The stores were completely exhausted, so if they had not been able to drive the French back on that day, it is quite possible that Turin would have been successfully conquered by the French.

Dang Interesting...

I love fascinating articles about trivia, history etc. And I have been reading pretty regularly the articles that are published to the blog "Dang Interesting" (PG version of the site name)

Literally there every article is more interesting than the last. Take a look I am sure you will find it interesting reading. Below are some the articles that I found particularly interesting.

The Man Who Started The War

Monster Rogue Waves

The Tragedy of Love Canal

The Most Powerful Bomb Ever Constructed