Battle of Legnano
| Battle of Legnano | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Guelphs and Ghibellines | |||||||
 The Battle of Legnano (1831 painting by Massimo d'Azeglio) |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Holy Roman Empire
|
 Lombard League
|
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Frederick I Barbarossa | Guido da Landriano | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000 men | 3,500 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy | Heavy | ||||||
The Battle of Legnano was fought on May 29, 1176, between the forces of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the Lombard League. The Imperial army suffered a major defeat.
The Lombard League was formed in 1167, largely out of the Veronese League. It was a Union of Lombard cities promising each other unity, against Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The cities of Lombardy swore their oath of mutual protection at Pontida, a small village in the region.
After the disastrous defeat of Pope Alexander III at the Battle of Monte Porzio in May 1167 by the imperial forces, the Lombard League remained as the last legitimate fighting force opposing the emperor and was therefore heavily backed by the pope.
In September 1174, Frederick embarked on his fifth Italian campaign, to quench the constant revolts in Lombardy and settle his quarrels with Pope Alexander III. Frederick led a force of 8,000 knights over the Alps and arrived in Piedmont in late September. His cousin Henry the Lion and his forces were once again not a part of the imperial campaign. Frederick wanted to take revenge on Susa for its behaviour of 1168, and on September 30 his forces captured and burned down the town. His next goal was the town of Asti, which he captured after a seven-day siege. In October, Frederick finally received the promised imperial reinforcements from Bohemia. Upon Frederick's rapid and fierce initial success, Margrave William of Montferrat and the Count of Biandrate abandoned the Lombard League.
...
Wikipedia