Battle of Fornovo

Battle of Fornovo
Part of the First Italian War
Date 6 July 1495 Location Fornovo, Emilia, Italy Result French victory; Tactical Italian victory; temporary expulsion of the French from the Italian peninsula
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	League of Venice: Republic of Venice Duchy of Milan Margravate of Mantua
Commanders and leaders
Charles VIII King of France	Francesco II Marquess of Mantua
Strength
10,000 men~11,000 28 guns	20,000 men
Casualties and losses
1,200 casualties	2,000 casualties

French victory;

10,000 men~11,000

The Battle of Fornovo took place 30 km (19 miles) southwest of the city of Parma on 6 July 1495. The Holy League, an alliance comprising notably the Republic of Venice, was able to temporarily expel the French from the Italian Peninsula. It was the first major battle of the Italian Wars.

Charles VIII dreamed of his own crusade against the infidel and of recapturing Jerusalem for Christendom. This was to be preceded by the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples, to which he had a nebulous claim through his paternal grandmother, Marie of Anjou (1404–1463).

To have his hands free in Italy, Charles made ruinous pacts with all his neighbours, so they would not interfere. Henry VII was given cash, Ferdinand II of Aragon was given Roussillon and Maximillian was given Artois and Franche-Comté. This handing out of territory is symptomatic of Charles' lack of foresight. However, Charles was willing to do this in his attempt to establish his Neapolitan base for his crusade.

Armies comprising forces from the many independent towns of Italy were raised by establishing a contract, or condotta, between the town leaders and the leaders of mercenary bands, who came to be called Condottieri. This led to the development of tactics destined to establish field supremacy, the capture of wealthy prisoners for ransom, and the minimizing of casualties. These tactics were to be put to shame when the highly motivated armies of France and Spain descended upon the Italian peninsula.

Charles VIII was on good terms with the two powers in northern Italy, Milan and Venice, and both had encouraged him to make good his claims over the Kingdom of Naples. Thus he assumed he would have their support when he moved against Alfonso II of Naples, especially as the rival claimant was Ferdinand II of Aragon, King of Spain. At the end of August 1494 Charles VIII led a powerful French army with a large contingent of Swiss mercenaries and the first train of artillery seen in history into Italy. He was granted free passage through Milan, but was vigorously opposed by Florence, Pope Alexander VI, and Naples.

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