On 24 February 1525, the Battle of Pavia was fought in Northern Italy between the French under Francis I against the Imperialists under Charles de Lannoy during the Italian Wars.
Why did it happen?
In 1519, Charles I of Spain became Emperor Charles V of Austria, thereby combining both the Spanish and Habsburg empires into a formidable force. This outraged the French king, Francis I, who coveted the position for himself and in response sought to reignite the Italian Wars by invading Italy for a second time. In autumn 1524, Francis marched an army across the Alps and entered Milan. He then besieged the Imperial-controlled town of Pavia, only to be met by a relief force under Charles de Lannoy in January 1525. Both sides then dug in to face one another across a stream for several weeks, occasionally exchanging artillery fire. On the night of 23/24 February, Charles de Lannoy marched most of his army under the cover of darkness north towards a break in the wall of Mirabella Park and positioned his forces opposite the unprotected French left flank. By the morning of 24 February, the French army attempted to draw up in battle line to face the Imperialists.
Who was involved?
The French army at Pavia numbered 15,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry and 53 artillery. King Francis positioned himself with 3,000 gendarmes heavy cavalry on the right wing with his artillery in front of him, while 2,000 light cavalry was placed on the left wing. In the centre were positioned 10,000 Swiss and Landsknecht pikemen and 5,000 halberdiers. The Imperialist army under Charles de Lannoy numbered 13,500 infantry, 4,500 cavalry and 17 artillery. Like the French army, the cavalry was positioned on both wings, with the artillery positioned on the right wing. The 12,000-strong pikemen and halberdiers were placed in the centre. Unlike the French army, the Imperialist army boasted 1,500 Spanish arquebusiers – soldiers equipped with early firearms. In addition, the Imperial garrison inside Pavia numbered 5,000 soldiers, giving the total number of Imperialist soldiers at Pavia at 23,000.
What happened?
The battle began when the French artillery opened fire upon the Imperial pikemen, who took cover by lying down on their faces. Shortly afterwards, Francis I and Charles Tiercelin led cavalry charges on the right and left wings of the French army, respectively. Unfortunately, the cavalry charge by Francis meant that the French artillery could not fire upon the Imperials. To make matters worse, the Spanish arquebusiers in the Imperial army opened fire upon the French gendarmes as they charged the Imperial left wing, inflicting heavy casualties. Despite fulfilling chivalric ideals, Francis was unhorsed and captured by the Imperial army. At the same time, the Imperial cavalry on the right wing rallied and routed the French light cavalry under Charles Tiercelin, while the French Landsknecht pikemen surged forward to engage the Imperial centre. However, due to their superior numbers, the Imperial pikemen and halberdiers managed to encircle the Landsknechts. At this point, the Imperial garrison inside Pavia sortied out and, after scattering the remaining French forces holding the siege lines, fell upon the rear of the Swiss pikemen who fled the field. The French suffered 8,000 casualties during the battle, while the Imperials only suffered 1,000 losses.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Pavia was a decisive victory for the Imperials. After being captured during the battle, Francis had to agree to humiliating terms in the Treaty of Madrid in 1526, whereby he had to pay considerable concessions to Charles V to buy his freedom. However, once that freedom was achieved and he returned to France, Francis spent the rest of his reign pursuing further futile attempts to destabilise Charles’ position, even allying with the Ottoman sultan in 1543. The Italian Wars continued until 1559, when the Spanish Habsburgs expelled France from Italy and gained control of the northern and southern parts of the peninsula.
Bibliography
Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.
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.
Snow, Peter. Battles Map by Map. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2021.