The Battle of Cerignola was fought on 28 April 1503 between
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
French armies outside the town of
Cerignola
Cerignola (; nap, label= Cerignolano, Ceregnòule ) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any ''comune'' in Italy, at , after Rome and Ra ...
,
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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,
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
(now in modern-day
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
), approximately west of
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
.
The Spanish force under the command of
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread po ...
(''El Gran Capitán'') comprising 6,300 men, including 2,000 ''
Landsknecht
The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line wa ...
''
pikemen
A pike is a very long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the Early Modern Period, and were wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayon ...
, 1,000
arquebusiers
An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier.
Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...
and 20
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s, defeated the French force of 9,000 men, mainly
gendarme
Wrong info! -->
A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "Man-at-arms, men-at-arms" ...
heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...
and
Swiss mercenary pikemen, with about 40 cannons, led by
Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours
Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours (1472; Normandy, France – 28 April 1503; Cerignola, Italy), was a French nobleman, politician and military commander who served as Viceroy of Naples during the Third Italian War (1502-1504). He was known for m ...
, who was killed during the battle. It was one of the first European battles won by
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
weapons, as the attacks by the French cavalry and Swiss pikemen were shattered by the fire of Spanish arquebusiers behind a
defensive ditch.
Preparations
The
Third Italian War was re-kindled in late 1502, over disagreements stemming from the secret
Treaty of Granada
The Treaty of Granada, also known as the Capitulation of Granada or simply the Capitulations, was signed and ratified on November 25, 1491, between Boabdil, the sultan of Granada, and Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Castile, Leó ...
, signed on 11 November 1500. Although it was agreed that
Louis XII
Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...
of France would assume the
throne of Naples, he and the
monarchs of Spain soon quarreled over several territories between their respective spheres of control.
The Spanish forces under Fernández de Córdoba avoided contact with the French at first, hoping to lure the French into complacency. After a series of skirmishes, the battle of Cerignola was the first major engagement in this phase of the war, alongside the
second battle of Seminara in Calabria the week before.
Fernández de Córdoba was outnumbered but had the advantage of the terrain, with the Spanish occupying and fortifying the heights of Cerignola with ditches and stakes.
The Spanish infantry was organized into a new type of unit called ''coronelías'', the immediate predecessor of the later ''
tercios
A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the el ...
''. They were armed with a mix of
pikes,
arquebus
An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier.
Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...
es, and
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
s. This type of formation had revolutionized the Spanish army, which like the French, had centered on
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
well into the 15th century, in the battles of the
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
against the Muslims in Spain.
In front of the hillside, a ditch was dug behind which the arquebusiers took their positions, with the ''Landsknecht'' pikemen behind them. The Spanish
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
was placed on top of the hill among the vineyards, having a good view of the entire battlefield. The Spanish
light cavalry ''
jinete
''Jinete'' () is Spanish for " horseman", especially in the context of light cavalry.
Etymology
The word Jinete (of Berber ''zenata'') designates, in Castilian and the Provençal dialect of Occitan language, those who show great skill and riding ...
s'' screened the front of the position, while the Spanish
heavy cavalry
Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a Military reserve, tactical reserve; they are also often termed ''shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the re ...
under the Italian
condottiero Prospero Colonna
Prospero Colonna (1452–1523), sometimes referred to as Prosper Colonna, was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Spain during the Italian Wars.
Biography
A member of the ancient ...
were kept in reserve.
The Spanish troops faced a professional French army based on the ''Ordonnance'' reforms, relying on the heavy armoured cavalry of the ''Compagnies d'ordonnance'' and mercenary Swiss pikemen. This army also had more artillery than the Spanish, but the French artillery would not arrive in time to take an active part in the battle.
The battle
The battle began with two charges by the French heavy cavalry against the centre of the Spanish army, but these were both repulsed by intense Spanish artillery and arquebus fire. The next assault tried to force the Spanish right flank, but many of the French cavalrymen fell into the Spanish ditch and the attack was again thrown back by a storm of fire from the Spanish arquebusiers. One of those killed by the arquebus volleys was Nemours, making him possibly the first European general killed in action by small-arms fire. With the Swiss commander, Chandieu, taking charge, the Swiss pikemen attacked with the cavalry instead of waiting for the arrival of the French
rearguard
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...
and artillery under Yves d'Alègre. Seeing the imminent French infantry assault upon his center, Córdoba withdrew the arquebusiers to the flanks and the Landsknecht pikemen took their place behind the ditch. The Swiss formations, joined by the Gascon infantry, were unable to break into the defensive positions. Held by the Landsknechts in the front, fired into their flanks by the arquebusiers and harassed by the Spanish light cavalry, the Swiss and French were again driven back with heavy casualties, including Chandieu.
Fernández de Córdoba then launched a counterattack by the Spanish and German infantry and the reserve of heavy Spanish cavalry. Mounted arquebusiers surrounded and routed the remaining French gendarmes, but the Swiss pikemen managed to retreat in a relatively organized fashion.
[
Upon witnessing the defeat of both the gendarmes and the Swiss, d'Alègre directed a withdrawal. He was pursued by the victorious Spanish jinetes.][
"..what happened in the battle of Chirinola ; where an Italian, believing the Spanish were beaten, threw fire in the powder wagons, and the army being confused by such an accident, ''El Gran Capitan'' was encouraged saying 'good sign friends, those are the lights of victory' and thus it was."
]
Aftermath
The severe French defeat cost them around 4,000 soldiers,[Mallet, p. 65] with Spanish losses amounting to some 500 men.[ The French supply wagons and artillery was captured by the victorious Spanish troops. The end of the battle saw the first time a "call to prayer" (''toque de oracion'') was issued, a practice that was later adopted by most Western armies, when the Great Captain, upon seeing the fields full of French bodies (who, like the Spaniards, were Christian), ordered three long tones to be played and his troops to pray for all the fallen.
After the battle the defeated French army retreated to the fortress of ]Gaeta
Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The town has played a consp ...
north of Naples. De Córdoba's forces attempted to storm the fortress, but the attacks all failed. The besieged French were prepared for a long siege and were receiving supplies by sea. Thus unable to take Gaeta and fearing the arrival of possible French reinforcements, de Córdoba lifted the siege and retreated to Castellone, some 8 kilometers south of Gaeta.[
In retrospect, Cerignola marks the rise of ]pike and shot
Pike and shot was a historical infantry tactical formation that first appeared during the Italian Wars of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and was used until the development of the bayonet in the late 17th century. This type of formation ...
tactics and the beginning of 140 years of Spanish dominance on European battlefields until the defeat of Rocroi
Rocroi () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort.
Population
History
Rocroi was fortified by Francis I of France and expanded by Henry II of France. Bec ...
in 1643 . It is considered to be the first major battle won largely through the use of firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s, comparable to what was to occur in Japan seven decades later in the Battle of Nagashino
The took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his original plot with Oga Yashiro for taki ...
in 1575.
References
Sources
*Batista González, Juan (2007). ''España Estratégica. Guerra y Diplomacia en la Historia de España''. Sílex.
* Cassidy, Ben. "Machiavelli and the Ideology of the Offensive: Gunpowder Weapons in the Art of War." ''Journal of Military History'' 67#2 (2003): 381–404
online
*Losada, Juan Carlos (2006). ''Batallas Decisivas de la Historia de España''. Punto de Lectura.
*Mallet, Michael and Shaw, Christine. ''The Italian Wars 1494–1559''. Harlow: Pearson Educated Limited (2012) .
*Tafiłowski, Piotr (2007). Wojny włoskie 1494–1559. Zabrze: Inforteditions.
{{Coord, 41, 16, N, 15, 54, E, source:eswiki_region:IT_type:city, display=title
1503 in Italy
Cerignola 1503
Cerignola 1503
Cerignola 1503
Cerignola
Cerignola (; nap, label= Cerignolano, Ceregnòule ) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any ''comune'' in Italy, at , after Rome and Ra ...
Battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
Cerignola
Cerignola (; nap, label= Cerignolano, Ceregnòule ) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any ''comune'' in Italy, at , after Rome and Ra ...