Italian campaign of 1524–1525 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Italian campaign of 1524–1525
Part of the Italian War of 1521–1526
The French advance into Lombardy and the Pavia campaign of 1524–1525. French movements are indicated in blue and Imperial movements in red.
Date October 1524 – February 1525 Location Northern Italy Result Habsburg victory
Belligerents
France	Holy Roman Empire  Spain
Commanders and leaders
Francis I of France (POW), Seigneur de Bonnivet  †, Anne de Montmorency (POW)	Charles de Lannoy, Fernando d'Avalos, Charles de Bourbon, Antonio de Leyva

The Italian campaign of 1524–1525 was a very important part of the Italian War of 1521–1526. It was a big fight between France and the Holy Roman Empire for control of land in Italy. This campaign ended with a major battle that changed things for a long time.

Why the War Started

At the start of the Italian War of 1521, France controlled an area called Lombardy in Italy. But they lost it after a big defeat in 1522 at the Battle of Bicocca. The French King, Francis I, really wanted Lombardy back.

In late 1523, Francis sent his army to invade Lombardy. But his general, Bonnivet, was beaten by the Imperial troops. He had to go back to France.

After this, the Imperial forces decided to attack France. Their leaders were Charles de Lannoy, Fernando d'Avalos, and Charles de Bourbon. Bourbon had actually betrayed King Francis and joined the Emperor. They attacked a part of France called Provence. They tried to capture the city of Marseille. But they spent too much time there. When King Francis arrived with his main army, the Imperial forces had to retreat back to Italy.

France Invades Lombardy Again

In October 1524, King Francis I himself led a huge French army. It had more than 40,000 soldiers. They crossed the Alps mountains and marched towards Milan. The Imperial leaders, Bourbon and d'Avalos, couldn't stop them. Their troops were still tired from the fight in Provence.

The French army moved quickly. They pushed aside any Imperial troops who tried to stop them. But they couldn't catch the main Imperial army for a big battle. Charles de Lannoy had about 16,000 men. He knew he couldn't defend Milan against 33,000 French soldiers. So, he pulled his troops back to Lodi on October 26.

King Francis entered Milan and put Louis II de la Trémoille in charge. Then, against the advice of most of his generals, Francis decided to attack Pavia. His general Bonnivet convinced him. Antonio de Leyva was defending Pavia with a strong Imperial army.

The Siege of Pavia Begins

The main French army arrived at Pavia in late October. By November 2, the city was completely surrounded. Inside Pavia, there were about 9,000 Imperial soldiers. Antonio de Leyva could only pay them by melting down church valuables.

For weeks, there were small fights and cannon attacks. By mid-November, the French had made several holes in the city walls. On November 21, Francis tried to attack the city through these holes. But the defenders fought back hard, and the French lost many soldiers. It was also raining a lot, and the French were running low on gunpowder. So, they decided to wait and try to starve the defenders out.

French Side Missions

In early December, a Spanish force landed near Genoa. They wanted to get involved in a fight between different groups in the city. King Francis sent a larger French force to stop them. The French army was bigger, and their ships arrived to help. The Spanish troops had to give up.

Francis then made a secret deal with Pope Clement VII. The Pope promised not to help the Emperor. In return, Francis would help the Pope conquer Naples. Again, against the advice of his generals, Francis sent some of his soldiers south. This group, led by the Duke of Albany, went to help the Pope.

Lannoy tried to stop this group near Fiorenzuola. But he lost many soldiers. He had to go back to Lodi because of a famous group called the Black Bands. These soldiers, led by Giovanni de' Medici, had just started fighting for France. Medici then returned to Pavia with supplies for the French. But at the same time, nearly 5,000 Swiss mercenaries left the French army. They went home to protect their own lands. This made the French army weaker.

Imperial Forces Attack

In January 1525, the Imperial army got a big boost. Georg Frundsberg arrived with 15,000 new German soldiers called landsknechts. Lannoy decided to attack again.

D'Avalos captured a French outpost. This cut off the supplies and messages between Pavia and Milan. Another group of landsknechts attacked a town called Belgiojoso. They were pushed back for a short time by Medici and Bonnivet. But they eventually took the town. By February 2, Lannoy was very close to Pavia.

King Francis had placed most of his army in a large walled park called Mirabello. This put them between Leyva's soldiers inside Pavia and the approaching Imperial army. Small fights and attacks from the city continued through February. Medici was badly hurt and had to leave. This forced Francis to bring more soldiers from Milan to make up for the loss. But these fights didn't change the overall situation much.

On February 21, the Imperial commanders were running out of supplies. They also thought the French army was bigger than it actually was. So, they decided to attack Mirabello Castle. They hoped this would make the French lose courage and allow the Imperial army to retreat safely.

Part of The Pavia Tapestry by Barnaert van Orley (c. 1531). This shows some of the fighting.

The Battle of Pavia

In the early morning of February 24, 1525, Imperial engineers made holes in the walls of Mirabello park. This allowed Lannoy's soldiers to enter. At the same time, Leyva's soldiers attacked from inside Pavia.

The battle lasted about four hours. The French heavy cavalry, which was usually very strong, charged forward too quickly. They blocked their own cannons. Then, they were surrounded and cut down by the German landsknechts and Spanish soldiers with early guns called arquebuses.

Meanwhile, the French and Swiss foot soldiers fought hard. But they were eventually defeated. The French army suffered huge losses. Most of their soldiers were killed or captured. Many important French leaders died, including Bonnivet, Jacques de la Palice, La Trémoille, and Richard de la Pole. King Francis himself was captured, along with Anne de Montmorency and Robert de la Marck.

The night after the battle, Francis wrote a letter to his mother in Paris. He told her what happened: "All is lost to me save honour and life, which is safe." Soon after, he learned that the Duke of Albany's army had also mostly disappeared. They had returned to France without ever reaching Naples. The remaining French soldiers, except for a small group in Milan, retreated back to France. They reached Lyon by March.

What Happened Next

After the Battle of Pavia, everyone wondered what would happen to the French King and France. Emperor Charles V needed money for the war. So, he decided not to marry the English princess he had promised to marry. Instead, he chose to marry Isabella of Portugal, who would bring a lot more money with her.

Meanwhile, Bourbon, the French general who betrayed Francis, secretly planned with the English King Henry VIII. They wanted to invade France and divide it between them. Bourbon also encouraged d'Avalos to take Naples and declare himself King of Italy.

Louise of Savoy, King Francis's mother, was in charge of France while he was gone. She tried to gather soldiers and money to defend against an expected English invasion. King Francis believed he would be set free if he could talk to Emperor Charles in person. So, he convinced d'Avalos and Lannoy to send him to Spain. They agreed, and Francis arrived in Barcelona on June 12.