On 28 April 1503, the Battle of Cerignola was fought between the Spanish under Gonzalo de Cordoba and the French under Louis Armagnac during the Italian Wars.
Why did it happen?
In October 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy to inherit the crown of Naples after the death of Ferrante I in January 1494. After his 25,000-strong army carved a wake of destruction down southern Italy, Charles was crowned king of Naples in February 1495, but Pope Alexander VI organised the League of Venice to drive the French from Italy. On 6 July 1495, Charles VIII defeated the League of Venice at the Battle of Fornovo before returning to France. When his successor, Louis XII, reinvaded Italy in 1499, Ferdinand I of Spain agreed to share the Kingdom of Naples with France. However, this agreement soon became an open war between France and Spain. By 1502, negotiations between Louis Armagnac and Spanish general Gonzalo de Cordoba failed to reach a suitable agreement. After reinforcements arrived at the start of 1503, Gonzalo de Cordoba reformed his army to include a force that combined pikemen with arquebusiers. When the French were defeated at the Battle of Seminara on 21 April 1503, Cordoba left Barletta with his army on 27 April, and Louis Armagnac moved from his camp to confront him at Cerignola.
Who was involved?
The Spanish army at Cerignola numbered 4,500 infantry, 1,500 cavalry and 20 artillery. The infantry comprised 2,000 pikemen and 2,500 arquebusiers, while the cavalry consisted of 700 men-at-arms and 800 jinete light cavalry. The infantry was protected by a ditch and field fortifications in front of the town of Cerignola, with 300 cavalry on the left wing, 800 cavalry on the right wing, and 400 cavalry in reserve next to the artillery. The French army at Cerignola numbered 6,000 infantry, 1,750 cavalry and 2,250 crossbowmen. The infantry consisted primarily of Swiss and French pikemen, while the cavalry comprised 650 gendarme heavy cavalry and 1,100 light cavalry. The cavalry was stationed on the French right wing under Louis Armagnac, followed by 3,500 Swiss pikemen and 2,250 crossbowmen in the centre and left wing under Pierre du Terrail, while the remaining 2,500 French pikemen were held in reserve.
What happened?
On the evening of 28 April, Gonzalo de Cordoba induced the French to attack his defensive position by sending out jinete light cavalry to harass them and draw them forward. The French gendarme cavalry then charged the Spanish centre but were repulsed by artillery and arquebusiers. The French cavalry then attacked the right flank of the Spanish army but were once again repulsed by the arquebusiers, with Louis Armagnac among the slain. The Spanish arquebusiers were then withdrawn, and the Spanish pikemen were sent forward to engage the Franco-Swiss pikemen, with the latter taking heavy casualties. The Spanish cavalry and infantry then counterattacked the disorganised French army and drove it from the field. In less than one hour, the French army suffered 2,000 casualties, while Spanish losses were only 250 killed.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Cerignola was a Spanish victory. It is widely seen as the first battle won by infantry firearms and marked the beginning of the “Pike and Shot” Era when European armies comprised pikemen and musketeers. As stated by R.G. Grant, “Although everything the arquebusiers had done could have been achieved by archers, the Spanish victory confirmed growing confidence in firearms as the missile weapons of the future” (Grant, 2005, p.144). Gonzalo de Cordoba would win another victory over the French at the Battle of Garigliano on 29 December 1503 before returning to Spain in 1507. His Pike and Shot formations, first introduced at Cerignola, would evolve into the Tercio formation that would dominate European battlefields until their defeat at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643.
Bibliography
David, Saul. War: The Definitive Visual History. New York, Dorling Kindersley, 2009.
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Mallett, Michael. & Shaw, Christine. The Italian Wars, 1494-1559. New York, Routledge, 2012.
Montgomery, Bernard. A History of Warfare. London, Collins, 1968.
Redcaer1690. “Cerignola 1503.” Despertaferres. Last revised September 22, 2018. www.despertaferres.wordpress.com/2018/09/22/cerignola-1503/
留言