Franco-Venetian victory
101-676: 22,200 men The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano , 16 km southeast of Milan . It pitted the French army, composed of the best heavy cavalry and artillery in the world, led by Francis I , newly crowned King of France , against the Old Swiss Confederacy , whose mercenaries until that point were regarded as
202-485: A small force of verlorene Haufen could be used as "bait", to draw forward enemy formations and so expose them to the main force of Landsknecht behind. They also had to withstand the first wave of attacks when defending a breastwork . Members of the verlorene Haufen earned double pay, thus giving them the name of Doppelsöldner ('Double-wagers'). Since there were not enough volunteers for this assignment, criminals who had been sentenced to death were taken into
303-592: A French army of about 40,000 soldiers and moved rapidly into Venetian territory. To oppose him, Venice had hired a condottiere army under the command of the Orsini cousins—Bartolomeo d'Alviano and Niccolò di Pitigliano —but had failed to account for their disagreement on how best to stop the French advance. On 14 May, Alviano confronted the French at the Battle of Agnadello ; outnumbered, he sent requests for reinforcements to his cousin, who replied with orders to break off
404-561: A Holy League against France. The new alliance included not only Spain and the Holy Roman Empire (which abandoned any pretense of adhering to the League of Cambrai in hopes of seizing Navarre from Queen Catherine and Lombardy from Louis), but also Henry VIII of England who, having decided to use the occasion as an excuse to expand his holdings in northern France, concluded the Treaty of Westminster—a pledge of mutual aid against
505-715: A combined Franco-Imperial army, but Louis, frustrated by Maximilian's failure to appear in person and distracted by the death of his advisor, the Cardinal d'Amboise , abandoned his plans for a siege. Julius, meanwhile, had become increasingly concerned by the growing French presence in Italy; more significantly, alienated from Alfonso d'Este by friction over a licence for a salt monopoly in the Papal States and Alfonso's continued forays against Venetian forces to secure his recently reacquired Polesine, he had formulated plans to seize
606-842: A company of men-at-arms. Sensing Cesare's weakness, the dispossessed lords of the Romagna offered to submit to the Republic of Venice in exchange for aid in regaining their dominions; the Venetian Senate accepted and had taken possession of Rimini , Faenza , and a number of other cities by the end of 1503. Julius II, having secured his own control of the Papal armies by arresting and imprisoning Cesare, first in Bologna and later in Ravenna, quickly moved to re-establish Papal control over
707-463: A dozen artillery pieces. Close to sunset, the Swiss approached the French in three divisions of their own, each a dense mass of pikemen. They had no artillery or cavalry, and had learned in past actions that a rapid advance into the enemy would sweep all before them. At Marignano, the battle began with a “ forlorn hope ” detaching from the Swiss vanguard phalanx, and charging the grand battery in front of
808-583: A force of cavalry and 6,000 Landsknechts recruited from the Netherlands known as the Black Band of Gueldern. Finally, the rearguard, a further kilometer to the center's rear, was led by the King's brother-in-law, Charles IV, Duke of Alençon . Unlike the French force, which had a good mix of pikemen, arquebuses, and cavalry, the Swiss force consisted almost entirely of pike infantry and only fielded less than
909-466: A pension of 7,000 scudi. Also present at the battle was Huldrych Zwingli , who since 1506 had been church patron at Glarus . In Glarus, there was political controversy on which side the young men seeking employment as mercenaries should take service, the side of France or that of the Holy Roman Empire and the Papal States . The aim was to prevent that men of Glarus took service on both sides of
1010-410: A second wave with better prospects could be sent in while the defenders were reloading or engaged in mopping up the remnants of the first wave. That said, such soldiers were rarely suicidal or foolhardy: British troops of the forlorn hope at the 1812 Siege of Badajoz carried a large bag (5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 m) by 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter) stuffed with hay or straw, which was thrown down into
1111-650: A treaty pledging to divide all of northern Italy between France and the Republic was signed at Blois . Pope Julius II, meanwhile, had died in February, and Cardinal Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent and elder brother of the new ruler of Florence, was elected Pope Leo X . In late May 1513, a French army commanded by Louis de la Trémoille crossed the Alps and advanced on Milan; at
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#17327868082981212-520: Is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended fortification, or a rearguard, to be expended to save a retreating army, where the risk of casualties is high. Such men were volunteers motivated by the promise of reward or promotion, or men under punishment offered pardon for their offenses, if they survived. The term comes from
1313-609: Is an early example. With the rise of a professional soldiery in the Middle Ages , the idea of troops undertaking such tasks for reward gave rise to their description as a "forlorn hope". In the New Model Army of the English Civil War , the "forlorn hopes" could lead a storming attack, be positioned in advance of the vanguard , or be left behind to protect the rearguard . Men were assigned to these roles by
1414-472: The Battle of Novara (1513) , and returned to its ducal throne Massimiliano , son of Ludovico Sforza , to make Milan a protectorate of Switzerland. The prologue to the battle was an Alpine passage, in which Francis hauled pieces of artillery (72 huge cannons) over new-made roads over the Col d'Argentière , a previously unknown route. At Villafranca the French, led by Jacques de la Palice , surprised and captured
1515-549: The British Army in the Peninsular War of 1808–1814. In the days of muzzle-loading muskets , the term was most frequently used to refer to the first wave of soldiers attacking a breach in defenses during a siege . While it was likely that most members of the forlorn hope would be killed or wounded, the intention was that some would survive long enough to seize a foothold that could be reinforced, or, at least, that
1616-729: The Duchy for his family. The French garrisons abandoned the Romagna (where the Duke of Urbino quickly captured Bologna and Parma ) and retreated to Lombardy, attempting to intercept the invasion. By August, the Swiss had combined with the Venetian army and forced Trivulzio out of Milan, allowing Sforza to be proclaimed Duke with their support; La Palice was then forced to withdraw across the Alps. In 1512 Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset led an unsuccessful English military expedition to France to reconquer Aquitaine , which England had lost during
1717-511: The Duchy of Ferrara , a French ally, and to add its territory to the Papal States. His own forces being inadequate for the venture, the Pope hired an army of Swiss mercenaries , ordering them to attack the French in Milan; he also invited Venice to ally with him against Louis. The Republic, facing a renewed French onslaught, readily accepted the offer. By July 1510, the new Veneto-Papal alliance
1818-716: The Duke of Ferrara . In return, Leo received guarantees of French noninterference in his proposed attack on the Duchy of Urbino . Finally, the Treaty of Noyon, signed by Francis and Charles V in August 1516, recognized French claims to Milan and Spanish claims to Naples, removing Spain from the war. Maximilian held out, making another attempt to invade Lombardy; his army failed to reach Milan before turning back, and by December 1516, he had entered into negotiations with Francis. The resulting Treaty of Brussels not only accepted French occupation of Milan, but also confirmed Venetian claims to
1919-568: The Dutch verloren hoop , literally "lost heap". The term was used in military contexts to denote a troop formation. In the 16th century, when English-speakers first encountered the phrase, it was misheard as "forlorn hope", giving an added meaning to the term. While verloren is correctly identified with the English "forlorn" (both words stemming from the Proto-Germanic ferliusan ),
2020-535: The Hundred Years' War . Ferdinand of Aragon gave none of the support he had promised. While Ferdinand delayed and tried to persuade Dorset to help him to attack Navarre instead of Aquitaine, the English army's food, beer, and pay ran out, many took to wine and became ill, and the army mutinied. Back in England, Dorset had to face a trial. In late August, the members of the League met at Mantua to discuss
2121-577: The National Gallery of Canada , Ottawa); and the most famous musical composition of Clément Janequin , the chanson La guerre . The Swiss hero Hans Bär appears in a fresco on the tower of the Basel City Hall . The march Marignan (Marignano in the French language), composed in 1939 by Jean Daetwyler , is the official orchestral hymn of the Swiss canton Valais . War of the League of Cambrai Franco-Venetian victory In
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#17327868082982222-820: The canton Ticino (while the Three Leagues lost control of the Valtellina in 1797). The "Perpetual Peace" with France was indeed kept for the remainder of the lifetime of the Kingdom of France , and was broken only during the French Revolutionary Wars , when the French Republic invaded Switzerland in 1798. It opened a period of close ties between the Swiss Confederacy with France over the next three centuries (while at
2323-723: The 1520s, dividing the Confederacy into two factions which would be occupied with internal hostilities throughout the period of the European Wars of Religion , as well as a number of painful defeats of Swiss mercenary regiments in the decade between 1515 and 1525 (at Bicocca , Sesia and Pavia ). After lengthy negotiations, a peace treaty between the Thirteen Cantons and their allies ( abbot and city of St. Gallen, Three Leagues , Valais , Mulhouse ) on one hand and Francis as both King of France and Duke of Milan on
2424-466: The Confederacy never went to war again at all after 1525, and (apart from the conquest of Vaud by the canton of Bern acting on its own in 1536) there never was any Swiss military offensive against an external enemy again. Swiss historiography has tended to attribute this to the "lesson learned" at Marignano, but at least as effective was the division created by the Swiss Reformation in
2525-508: The Dutch term (i.e., lost heap ), the word Haufen itself being a general term for a company of Landsknecht . In French such a band was known as les enfants perdus — "the lost children". The notion of a band of volunteers undertaking a near-suicidal mission to lead an advance or guard a retreat is possibly as old as warfare itself; the story of Horatius at the bridge , in Roman times,
2626-470: The Dutch word hoop (in its sense of "heap" in English) is not cognate with English "hope": this is an example of folk etymology . This folk etymology has been strengthened by the fact that in Dutch, the word hoop is a homograph meaning "hope" as well as "heap", although the two senses have different etymologies. In German , the term was Verlorene Haufen , which has the same meaning as
2727-459: The French army would be diverted to deal with the impending English invasion, Foix and Alfonso d'Este besieged Ravenna, the last Papal stronghold in the Romagna, in hopes of forcing the Holy League into a decisive engagement. Cardona marched to relieve the city in early April 1512, and was decisively beaten in the resulting Battle of Ravenna , fought on Easter Sunday; the death of Foix during
2828-414: The French gendarmerie against the stubborn Swiss. Only the mid-morning arrival of allied Venetian forces commanded by the condottiero Bartolomeo d'Alviano turned the tide against the Swiss. Their attacks repulsed everywhere, their ranks in bloody shambles, they grudgingly gave ground and withdrew by forming a single gigantic open square, maintaining extraordinary discipline in their retreat. The battle
2929-488: The French—with Ferdinand on 17 November. Louis now appointed his nephew, Gaston de Foix , to command the French forces in Italy. Foix proved more energetic than d'Amboise and Trivulzio had been; having checked the advance of Ramón de Cardona 's Spanish troops on Bologna, he returned to Lombardy to sack Brescia , which had rebelled against the French and garrisoned itself with Venetian troops. Aware that much of
3030-524: The Holy Land (1095–1291) Later Crusades (1291–1717) Northern (1147–1410) Against Christians (1209–1588) Popular (1096–1320) The War of the League of Cambrai , sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of
3131-534: The Imperial coronation as a pretext, entered Venetian territory with a large army in February 1508 and advanced on Vicenza , but was defeated by a Venetian army under Bartolomeo d'Alviano ( Battle of Cadore , 2 March 1508). A second assault by a Tyrolean force several weeks later was an even greater failure; Alviano not only routed the Imperial army but also seized the entire County of Gorizia , Austrian Istria (county of Pazin ), as well as Trieste , Fiume , and
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3232-497: The King’s position in the center with lowered pikes. Their intent, justified by experience in other battles, was to quickly overrun the French cannon and then turn them upon their owners. At first the Swiss attack succeeded in driving back the landsknecht defenders and capturing a few of the guns, the speed of the Swiss advance rendering their fire ineffective. But Bourbon’s cavalry from the French right counter-attacked their flank, driving
3333-513: The League of Cambrai against the Republic. The agreement provided for the complete dismemberment of Venice's territory in Italy and for its partition among the signatories: Maximilian, in addition to regaining Gorizia , Trieste , Merania , and eastern Istria , would receive Verona , Vicenza, Padua , and the Friuli ; France would annex Brescia , Crema , Bergamo , and Cremona to its Milanese possessions; Ferdinand would seize Otranto ; and
3434-405: The League was initially successful, friction between Julius and Louis caused it to collapse by 1510; Julius then allied himself with Venice against France. The Veneto–Papal alliance eventually expanded into the Holy League, which drove the French from Italy in 1512; disagreements about the division of the spoils, however, led Venice to abandon the coalition in favor of an alliance with France. Under
3535-556: The Marshal Gian Giacomo Trivulzio , took possession of two shallow rises near San Giuliano. This formation consisted of crossbowmen (protected by earthworks and pavise shields) on the left, a large square of Landsknecht infantry at the center, and arquebusiers on the right, covering the artillery, which was arrayed in a crescent shape along the south-eastern and eastern edges of the formation. Two kilometers to their rear, Francis I of France personally led
3636-469: The Papal commander, Prospero Colonna , in a daring cavalry raid deep behind the allied lines (the Chevalier Bayard providing the impetus and expertise). Colonna and his staff aside, the French seized a great deal of booty on the raid, including 600 horses. The capture of Colonna, along with the startling appearance of the French army on the plains of Piedmont , stunned the allies. The Pope and
3737-455: The Pope traveled to Bologna, so as to be nearby when Ferrara was taken. The French army, however, had been left unopposed by the Swiss (who, having arrived in Lombardy, had been bribed into leaving by Louis) and was free to march south into the heart of Italy. In early October, Charles II d'Amboise advanced on Bologna, splitting the Papal forces; by 18 October, he was only a few miles from
3838-572: The Republic when the Venetian ships anchored in the Po River were sunk by Ferrarese artillery. Faced with a shortage of both funds and men, the Senate decided to send an embassy to Julius in order to negotiate a settlement. The terms insisted on by the Pope were harsh: the Republic lost her traditional power to appoint clergy in her territory, as well as all jurisdiction over Papal subjects in Venice,
3939-440: The Republic; for the next two years he instead occupied himself with the reconquest of Bologna and Perugia , which, located between Papal and Venetian territory, had in the meantime assumed a status of quasi-independence. In 1507, Julius returned to the question of the cities in Venetian hands; once again rebuffed by the Senate, he encouraged Emperor Maximilian I to attack the Republic. Maximilian, using his journey to Rome for
4040-569: The Romagna by demanding that Venice return the cities she had seized. The Republic of Venice, although willing to acknowledge Papal sovereignty over these port cities along the Adriatic coast and willing to pay Julius II an annual tribute, refused to surrender the cities themselves. In response, Julius concluded an alliance with France and the Holy Roman Empire against Venice; the death of Isabella I of Castile (26 November 1504) and
4141-609: The Romagnan cities that had prompted the war were to be returned to Julius, and reparations were to be paid to cover his expenses in capturing them. The Senate argued over the terms for two months, but finally accepted them in February 1510; even before the Venetian ambassadors had presented themselves to Julius for absolution , however, the Council of Ten had privately resolved that the terms had been accepted under duress and were therefore invalid, and that Venice should violate them at
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4242-585: The Roman Republic ). The commanding officer was virtually guaranteed both a promotion and a long-term boost to his career prospects if he survived. In consequence, despite the grave risks involved for all concerned, there was often serious competition for the opportunity to lead such an assault and to display conspicuous valor. The French equivalent of the forlorn hope, called Les Enfants Perdus ('The Lost Children'), were all guaranteed promotion should they survive. Both enlisted men and officers joined
4343-650: The Romans , crossing into Venetian territory in February 1508 with his army on the way to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in Rome. Meanwhile, Pope Julius II , intending to curb Venetian influence in northern Italy , brought together the League of Cambrai —an anti-Venetian alliance consisting of him, Maximilian I, Louis XII of France , and Ferdinand II of Aragon —which was formally concluded in December 1508. Although
4444-475: The Swiss army pursued the fleeing French over the Alps and had reached Dijon before being bribed into withdrawing. The rout at Novara inaugurated a period of defeats for the French alliance. English troops under Henry VIII besieged Thérouanne , defeated La Palice at the Battle of the Spurs , and captured Tournai . In Navarre, resistance to Ferdinand's invasion collapsed; he rapidly consolidated his hold over
4545-444: The Swiss army to return home, fresh troops also arrived from the Swiss cantons who refused to abide by the treaty. Discord swept through the Swiss forces until Matthäus Schiner , cardinal of Sion and an arch-enemy of King Francis, tricked the Swiss into doing battle with a far superior force by exaggerating the extent of a minor skirmish. The Swiss issued forth from Milan in disciplined columns. The Swiss encountered Francis's forces at
4646-466: The Swiss both sought terms with Francis, while the Spanish allies en route from Naples halted to await developments. The main Swiss army retreated to Milan, while a large faction, tired of the war and eager to return home with the booty of years of successful campaigning, urged terms with the French. Though the parties reached a peace agreement that gave Milan back to the French, leading large portions of
4747-553: The Swiss defeat were their failure to capture the enemy artillery during the early phase of the battle and the arrival of the Venetians. But also contributing to the Swiss defeat were their lack of discipline and their ineffective command structure. Earlier in the same year of 1515, the Swiss diet had granted to each captain the authority to decide whether their company would continue their campaign or retreat. This made it impossible for
4848-432: The Swiss forces to act as a unit. The system of command consisted two captains elected as commanders-in-chief, besides the captains of the individual companies, as well as one representative elected by the men-at-arms of each canton. These commanders would vote on the policy of the Swiss army. In practice, this system broke down as soon as it was put to the test: the captains decided to honour the agreement not to attack, while
4949-428: The Swiss from pushing farther forward. Still another French cavalry charge, this time led by Bayard, forced the attacking Swiss to give ground. Baffled by the artillery but as yet undaunted, the Swiss refocused their assault against Alençon’s left-wing division. After making some headway, this attack too was thrown back. In his report later to his mother, King Francis would boast that “thirty brave charges” were hurled by
5050-619: The Swiss infantry. French success at Marignano, however, eventually galvanized opposition in the divided peninsula and turned the European balance of power against Francis I. In the meantime, however, Francis gained the city, and more importantly, the Castello Sforzesco within it, the strategic key to control of Lombardy . There Massimiliano Sforza and his Swiss mercenaries and the cardinal - bishop of Sion retreated, only submitting when French sappers had placed mines under
5151-478: The Venetian nobility, pursued Cardona and confronted him outside Vicenza on 7 October; in the resulting Battle of La Motta , the Venetian army was decisively defeated, with many prominent noblemen cut down outside the city walls as they attempted to flee. Cardona and Alviano continued to skirmish in the Friuli for the remainder of 1513 and through 1514. The death of Louis XII on 1 January 1515 brought Francis I to
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#17327868082985252-608: The Veneto, pursued closely by the Spanish army under Cardona; while the Spanish were unable to capture Padua in the face of determined Venetian resistance, they penetrated deep into Venetian territory and by late September were in sight of Venice itself. Cardona attempted a bombardment of the city that proved largely ineffective; then, having no boats with which to cross the Venetian Lagoon , turned back for Lombardy. Alviano, having been reinforced by hundreds of volunteers from
5353-446: The Veneto. Because of a lack of horses, as well as general disorganization, Maximilian's forces were slow to begin the siege of Padua , giving Pitigliano the time to concentrate such troops as were still available to him in the city. Although French and Imperial artillery successfully breached Padua's walls, the defenders managed to hold the city until Maximilian, growing impatient, lifted the siege on 1 October and withdrew to Tyrol with
5454-494: The Veneto. Julius, having in the meantime issued an interdict against Venice that excommunicated every citizen of the Republic, invaded the Romagna and captured Ravenna with the assistance of Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara . D'Este, having joined the League and been appointed Gonfalonier on 19 April, seized the Polesine for himself. The newly arrived Imperial governors, however, quickly proved to be unpopular. In mid-July,
5555-512: The ancient style, by the hand of none other than the Chevalier Bayard. Marshal Gian Giacomo Trivulzio , veteran of every war for the previous 40 years, praised Marignano as the “battle of giants” and stated that compared to it, all previous battles in his lifetime had been “child’s sport”. Marignano established the superiority of French cast bronze artillery and gendarme cavalry over the heretofore invincible phalanx tactics of
5656-408: The battle and continued on his way. Alviano, disregarding the new orders, continued the engagement; his army was eventually surrounded and destroyed. Pitigliano managed to avoid encountering Louis; but his mercenary troops, hearing of Alviano's defeat, had deserted in large numbers by the next morning, forcing him to retreat to Treviso with the remnants of the Venetian army. The Venetian collapse
5757-466: The best medieval infantry force in Europe. With the French were German landsknechts , bitter rivals of the Swiss for fame and renown in war, and their late arriving Venetian allies. The campaign of Marignano followed years of Swiss successes, during which French fortunes in northern Italy had suffered greatly. The Swiss had taken control of Milan (for France the gateway to Italy) after their victory at
5858-552: The case of future disputes. France offered another 300,000 crowns if the Swiss were willing to yield their transmontane territories (except for Bellinzona), but this offer was declined. The treaty furthermore granted trade privileges to the Swiss, both in Milan and in Lyon . Only the Ossola valley was passed back to Milan, while the other transmontane bailiwicks of the Swiss Confederacy remain part of Switzerland to this day, since 1803 as
5959-468: The citizens of Padua, aided by detachments of Venetian cavalry under the command of the proveditor Andrea Gritti , revolted. The landsknechts garrisoning the city were too few in number to mount effective resistance, and Padua was restored to Venetian control on 17 July. The success of the revolt finally pushed Maximilian into action. In early August, a massive Imperial army, accompanied by bodies of French and Spanish troops, set out from Trento into
6060-563: The city. Julius now realized that the Bolognese were openly hostile to the Papacy and would not offer any resistance to the French; left with only a detachment of Venetian cavalry, he resorted to excommunicating d'Amboise, who had in the meantime been convinced by the English ambassador to avoid attacking the person of the Pope and had thus withdrawn to Ferrara. In December 1510, a newly assembled Papal army conquered Concordia and besieged
6161-457: The city. On the subject of territory, however, fundamental disagreements quickly arose. Julius and the Venetians insisted that Maximilian Sforza be permitted to keep the Duchy of Milan, while Emperor Maximilian and Ferdinand maneuvered to have one of their relatives installed as duke. The Pope demanded the annexation of Ferrara to the Papal States; Ferdinand objected to this arrangement, desiring
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#17327868082986262-457: The darkest hours, the fighting stopped, and both armies extracted themselves and reorganized. During the night, some of the Swiss soldiers, and even entire units, slipped away from the battlefield rather than fight another day. Those that remained were determined and the battle commenced again the following morning. In the French center, the grand battery had been reassembled. Opposing them, the Swiss had reformed their largest phalanx. Encouraged by
6363-498: The defense of the city, was no better liked by the Bolognese than Julius himself had been; and when, in May 1511, a French army commanded by Gian Giacomo Trivulzio approached, the citizens of Bologna revolted, expelled Alidosi, and opened their gates to the French. Julius blamed this defeat on the Duke of Urbino, who, finding this quite unfair, proceeded to murder Alidosi in full view of the Papal guard. In October 1511, Julius proclaimed
6464-489: The disaster at Marignano and began to preach against the "red caps" ( rote hüetlin , i.e. the high clergy), the first signs of his radicalization that would culminate in the Swiss Reformation during the decade following Marignano. Commemorating the event are a bas-relief of the Battle of Marignano by Pierre Bontemps , which decorates Francis I's tomb at Saint-Denis ; a painting by Antoine Caron for Fontainebleau (now at
6565-440: The drawing of lots , on the principle that divine providence would intervene in the selection and also decide the fate of those selected. The royalist forces also used the tactic. In the German mercenary armies of the Landsknecht , these troops were called the verlorene Haufen , and carried long double-handed swords , with which they had to hew their way through the massive pike formations opposing them. Alternatively,
6666-475: The earliest opportunity. This apparent reconciliation between Venice and the Pope did not stop multiple French, Ferrarese, and Imperial armies from invading Venetian territory in May 1510. Gianpaolo Baglioni and Andrea Gritti, left in command of the Venetian forces by Pitigliano's death in January, withdrew to Padua; by 24 May, the League's armies had taken Vicenza and the Polesine, and were advancing on Legnago . Gritti fortified Padua for an expected attack by
6767-450: The enemy trenches to create a cushion and prevent injury as they jumped down. A forlorn hope may have been composed of volunteers and conscripted criminals, and were frequently led by ambitious junior officers with hopes of personal advancement: if the volunteers survived, and performed courageously, they would be expected to benefit in the form of promotions, cash gifts, and added glory to their name (a military tradition at least as old as
6868-426: The entire region and moved to support another English offensive in the Guyenne . James IV of Scotland invaded England at the behest of Louis; but he failed to draw Henry's attention from France, and his death—and the Scots' catastrophic defeat—at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513, ended Scotland 's brief involvement in the war. Meanwhile, Alviano, unexpectedly left without French support, retreated into
6969-403: The evening before, the Swiss once again lowered pikes and charged the French guns. This time the grand battery was ready for them. Massed cannon fire tore bloody furrows deep in their ranks, slowing the advance. But the undaunted Swiss continually closed ranks and pushed forward. Again, the defending German landsknechts were driven back; but the massed fire of the guns at point blank range prevented
7070-416: The existence of an independent Ferrara to counter growing Papal power. The Emperor refused to relinquish any Imperial territory, which in his eyes included most of the Veneto, and signed an agreement with the Pope to exclude Venice entirely from the final partition; when the Republic objected, Julius threatened to reform the League of Cambrai against her. In response, Venice turned to Louis; on 23 March 1513,
7171-433: The fighting, however, left the French under the command of Jacques de la Palice , who, unwilling to continue the campaign without direct orders from Louis, contented himself with thoroughly sacking Ravenna. By May 1512, the French position had deteriorated considerably. Julius had hired another army of Swiss mercenaries; they descended on Milan, bringing with them Maximilian Sforza , who was determined to regain control of
7272-455: The following six weeks, granting the king of France, among other things, the right to nominate candidates for all vacancies in bishoprics or abbeys, subject to confirmation by the pope. The Concordat was signed by Pope Leo X on 15 August 1516. Also at the meeting in Bologna was Leonardo da Vinci , whom Francis persuaded to accompany him back to France, and granted him the Clos Lucé manor and
7373-471: The foremost French commanders were wounded or killed in the desperate night fighting, including the Prince of Tallemont, son of Louis II de la Trémoille , who died with sixty-two wounds on his body. The Black Legion counter-attacked and threw back the Swiss, only to be repulsed in turn. Bayard had to cut his way through the Swiss phalanx to rescue the Duke of Lorraine, stranded in the dark amongst his enemies. In
7474-447: The forlorn hope back to the shelter of the Swiss vanguard. The pursuing French horse were themselves forced to retreat back a full kilometer after taking heavy losses. Smoke and the coming of night obscured the battle; in the moonlight and confusion, the outcome hung in the balance. Furious French cavalry charges, often led by the king himself, with Bayard at his side, succeeded time and again in throwing back temporary Swiss gains. Many of
7575-545: The formation of Switzerland as a federal state . On 11 December 1515, Francis met with Pope Leo X in Bologna . After several lengthy conversations, it was agreed that Francis would renounce the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges , and the pope would accept Francis' demands in the matter of the selection of French bishops. The terms of a concordat between France and the Papacy were negotiated by plenipotentiaries over
7676-587: The fortress of Mirandola ; d'Amboise, marching to relieve the latter, fell ill and died, briefly leaving the French in disarray; the pope took personal command of the siege, and Mirandola fell in January 1511. Alfonso d'Este, meanwhile, confronted and destroyed the Venetian forces on the Po River, leaving Bologna isolated once more; Julius, afraid of being trapped by the French, departed the city for Ravenna. Cardinal Francesco Alidosi , whom he left behind to command
7777-433: The foundations. The French regained Milan, and Massimiliano went into luxurious exile with a French purse of 30,000 ducats. The retreating Swiss army retained control of their upper-Lombardy provinces of Bellinzona and adjacent valleys , leaving a rearguard to preside over them. The battle ended once and for all Swiss aspirations in Milan, and the Swiss Confederacy never again went to war against France or Milan. In fact,
7878-450: The leadership of Francis I , who had succeeded Louis on the throne of France, the French and Venetians would regain the territory they had lost in a campaign culminating in the Battle of Marignano in 1515; the treaties of Noyon (August 1516) and Brussels (December 1516), which ended the war the next year, would essentially return the map of Italy to the status quo of 1508. This is an overview of notable events including battles during
7979-433: The little burnt-out village of Marignano on a plain dotted with vineyards, farm fields, small orchards, and pastures. A treaty signed, the French were not expecting battle. Francis was in his tent, trying on a new suit of armor, when scouts reported the coming of the Swiss. The French army quickly sprang into action, forming up in three divisions. The French vanguard, under the joint command of Charles III, Duke of Bourbon and
8080-411: The main part of his army. In mid-November, Pitigliano returned to the offensive, recapturing Vicenza , Este , Feltre , and Belluno ; an attack on Verona failed, but Pitigliano destroyed a Papal army under Francesco II of Gonzaga in the process. Angelo Trevisan organized a river attack on Ferrara by the Venetian galley fleet, but the resulting Battle of Polesella ended in another defeat for
8181-407: The morning of 14 September, led to a decisive victory for Francis and the Venetians. After the victory at Marignano, Francis advanced on Milan, capturing the city on 4 October and removing Sforza from the throne. In December, he met with Leo at Bologna; the pope, who had in the meantime been deserted by the remainder of his Swiss mercenaries, surrendered Parma and Piacenza to Francis and Modena to
8282-538: The other was signed in Fribourg on 29 November 1516. In the treaty of Fribourg, known as "Perpetual Peace" ( Ewiger Frieden , Paix perpétuelle ), the Swiss Confederacy renounced all claims to the protectorate of Milan. In return, France paid 700,000 gold crowns in compensation to the Confederacy. Both parties agreed to abstain from giving any support to enemies of the other party (with the exception of pre-existing treaties) and agreed on an arrangement of arbitration in
8383-598: The peace of 1516, Zwingli was forced to abandon his position in Glarus. He took employment at Einsiedeln , and from 1519 in Zürich . Based on his experience in the Italian War, Zwingli became an outspoken opponent of mercenary service, arguing with Erasmus of Rotterdam that "war is sweet only to those who have not experienced it" ( dulce bellum inexpertis ). He also blamed the warmongery on the part of cardinal Schiner for
8484-406: The ranks as well. As a field sign, the verlorene Haufen carried a red Blutfahne ('Blood Banner'). By extension, the term forlorn hope became used for any body of troops placed in a hazardous position, e.g., an exposed outpost, or the defenders of an outwork in advance of the main defensive position. This usage was especially common in accounts of the English Civil War , as well as in
8585-460: The region when Alexander died on 18 August 1503. Although Cesare managed to seize the remnants of the Papal treasury for his own use, he was unable to secure Rome itself, as French and Spanish armies converged on the city in an attempt to influence the Papal conclave ; the election of Pius III (who soon died, to be replaced by Julius II ) stripped Cesare of his titles and relegated him to commanding
8686-535: The remainder of the Imperial possessions in Lombardy (except for Cremona), effectively ending the war with a return to the status quo of 1508. The peace, however, would last only four years; the growing rivalry between the House of Valois and the House of Habsburg , and the election of Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, would soon lead to the Italian War of 1521–26 . Forlorn hope A forlorn hope
8787-620: The remainder, including Rimini and Ravenna , would be added to the Papal States. The danger to the Republic of Venice was imminent, so in April 1509 the Venetian Senate immediately ordered to assemble an army of about 50,000 soldiers in Pontevico , along the Oglio river , while the main Venetian generals assembled in its Castle . On 9 May 1509, Louis crossed the Adda River at the head of
8888-408: The representatives of the troops, especially those of Uri, Schwyz, and Glarus, decided to attack regardless, motivated by the prospect of rich spoils. “I have vanquished those whom only Caesar vanquished” was printed on the medal King Francis ordered struck to commemorate the victory. Considering the battle his most cherished triumph, Francis requested that he himself be knighted on the battlefield, in
8989-471: The resulting collapse of relations between the parties soon dissolved the alliance (the Treaty of Blois (1504) , which had ended the Italian Wars of 1499–1504 , became a 'dead letter'), but not before Venice had been induced to abandon several of the cities, except for the three key towns of Rimini, Faenza and Cervia. Julius, although unsatisfied with his gains, did not himself possess sufficient forces to fight
9090-571: The same time Switzerland moved away from its association with the Holy Roman Empire ). A next step of rapprochement to France was the service pact ( Soldbündnis ) with France, concluded in 1521, which made Swiss mercenary regiments a regular part of the French armed forces (see Gardes Suisses ). This arrangement also outlasted three centuries, with four Swiss regiments participating in Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, foreign military service of Swiss citizens being finally outlawed in 1848 with
9191-594: The same time, Bartolomeo d'Alviano and the Venetian army marched west from Padua. The unpopularity of Maximilian Sforza, who was seen by the Milanese as a puppet of his Swiss mercenaries, enabled the French to move through Lombardy with little resistance; Trémoille, having seized Milan, besieged the remaining Swiss in Novara . On 6 June, the French were attacked by a Swiss relief army at the Battle of Novara , and were routed despite having superior numbers. Detachments of
9292-481: The situation in Italy and the partition of territory acquired from the French. They quickly came to an agreement regarding Florence , which had angered Julius by allowing Louis to convene the Council of Pisa in its territory; at the Pope's request, Ramon de Cardona marched into Tuscany , smashed Florentine resistance, overthrew the Florentine Republic , and installed Giuliano de' Medici as ruler of
9393-509: The throne; having assumed the title of Duke of Milan at his coronation, Francis immediately moved to reclaim his holdings in Italy. By July, Francis had assembled an army in the Dauphiné ; a combined Swiss and Papal force moved north from Milan to block the Alpine passes against him, but Francis, following the advice of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, avoided the main passes and marched instead through
9494-500: The valley of the Stura . The French vanguard surprised the Milanese cavalry at Villafranca , capturing Prospero Colonna ; meanwhile, Francis and the main body of the French confronted the Swiss at the Battle of Marignano on 13 September. The Swiss advance initially made headway; however, Francis's superiority in cavalry and artillery, together with the timely arrival of Alviano (who had successfully avoided Cardona's army at Verona) on
9595-400: The war , which would result in the unhappy constellation of "brothers fighting brothers" on the battlefield, as had been the case at Novara in 1500. Zwingli had supported the Pope before Marignano, and even after the battle, he opposed the peace with France and continued to support the side of the Papal States. Since public opinion in Glarus had shifted towards a clearly pro-French stance after
9696-532: The war, who fought for its entire duration, were France , the Papal States , and the Republic of Venice ; they were joined at various times by nearly every significant power in Western Europe , including Spain , the Holy Roman Empire , England , the Duchy of Milan , the Republic of Florence , the Duchy of Ferrara , and the Swiss . The war started with the Italienzug of Maximilian I, King of
9797-602: The war. In the aftermath of the First Italian War (1494–1498), Pope Alexander VI had, with French assistance, moved to consolidate Papal control over central Italy by seizing the Romagna . Cesare Borgia , acting as Gonfalonier of the Papal armies , had expelled the Bentivoglio family from Bologna , which they had ruled as a fief , and was well on his way towards establishing a permanent Borgia state in
9898-441: The westernmost portions of Carniola , forcing Maximilian to conclude a truce with Venice. In the spring of 1508, the Republic provoked Julius by appointing her own candidate to the vacant bishopric of Vicenza ; in response, the Pope called for all Christian nations to join him in an expedition to subdue Venice. On 10 December 1508, representatives of the Papacy, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Ferdinand II of Aragon concluded
9999-422: Was a decisive victory for Francis. This could be considered the expected outcome, seeing as the Swiss were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. But the Swiss during the preceding decades had almost habitually emerged victorious from such disadvantageous situations, and the French victory by no means came easily, the battle hanging in the balance until the arrival of the Venetian reinforcements. The immediate causes of
10100-505: Was complete. Louis proceeded to occupy Venetian territory as far east as Brescia without encountering any significant resistance; the Venetians lost all the territory that they had accumulated in northern Italy during the previous century. The major cities that had not been occupied by the French—Padua, Verona, and Vicenza—were left undefended by Pitigliano's withdrawal, and quickly surrendered to Maximilian when Imperial emissaries arrived in
10201-433: Was on the offensive. An initial attack on French-occupied Genoa failed, but Venetian troops under Lucio Malvezzo finally drove the French from Vicenza in early August, and a joint force commanded by Francesco Maria della Rovere , the Duke of Urbino , captured Modena on 17 August. Julius now excommunicated Alfonso d'Este, thus justifying an attack on the Duchy of Ferrara itself; in anticipation of his coming victory,
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