*** Welcome to piglix ***

Battle of Villalar

Battle of Villalar
Part of the Revolt of the Comuneros
BatallaDeVillalar.jpg
A 19th century work by Manuel Picolo López depicting the Battle of Villalar.
Date April 23, 1521
Location Villalar
Result Decisive Royalist victory
Belligerents
Royalist Castilians Comuneros rebels
Commanders and leaders
Íñigo Fernández, Constable of Castile Juan López de Padilla (POW) Executed,
Francisco Maldonado (POW) Executed,
Juan Bravo (POW) Executed
Strength

8,400 men

  • 6,000 infantry
  • 2,400 cavalry

7,400 men

  • 7,000 infantry
  • 400 cavalry
Casualties and losses
20–30 dead 500–1000 dead

8,400 men

7,400 men

The Battle of Villalar was a battle in the Revolt of the Comuneros fought on April 23, 1521 near the town of Villalar in Valladolid province, Spain. The royalist supporters of King Charles I won a crushing victory over the comuneros rebels. Three of the most important rebel leaders were captured, Juan de Padilla, Juan Bravo, and Francisco Maldonado. They were executed the next day, effectively ending armed resistance to Charles I.

In late March 1521, the royalist side moved to combine their armies and threaten Torrelobatón, a rebel stronghold. The Constable of Castile began to move his troops (including soldiers recently transferred from the defense of Navarre) southwest from Burgos to meet with the Admiral's forces near Tordesillas. This was possible due to the comunero-aligned Count of Salvatierra's force being caught up in the siege of Medina de Pomar; the Count's forces had previously been enough of a threat to force the Constable to maintain a large army to defend Burgos. The Constable's army had approximately 3,000 infantry, 600 cavalry, 2 cannons, 2 culverin, and 5 light artillery pieces. His army took up positions in Becerril de Campos, near Palencia. Meanwhile, the comuneros reinforced their troops at Torrelobatón, which was far less secure than the comuneros preferred. Their forces were suffering from desertions, and the presence of royalist artillery would make Torrelobatón's castle vulnerable. They had two strategic possibilities: prevent the Constable and Admiral from uniting their forces by striking at the Constable while he was still on the field, or carry out low-level harrying operations to try to slow the Constable down. The comuneros did neither, and thus allowed the Constable to approach nearly unchecked. The commander of the comunero armies, Juan de Padilla, considered withdrawing to Toro to seek reinforcements in early April, but wavered. He delayed his decision until the early hours of April 23, losing considerable time and allowing the royalists to unite their forces in Peñaflor.


...
Wikipedia

...