Italian War of 1521–1526
Italian War of 1521–1526 | |||||||
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Part of the Italian Wars | |||||||
The Battle of Pavia, by an unknown Flemish artist | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Republic of Venice
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Holy Roman Empire Spain England Papal States (1521–1523 and 1525–1526) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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The Italian War of 1521–1526, sometimes known as the Four Years' War,
The war broke out across
In 1521 Charles V and Henry VIII signed the Treaty of Bruges in secret against France, and hostilities resumed on the Italian Peninsula. At the Battle of Bicocca on 27 April 1522, Imperial and Papal forces defeated the French, driving them from Lombardy. Following the battle, fighting again spilled onto French soil, while Venice made a separate peace. The English invaded France in 1523, while the French military leader Charles de Bourbon, alienated by Francis's attempts to seize his inheritance, betrayed Francis and allied himself with the Emperor. The failure of a French attempt to regain Lombardy in 1524 provided Bourbon with an opportunity to invade Provence at the head of a Spanish army.
Francis led a second attack on
Prelude
Following the
Maximilian's death on 12 January 1519 brought the Imperial election to the forefront of European politics.
During the autumn of 1521, the English became involved in arbitrating between Spain and France.[16] Henry entertained the emperor in Kent for three days, in a meeting that achieved little, although the Treaty of Windsor (16 June 1522) reaffirmed the alliance between England and Aragon.[17][18] Henry and Francis staged an extravagant meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold throughout June 1520.[19][20] The following month, Henry sought an agreement with Charles at Gravelines.[7]
Charles was crowned King of the Romans at
Charles was meanwhile preoccupied with the issue of Luther, whom he confronted at the
Initial moves (June 1521 – May 1522)
On 20 August 1521, the Imperial army under Henry of Nassau invaded northeastern France—an attack made in response to de Marck’s attack on Luxembourg.[29][30] Ardres was overrun, Mouzon was severely damaged after being besieged, and Aubenton was sacked and its inhabitants massacred.[29][31] The attackers were delayed during the three-week siege of Mézières by the resistance of the French, led by Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard. Francis had time to raise a large army at Reims to relieve Mézières. The town was resupplied a few days before the king's army arrived at the town on 26 September, which was by then largely destroyed. Nassau was forced to withdraw, laying waste to towns along his route of retreat.[29]
Tournai, which had been returned to France by Henry VIII in February 1519 as part of the terms of the Treaty of London, was besieged by Imperial forces.[30] Tournai was left to surrender to the besiegers after Francis's army was ordered to retreat, and later disbanded.[32][33]
A Franco-Navarrese force approached the fortress of
On 28 November 1521 Charles V and Henry VIII signed in secret the
On 27 April 1522, Lautrec attacked Colonna's combined Imperial and Papal army near Milan at the
France at bay
The loss of Lombardy was followed by England entering openly into the conflict, when on 29 May 1522, the English formally declared war on France.[43] Henry VIII and Charles signed the Treaty of Windsor on 16 June 1522.[44] The treaty outlined a joint English-Imperial attack against France. Charles agreed to compensate England for the pensions that would be lost because of conflict with France and to pay the past debts that would be forfeit; to seal the alliance, he also agreed to marry Henry's only daughter, Mary.[45] In July, the English raided Morlaix and in September an English army marched from Calais, burning and looting the countryside in an unsuccessful attempt to engage the French in battle.[43]
To raise money, Francis pursued a lawsuit against Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, who had received the majority of his holdings through his marriage to Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon. After Suzanne's death, Louise of Savoy, her sister and the king's mother, insisted that the territories in question should pass to her because of her closer kinship to the deceased. Francis was confident that seizing the disputed lands would improve his own financial position sufficiently to continue the war and began to confiscate portions of them in Louise's name.[46] Bourbon, angered by this treatment and increasingly isolated at court, sought redress by making overtures to Charles V.[46]
The death of Doge Antonio Grimani brought Andrea Gritti, a veteran of the War of the League of Cambrai, to power in Venice. He quickly began negotiations with the Emperor and on 29 July 1523 concluded the Treaty of Worms, which removed the Republic from the war.[47] Bourbon continued his scheming with Charles, offering to begin a rebellion against Francis in exchange for money and German troops.[48] When Francis, who was aware of the plot, summoned him to Lyon in October, he feigned illness and failed to appear.[49] Francis ordered as many of Bourbon's associates as could be captured to be brought to justice after the Duke reached Imperial territory and openly entered the Emperor's service.[50]
Charles then invaded southern France over the Pyrenees. Lautrec successfully defended Bayonne against the Spanish, but Charles was able to recapture Fuenterrabia in February 1524.[51] On 19 September 1523, an English army under the Duke of Suffolk advanced into Picardy from Calais. The French, stretched thin by the Imperial attack, were unable to resist, and Suffolk soon advanced past the Somme, devastating the countryside in his wake and stopping only 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Paris.[52] When Charles failed to support the English offensive, Suffolk—unwilling to risk an attack on the French capital—turned away from Paris on 30 October, returning to Calais by mid-December.[53]
Francis now turned his attention to Lombardy. In September 1523, a French army under Bonnivet advanced through the Piedmont.[50]
The Imperial commander, Prospero Colonna, had only 9,000 men to oppose the French advance and was forced to retreat to Milan.
D'Avalos and Bourbon crossed the Alps with nearly 11,000 men and invaded
Francis I's campaign in Italy (October 1524 – February 1525)
French advance into Lombardy
On 17 October 1524, as Bourbon and Pescara were returning to Genoa, Francis confirmed his mother as regent during his absence.[61][60] Shortly afterwards, he crossed the Alps and advanced on Milan at the head of an army numbering more than 40,000.[62] Imperialist troops, not yet recovered from the campaign in Provence, were in no position to offer serious resistance.[63]
As the French advanced, the viceroy of Naples retreated from Asti towards Milan.[61] Lannoy, the city's viceroy, who had concentrated 16,000 men to resist the French advance, decided that Milan could not be defended. The city was ridden with the plague, and so to avoid his troops becoming infected, on 26 October he withdrew to Lodi,[64][65] leaving Milan through one gate as the French vanguard under Salazzo entered through another.[66][67]
Francis installed
Siege of Pavia
By 2 November, Montmorency had crossed the river Ticino and invested Pavia from the south, completing its encirclement. Inside were about 9,000 men, mainly mercenaries whom Antonio de Leyva was forced to pay by melting down the gold and silver treasures in the city's churches.[70] The French bombardment of Pavia began on 6 November.[67] On 21 November, Francis attempted an assault on the city through two of the breaches but was beaten back with heavy casualties. Hampered by rainy weather and a lack of gunpowder, the French decided to wait for the defenders to starve.[71]
In early December, a Spanish force commanded by
In January 1525, Lannoy was reinforced by the arrival of Frundsberg with fresh landsknechts and cavalrymen, enabling him to renew the offensive.
Early in February, a thousand Italian soldiers were defeated at Alessandria before they could reach the French at Pavia.
Albany's advance towards Naples
After the failure of a peace mission proposed by Pope
The pope tried to stop Francis from acting immediately, because of the dangers inherent in fighting during the winter months.[86] Against the pope's advice, and the counsel of his own senior commanders, Francis almost immediately detached a portion of his forces under the Duke of Albany, sending 5,000 infantry and 500 cavalry south to aid the pope in the invasion of Naples. The size of the army grew when it was joined by Papal States recruits, and French infantry led by the Italian condottiero (Italian mercenary captain), Renzo da Ceri.[87][72]
Francis's ploy failed to achieve his aim of leading the Spaniards to abandon northern Italy,
Battle of Pavia
On the night of 23 February, Imperial artillery began a bombardment to distract the French, whilst the remainder of the Imperial army moved from their camp to flank the brook that separated the two armies. Ahead of them were sappers, who dismantled part of the park wall as quietly as possible,[89] in an operation that took most of the night.[76] Columns of Imperial soldiers then entered the park.[90]
At the same time, Leyva sortied from Pavia with what remained of the garrison. In the ensuing four-hour battle, the French heavy cavalry masked its own artillery by a rapid advance,
March 1525 – May 1526
Imprisonment and release of Francis I
The night following the Battle of Pavia, Francis gave Lannoy a letter to be delivered to his mother in Paris, in which he related what had befallen him: "To inform you of how the rest of my ill fortune is proceeding, all is lost to me save honour and life, which is safe." The broken remnants of the French forces, aside from a small garrison left to hold the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, retreated across the Alps under the nominal command of Charles IV of Alençon, reaching Lyon by March 1525.[94]
After Pavia, the fate of the French king, and of France itself, became the subject of furious diplomatic manoeuvring.
Louise of Savoy raised a small army and funds to defend France against an expected attack upon its eastern borders by English troops.
Francis' captors, concerned he could be rescued by a French military expedition or might escape, decided it would be safer if he was held captive elsewhere. Francis was convinced he would gain his freedom again if he obtained a personal audience with Charles, and pressed Lannoy, who had intended to transport the king to the Castel Nuovo in Naples, to send him to Spain instead.[103] Lannoy agreed, and on 31 May 1525 he was taken by ship from Genoa, having been told he was being taken to Naples. Francis arrived in Barcelona on 19 June.[104]
Francis was initially held at the castle at Tarragona, before being moved to
Treaty of Madrid (1526)
Charles demanded not only the surrender of Lombardy, but also of Burgundy and Provence, forcing Francis to argue that French law prevented him from surrendering any lands possessed by the crown without the approval of Parlement, which would not be forthcoming.[111] By the beginning of 1526, Charles was faced with demands from Venice and the Pope to restore Francesco II Sforza to the throne of the Duchy of Milan, and had become anxious to achieve a settlement with the French before another war began.[112]
Francis, having argued to retain Burgundy without result, was prepared to surrender it to achieve his own release.
Aftermath of the treaty
Francis was released on 6 March.[118] On 17 March, he crossed the Bidasoa north into France, while at the same time the Dauphin and his brother, who had been brought to Bayonne by Louise and Lautrec, crossed into Spain and captivity.[119] By this time, Francis had attained peace with England by the Treaty of Hampton Court; drafted by Wolsey and the French ambassador at Hampton Court Palace. The treaty—in which France and England agreed not to ally with the Empire independently—was signed in August 1526.[120]
Clement VII became convinced that the Emperor's growing power was a threat to his own position in Italy, and Venetian and papal envoys went to Francis suggesting an alliance against Charles.
Francis and his successor,
Notes
- Emperor Charles V and Pope Clement VII, who abandons a temporary alliance with Francis I of France.[1]
- ^ Liberation of Francis I under the condition that France abandons its claims on the Imperial Duchy of Milan and cedes the Duchy of Burgundy to the House of Habsburg.[2]
- ^ The name refers to the four years between the beginning of hostilities in 1521 and the Battle of Pavia in 1525, although peace did not come until 1526.[3]
- ^ Francis had to order the guns to stop firing when he led a charge across their line of fire.[91]
References
- ^ History of Italy, book XVI, chapter II, Francesco Guicciardini
- ^ History of Italy, book XVI, chapter XV, Francesco Guicciardini
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 129.
- ^ Setton 1984, p. 186.
- ^ Blockmans 2002, pp. 49–50.
- ^ a b Brady 2009, p. 152.
- ^ a b Setton 1984, p. 193.
- ^ Wooding 2009, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Setton 1984, p. 187.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 99.
- ^ Brady 2009, pp. 144–145.
- ^ a b c Rowdon 1974, pp. 77–78.
- ^ Parker 2019, p. 90.
- ^ a b Blockmans 2002, p. 51.
- ^ Blockmans 2002, p. 30.
- ^ Mottram 2008, p. 43.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 113.
- ^ Mottram 2008, pp. 47–48.
- ^ Wooding 2009, p. 106.
- ^ Frieda 2018.
- ^ Knecht 1994, pp. 175–176.
- ^ a b Blockmans 2002, pp. 51–52.
- ^ Oman 1937, pp. 173–174.
- ^ a b Blockmans 2002, pp. 80–81.
- ^ Rowdon 1974, p. 88.
- ^ Setton 1984, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Parker 2019, p. 132.
- ^ Setton 1984, p. 194.
- ^ a b c Frieda 2018, pp. 132–133.
- ^ a b Blockmans 2002, p. 52.
- ^ Potter 2008, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Potter 2008, p. 206.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 134.
- ^ Bustillo Kastrexana 2012, p. 96.
- ^ Pérez 1998, p. 354.
- ^ Rowdon 1974, p. 94.
- ^ Konstam 1996, p. 88.
- ^ Oman 1937, pp. 175–176.
- ^ a b c Blockmans 2002, p. 57.
- ^ Oman 1937, p. 180.
- ^ Oman 1937, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Oman 1937, pp. 184, 186.
- ^ a b Knecht 1994, p. 200.
- ^ Mottram 2008, p. 47.
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- ^ a b Knecht 1994, p. 204.
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- ^ Konstam 1996, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Konstam 1996, pp. 36–39.
- ^ a b Mallett & Shaw 2014, p. 149.
- ^ Showalter & Astore 2007, p. xxii.
- ^ Showalter & Astore 2007, p. xxiii.
- ^ Konstam 1996, pp. 46–50.
- ^ a b c d e f Knecht 1994, p. 219.
- ^ a b Oman 1937, p. 194.
- ^ Blockmans 2002, p. 59.
- ^ Konstam 1996, pp. 43–45.
- ^ a b Frieda 2018, p. 165.
- ^ Oman 1937, pp. 196–197.
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 218.
- ^ a b Konstam 1996, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Oman 1937, p. 196.
- ^ Pastor 1938, pp. 267–268.
- ^ Oman 1937, p. 192.
- ^ Bentley-Cranch & Marshall 2004, p. 296.
- ^ Giono 1965, pp. 123–124.
- ^ Oman 1937, p. 198.
- ^ Oman 1937, p. 199.
- ^ a b Knecht 1994, p. 222.
- ^ a b c Konstam 1996, pp. 56–74.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 168.
- ^ Konstam 1996, p. 76.
- ^ Frieda 2018, pp. 177–179.
- ^ Norwich 2003, p. 80.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 157.
- ^ Zimmerman 1995, p. 76.
- ^ Frieda 2018, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Merriman 1944, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 242.
- ^ a b Merriman 1944, p. 129.
- ^ Knecht 1994, pp. 240–241.
- ^ Frieda 2018, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 242.
- ^ Knecht 1994, pp. 242–243.
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 245.
- ^ Baring-Gould 1907, p. 91.
- ^ Oman 1937, p. 211.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 201.
- ^ a b Tarver 2016, p. 27.
- ^ Blockmans 2002, p. 60.
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 246.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 192.
- ^ a b Knecht 1994, p. 247.
- ^ Frieda 2018, p. 193.
- ^ Urzainqui 2013, p. 21.
- ^ Tarver 2016, p. 106.
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 248.
- ^ Wooding 2009, p. 117.
- ^ a b Knecht 1994, p. 254.
- ^ Knecht 1994, p. 253.
- ^ a b Frieda 2018, p. 208.
- ^ Baumgartner 1988, pp. 225–227.
- ^ Black 2002, p. 83.
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Further reading
- ISBN 978-16123-4-327-3.
- ISBN 978-0-691-00800-4.