The Battle of Novara was fought on 8 April 1500 between the forces of King Louis XII of France and the forces of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan. On 24 March 1500, Louis II de la Trémoille joined the main French army at

Mortara, Lombardy Mortara ( Lombard: ''Murtära'') is a town and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Italy. It lies between the Agogna and Terdoppio rivers, in the historical district known as Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural center. It received the hono ...

, with a corps of about 500 men, supported by artillery. He was quickly followed by the 10,000 Swiss raised by the Baillie of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

. On 5 April, all the King's army was united and marched to engage the Milanese forces before Novara. There was a large number of

Swiss mercenaries The Swiss mercenaries (german: Reisläufer) were a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among t ...

in the ranks of each of the two armies. The Helvetic cantons, in accepting their contracts, had it placed in the contracts that they would not be forced to fight against other Swiss. (The Swiss troops were close and, even though serving under different flags, would drink together.) As a result, when the action began at Novara on the 8th, Sforza's Swiss refused to act against those of La Trémoille. A cannonade caused Sforza and his army to retreat to the fortress of Novara, which was besieged by the French a few days later. La Trémoille, to cut his road to Milan, fortified himself between Novara and Tessin. From the night of the 9th, the Swiss, in the service of Sforza, mutinied and negotiated a capitulation with the French. The German

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 lin ...

s quickly did the same. By this capitulation, which was executed on 10 April 1500, the Swiss and Landsknechts were allowed to return to their homes with their baggage, after having laid down their arms. Their companions, the Lombards and the

stratioti The Stratioti or Stradioti ( gr, στρατιώτες ''stratiotes''; sq, Stratiotë, Stratiotët;, it, stradioti, stradiotti, stratioti, strathiotto, strathioti; french: estradiots; sh, stratioti, stradioti; es, estradiotes) were mercenary u ...

(Albanian and Greek light cavalry), came out of Novara and attempted to cut their way down the road to Tessin. They were charged and assaulted by the French forces. Meanwhile, the Swiss passed by pairs or threes before the French, where they were examined as the French searched for Sforza, who was thought to be concealed in their midst. He was surrendered by two of his companions, taken to France and locked up in the

Château de Loches The Château de Loches (also called Le Logis Royal de Loches) is a castle located in the ''département'' of Indre-et-Loire in the Loire valley in France; it was constructed in the 9th century. Built some away from the river Indre, the h ...

, where he was held in a cage wide and long. He was refused books for his amusement. In 1504, more freedom was granted to him, but he died in 1508.Gallois, N., pp. 30–31.

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