Royal Sardinian Army

Royal Sardinian Army
Flag of the Royal Sardinian Army
Active	1414 - 1861
Country	Duchy of Savoy Kingdom of Sardinia
Type	Army
Role	Defense of the interior and borders of the Kingdom of Sardinia's continental portion (Piedmont, Liguria, Savoy and the Aosta Valley)
Size	79,000 (in 1859)
Engagements	War of the Mantuan Succession Nine Years' War War of the Spanish Succession War of the Polish Succession War of the Austrian Succession First Italian War of Independence Crimean War Second Italian War of Independence

The Royal Sardinian Army (also the Sardinian Army, the Royal Sardo-Piedmontese Army, the Savoyard Army or simply the Piedmontese Army) was the army of the Duchy of Savoy and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was active from 1416 until it became the Royal Italian Army on 4 May 1861.

Generally, the term "Savoyard Army" is used for the period when the rulers of Savoy held only the title of Duke, while "Sardinian Army" is preferred for the period after they obtained the title of King of Sardinia in 1720.

The Savoyard Army was officially established in the 15th century, when the Duchy of Savoy was created. During this period, the army of the Savoyard lands was concentrated at bases in Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, where it was maintained by the local feudal lords who in exchange for the command of some regiments, maintained them for state service and stationed them on the land in the meantime. It was Duke Emmanuel Philibert who was largely responsible for the radical reforms of the army which made it a stable component of the state and disconnected it from the local feudatories at the same time. As part of this, he created the "peasant militia" on 5 July 1566. With this, the command of the army officially passed into the hands of the Duke of Savoy. Since there were no limits on age or length of service, many soldiers remained in service for a very long time, which had a deleterious impact on the army. There was little or nothing in the way of training and the resulting force left a lot to be desired on campaign.

In the seventeenth century, the Piedmontese army underwent notable reforms. The cause of these substantial changes was the foreign policy undertaken by the Savoyard government and new internal conditions. During the first half of the seventeenth century, the Savoyard army was not a solid force, but varied significantly in periods of peace and war and was essentially composed of regiments recruited from the nobility in the pay of the Duke, regiments of mercenaries, and Protestant regiments (mostly consisting of French Hugenots). In 1664, "proprietary" regiments of the Duke were first created, which bore the Duke's coat of arms as a flag rather than the arms of their individual commanders.