his militia to attack the Franco-Spanish lines of communication in the Stura Valley. The brilliance of this plan was that as long as the first aim kept Conti and La Mina preoccupied with the main Sardinian army and completely unaware of the other four aims, then the King would not need to win the coming battle. With the other aims fulfilled and winter and the snow closing in, the French and Spanish would be forced to disengage from the siege and retreat into France. The King of Sardinia was playing for time. The battle Late in September, Charles Emmanuel advanced his army from Saluzzo towards Cuneo while at the same time Conti moved his army towards the Piedmontese. By the close of day on September 29, Conti occupied a position between Caraglio and Madonna dell'Olmo, whilst on the morning of 30 September Charles Emmanuel moved his army into position opposite Conti's. The engagement began around noon when the Croats (on loan from Austria) in the Sardinian army charged towards Madonna dell'Olmo. The Croat attack, however, was repulsed by the Spanish and even Charles Emmanuel's grenadiers could make no headway. On the opposite flank the French could not get to grips with the Piedmontese because of a ditch and some barricades barring the way. In the centre, however, Conti made excellent use of his artillery, which provided cover for a French infantry attack. The battle for the centre lay in the balance until Charles Emmanuel, realising that he would not be able to capture Madonna dell'Olmo, ordered an orderly retreat. By nightfall the two armies had disengaged. Out of a total number of 25,000, the King of Sardinia had lost 4,400 men, whilst the Bourbon losses were a little over half their enemies at 2,700 men killed or wounded. Furthermore, Conti still had his army intact. Aftermath Although victory had gone to the Franco-Spanish army, it became apparent that evening that Charles Emmanuel's brilliantly conceived plan had fulfilled most of its objectives. Although the Bourbon outposts around Cuneo were intact, the siege works had been destroyed, the garrison re-supplied and reinforced, and Conti's communications had been cut. Further problems followed when it began to rain on the first of October, the trenches flooded and roads were wiped out. At a council of war on 11 October it was decided that with winter approaching and the Franco-Spanish Army even further from their