Sack of Brescia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Brescia

The Sack of Brescia took place on February 18, 1512 during the War of the League of Cambrai

War of the League of Cambrai

The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...

. The city of Brescia

Brescia

Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

had revolted against French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

control, garrisoning itself with Venetian

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

troops. Gaston de Foix, recently arrived to command the French armies in Italy, ordered the city to surrender; when it refused, he attacked it with around 12,000 men. The French attack took place in a pouring rain, through a field of mud; Foix ordered his men to remove their shoes for better traction. The defenders inflicted heavy casualties on the French, but were eventually overrun, suffering 8,000 – 15,000 casualties. The Gascon

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

infantry and landsknechts then proceeded to thoroughly sack the city, massacring thousands of civilians over the next five days. Following this, the city of Bergamo

Bergamo

Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...

paid some 60,000 ducat

Ducat

The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...

s to the French to avoid a similar fate.

Guinegate

The Battle of Guinegate or Battle of the Spurs took place on August 16, 1513. As part of the Holy League

War of the League of Cambrai

The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...

under the on-going Italian Wars

Italian Wars

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...

, English and Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

troops under Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

and Maximilian I

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

surprised and routed a body of French cavalry under Jacques de La Palice

Jacques de la Palice

Jacques de la Palice was a French nobleman and military officer. His full name and titles are Jacques II de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice, of Pacy, of Chauverothe, of Bort-le-Comte and of Héron...

.

The English army was provided by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and combined several different types of martial forces, and included cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

, artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

, infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

and longbow

Longbow

A longbow is a type of bow that is tall ; this will allow its user a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw....

s using hardened steel arrows designed to penetrate armour more effectively. The French forces were mostly companies of gendarmes

Gendarme (historical)

A gendarme was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Medieval to the Early Modern periods of European History...

and pikemen, with some other mixed forces as well.

Called the "Battle of the Spurs" because of the haste of the French horse to leave the battlefield, it took place at Guinegate (now Enguinegatte, near Saint-Omer

Saint-Omer

Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....

in the Pas de Calais, France

France

).
The town of Therouanne

Thérouanne

Thérouanne is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Thérouanne is located 10 miles southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D157 and D341 road junction.-Population:-History:...

capitulated soon after the battle, and later in the campaign of 1513, Henry VIII of England captured and garrisoned Tournai

Tournai

Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....

Flodden Field

The kingdoms of France

Early Modern France

Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...

and Scotland

Scotland in the Late Middle Ages

Scotland in the late Middle Ages established its independence from England under figures including William Wallace in the late 13th century and Robert Bruce in the 14th century...

had traditionally enjoyed a close diplomatic relationship

Auld Alliance

The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...

, reflected in a defensive treaty signed between the two kingdoms in 1512. When Henry

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

crossed the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

to campaign in France

Early Modern France

Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...

, the King of France

Louis XII of France

Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...

activated the treaty, sending arms, money and military advisers to James IV of Scotland

James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

to encourage him to fulfil his obligations, in the hope that this would draw English resources away from the invasion of France

Early Modern France

Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...

. James

James IV of Scotland

crossed the border with a force of some 35,000 men, including 5,000 French advisers. He was opposed by an English force under the Earl of Surrey

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal , styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1514, was the only son of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk by his first wife, Katherine Moleyns...

. The two sides met on 9th September, 1513, near the village of Flodden. The Scottish army was heavily defeated, losing some 9,000 men and many nobles, including King James

James IV of Scotland

, the King's illegitimate son

Alexander Stewart (Archbishop of St Andrews)

Alexander Stewart was an illegitimate son of King James IV of Scotland and his mistress Marion Boyd. He was the eldest illegitimate child of King James IV of Scotland his mistress Marion Boyd...

, and twelve earls

Earl

An earl is a member of the nobility. The title is Anglo-Saxon, akin to the Scandinavian form jarl, and meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke...

La Motta

The Battle of La Motta, also known as the Battle of Schio, Battle of Vicenza or Battle of Creazzo, which took place on October 7, 1513 between the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, was a significant battle of the War of the League of Cambrai

War of the League of Cambrai

The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...

. A Venetian army under Bartolomeo d'Alviano

Bartolomeo d'Alviano

Bartolomeo d'Alviano was an Italian condottiero and captain who distinguished himself in the defence of the Venetian Republic against the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian.-Biography:...

attempted to prevent the Spanish under Ramon de Cardona

Ramón de Cardona

thumb|250px|Tomb of Ramon de Cardona, by [[Giovanni da Nola]].Ramón Folc de Cardona y Anglesola was a Spanish general and politician, who served as the viceroy of Naples during the Italian Wars and commanded the Spanish forces in Italy during the War of the League of Cambrai...

from withdrawing from the Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

, but was defeated and scattered.

Pampeluna

The Battle of Pampeluna (also spelled Pamplona

Pamplona

Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...

) occurred on May 20, 1521, between French

France

-backed Navarrese

Kingdom of Navarre

The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....

and Spanish

Spain

troops, during the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre

Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre

A series of wars between 1512–1524 led to the Spanish conquest of the Iberian part of Navarre. Ferdinand of Aragon was in 1512 both King of Aragon and Regent of Castile. When Pope Julius II declared a Holy League against France, Navarre tried to remain neutral...

and in the context of the Italian War of 1521–1526. Most Navarrese towns rose at once against the Spanish, who had invaded Navarre in 1512. The Spanish resisted the siege sheltered inside the city castle, but they eventually surrendered and the Navarrese took control of the town and the castle of Pamplona.

It was at this battle that Inigo Lopez de Loyola, better known as St. Ignatius of Loyola, suffered severe injuries, a French cannonball shattering his leg. His meditations during his long recovery set him on the road of a conversion of life from soldier to priest. He would eventually found the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

(the Jesuits), and create the Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, are a set of Christian meditations, prayers and mental exercises, divided into four thematic 'weeks' of variable length, designed to be carried out over a period of 28 to 30 days...

, which is the basis for the idea of "retreats" as an experience of prayer as practiced in the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

Noain-Esquiroz

The Battle of Noain-Esquiroz was fought near Pamplona

Pamplona

on June 30, 1521, during the Italian War of 1521

Italian War of 1521

The Italian War of 1521–26, sometimes known as the Four Years' War, was a part of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and the Papal States...

. A makeshift Spanish

Spain

army consisting mostly of Castilian

Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...

troops defeated the Navarrese and French

France

forces under Henry d'Albret and Lesparre

André de Foix

André de Foix, Lord of Lesparre , was a French General.He was the son of Jean de Foix, vicecount of Lautrec and governor of the Dauphiné, and of Jeanne d'Aydie de Lescun. His sister was Françoise de Foix, mistress of King Francis I of France...

, driving them out of Iberian Navarre

Navarre

Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

.

For more detail : see Battle of Noáin

Battle of Noáin

The Battle of Noáin or the Battle of Esquiroz, fought on June 30 1521 was the only mayor battle in the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre. It was a decisive victory for the Spanish against the invading Franco-Navarrese army.- Prelude :...

Mézières

The Siege of Mézières (1521) took place during the Italian War of 1521

Italian War of 1521

. An Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

army besieged the city (now part of Charleville-Mézières

Charleville-Mézières

Charleville-Mézières is a commune in northern France, capital of the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the Meuse River.-History:...

), which was defended by French

France

troops under the command of the Chevalier de Bayard and Anne de Montmorency

Anne de Montmorency

Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...

; the siege was unsuccessful, and the determined French resistance gave Francis I

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

time to concentrate his forces against Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

Tournai

The Siege of Tournai (1521) took place during the Italian War of 1521

Italian War of 1521

. An Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

army besieged the city of Tournai

Tournai

Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....

, capturing it from the French

France

in late November; it would remain a Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

possession until the French conquest of the Austrian Netherlands in 1795.

Genoa

The Siege of Genoa (May 20, 1522–May 30, 1522) was conducted by an army of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

under the command of Spanish General Fernando d'Avalos and Italian condottiero Prospero Colonna against the French

France

forces defending the Italian city. Since Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

had refused to surrender, the Imperial troops were permitted to loot the city once it had fallen.

Sesia

The Battle of the Sesia (April 30, 1524) was a battle in the Italian War of 1521

Italian War of 1521

fought near the Sesia River

Sesia River

The Sesia is a river in north-western Italy, tributary to the Po. Its sources are the glaciers of Monte Rosa at the border with Switzerland. It flows through the Alpine valley Valsesia and the towns Varallo Sesia, Quarona, Borgosesia and Vercelli...

that saw the Spanish

Spain

-Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

forces under Charles de Lannoy

Charles de Lannoy

Charles de Lannoy was a soldier and statesman from the Low Countries in service of the Habsburg Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V of Spain....

inflict a decisive defeat on the French

France

under Admiral Bonnivet and the Francis de Bourbon, Comte de St. Pol

Francis de Bourbon, Count of St. Pol

Francis I de Bourbon-Saint-Pol, Count of St. Pol and of Chaumont , was a French nobleman, Count of Saint-Pol, Duke of Estouteville and important military commander during the Italian Wars.Francis was the second son of Francis, Count of Vendôme and Marie of Luxembourg, Countess of Vendôme.He was...

, forcing the latter to withdraw from Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

Marseille

The Siege of Marseille (August–September 1524) was conducted by an Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

army under Charles de Bourbon

Charles III, Duke of Bourbon

Charles III, Duke of Bourbon was a French military leader, the Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne. He commanded the Imperial troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in what became known as the Sack of Rome in 1527, where he was killed.-Biography:Charles was born at Montpensier...

(who had recently betrayed Francis I

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

) and Fernando de Avalos

Fernando de Avalos

Fernando Francesco d'Ávalos, Marquess of Pescara was an Italian condottiero of Spanish extraction. As a general of the Spanish army, he participated in the Italian Wars. At the Battle of Ravenna in 1512 he was taken prisoner by the French, but was released at the conclusion of the War of the...

against the French

France

defenders of Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

. Although Avalos heavily looted the surrounding countryside, he was unsuccessful in seizing the city; and, faced with the arrival of French reinforcements, called off the siege in September.

Nice

The Siege of Nice took place in August 1543, during the Italian War of 1542

Italian War of 1542

The Italian War of 1542–46 was a conflict late in the Italian Wars, pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. The course of the war saw extensive fighting in Italy, France, and the Low Countries, as well as...

, when a combined Franco-Ottoman force

Franco-Ottoman alliance

The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between the king of France Francis I and the Turkish ruler of the Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent. The alliance has been called "the first non-ideological diplomatic alliance of its kind between a...

attacked and captured the Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

city of Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

St. Dizier

The Siege of St. Dizier took place in the summer of 1544, during the Italian War of 1542

Italian War of 1542

, when the Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

army of Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

attacked the French

France

city of St. Dizier at the beginning of its advance into Champagne

Champagne, France

Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, now best known for the sparkling white wine that bears its name.Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 100 miles east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area...

. The siege was already underway when Charles V himself arrived with an army of 14,100 (including 1600 sapper

Sapper

A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...

s) on 13 July. The next day an imperial commander, René of Châlon

René of Châlon

René of Châlon , also known as Renatus of Châlon, was a Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelre....

, Prince of Orange, was struck by a shot from the defenders, and died the next day with the Emperor by his bed (his title and lands going to his famous cousin, William the Silent

William the Silent

William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

). On 23 July French outposts near the besieged town were overrun, but a French army under the command of the Dauphin Henry

Henry II of France

Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...

maintained an observing position at Jalons. On August 17 the town surrendered. Charles elected not to attack the Dauphin's army and instead pressed on to Soissons

Soissons

Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.