Battle of Pavia

Battle of Pavia
Part of the Italian War of 1521–26
Ruprecht Heller, The Battle of Pavia (1529), Nationalmuseum,
Date 24 February 1525 Location Pavia (in present-day Italy) Result Decisive Imperial–Spanish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	Empire of Charles V: Holy Roman Empire Spain
Commanders and leaders
Francis I of France (POW) Francois de Lorraine † Richard de la Pole †	Charles de Lannoy Marquis of Pescara Georg Frundsberg Antonio de Leyva
Strength
17,000 infantry 6,500 cavalry 53 guns	19,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 17 guns
Casualties and losses
15,000 dead, wounded or captured	500 dead or wounded

Empire of Charles V:

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.

An Imperial–Spanish army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy (and working in conjunction with the garrison of Pavia, commanded by Antonio de Leyva) attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve of Mirabello outside the city walls. In the four-hour battle, the French army was split and defeated in detail. The French suffered massive casualties, including many of the chief nobles of France. Francis himself was captured by Habsburg troops and imprisoned by Charles V and forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Madrid, surrendering significant territory to his captor. The outcome of the battle cemented Habsburg ascendancy in Italy.

The French, in possession of Lombardy at the start of the Italian War of 1521–26, had been forced to abandon it after their defeat at the Battle of Bicocca in 1522. Determined to regain it, Francis ordered an invasion of the region in late 1523, under the command of Guillaume Gouffier, Seigneur de Bonnivet; but Bonnivet was defeated by Imperial troops at the Battle of the Sesia and forced to withdraw to France.

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