Habsburg Spain had dominated Italy since the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559; their possessions included the kingdoms of Sardinia, Naples and Sicily, along with a number of territories in the north, the most important being the Duchy of Milan.

[2] In early 1701, French troops occupied Milan and Mantua on his behalf and Louis XIV allied with Victor Amadeus of Savoy, whose daughter Maria Luisa married Philip.

[8] The War of the Spanish Succession was fought in a number of linked but separate theatres, the most important being those in Northern Italy, the Low Countries and Spain, where the Allies were backing the claim of Archduke Charles, younger brother of Emperor Joseph.

[9] However, the Austrian Habsburgs viewed Italy as more important to their long-term security than Spain and it was their refusal to agree the cession of Naples, Sicily and Milan to France that led to the failure of the Treaty of London (1700) and the outbreak of war in 1701.

Its capture would confirm Allied naval supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, allow them to support the Protestant Camisard revolt in Southern France, divert Bourbon forces from Spain, and regain the French-occupied Savoyard territories of Villefranche and the County of Savoy.