Battle of Casalecchio
Battle of Casalecchio | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the expansion of the Duchy of Milan | |||||||
Casalecchio di Reno | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Milan |
Bologna Florence | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Gian Galeazzo Visconti Alberico da Barbiano |
Muzio Attendolo | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
8,000 Milanese cavalry great number infantry |
5,000 Florentine cavalry several infantry brigades | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
unknown | unknown |
The Battle of Casalecchio took place on 26 June 1402 near the town of Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna, in northern Italy.[1]
A Bolognese army under
Visconti was aided by the Malatesta of Rimini and the Gonzaga of Mantua.[1] With Facino Cane,[1] the condottiero Ludovico Gabriotto Cantelli (Ludovico da Parma) commanded the Milanese vanguard of 8,000 cavalry.
The Bolognese-Florentine army was led by
Battle
Barbiano had encamped the Milanese forces and initiated skirmishes with the Bolognese-Florentine troops.[3] The Bolognese-Florentines appeared to have gained the advantage from this skirmish, so Bentivolgio ordered Bernardo's forces into the fray.[3] Bernardo refused and Bentivolgio marched his forces out and encamped, well fortified, at Casalecchio.[3]
A few days later, after much discussion, the Milanese force marched in tight, orderly formation towards the Bolognese-Florentine camp.[3] Caught completely by surprise, the Bolognese-Florentine army retreated leaving their camp in the hands of the Milanese.[3] The Rose Brigade, which had withdrawn to higher ground to evaluate the situation, fled along with 200 lancers.[3]
Giovanni Bentivoglio was captured and killed two days later.[4] Gian Galeazzo Visconti took Bologna and planned to assault the Republic of Florence and city of Florence next. However, he fell ill on 10 August 1402 and died on 3 September.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e Morelli 2015, p. 199.
- ^ Morelli 2015, p. 199-200.
- ^ a b c d e f Morelli 2015, p. 200.
- ^ de Sismondi 2008, p. 179.
- ^ Black 2009, p. 72.
Sources
- Black, Jane (2009). Absolutism in Renaissance Milan: Plenitude of Power Under the Visconti and the Sforza 1329-1535. Oxford University Press.
- Morelli, Giovanni di Paolo (2015). "Memoirs". In Branca, Vittore (ed.). Merchant Writers: Florentine Memoirs from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. University of Toronto Press.
- de Sismondi, J. C. L. (2008). A History of the Italian Republics. Wildside Press.
44°29′00″N 11°17′00″E / 44.4833°N 11.2833°E