Battle of Bicocca

Battle of Bicocca
Part of the Italian War of 1521–26
Lombardy in 1522. The location of the battle is marked.
Date 27 April 1522 Location Bicocca, Duchy of Milan (present-day Italy) 45°31′05″N 9°12′36″E / 45.518°N 9.210°E / 45.518; 9.210Coordinates: 45°31′05″N 9°12′36″E / 45.518°N 9.210°E / 45.518; 9.210 Result Imperial–Spanish and Papal victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France  Republic of Venice	Holy Roman Empire Spain  Papal States Duchy of Milan
Commanders and leaders
Vicomte de Lautrec Duc de Montmorency	Georg von Frundsberg Fernando d'Avalos Prospero Colonna
Strength
19,000–31,000+	18,000+
Casualties and losses
3,000+ killed	Light
Location of the battlefield in present-day Lombardy

The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca (Italian: Battaglia della Bicocca) was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an Imperial–Spanish and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands.

Having been driven from Milan by an Imperial advance in late 1521, Lautrec had regrouped, attempting to strike at Colonna's lines of communication. When the Swiss mercenaries in French service did not receive their pay, however, they demanded an immediate battle, and Lautrec was forced to attack Colonna's fortified position in the park of the Arcimboldi Villa Bicocca, north of Milan. The Swiss pikemen advanced over open fields under heavy artillery fire to assault the Imperial positions, but were halted at a sunken road backed by earthworks. Having suffered massive casualties from the fire of Spanish arquebusiers, the Swiss retreated. Meanwhile, an attempt by French cavalry to flank Colonna's position proved equally ineffective. The Swiss, unwilling to fight further, marched off to their cantons a few days later, and Lautrec retreated into Venetian territory with the remnants of his army.

The battle is noted chiefly for marking the end of the Swiss dominance among the infantry of the Italian Wars, and of the Swiss method of assaults by massed columns of pikemen without support from other troops. It was also one of the first engagements in which firearms played a decisive role on the battlefield.