- Italian War of 1494–1498
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=First Italian War
partof=theItalian Wars
caption= Italy in 1494.
date=1494 –95
place=Italy
casus=
territory=
result=League of Venice victory
combatant1=France
combatant2=Papal States ,
Republic of Venice ,
Naples ,
Duchy of Milan ,
Holy Roman Empire
commander1=Charles VIII
commander2=Ferdinand II of Naples
Francesco II
strength1=25,000 menR. Ritchie, "Historical Atlas of the Renaissance", 64]
*8,000Swiss mercenaries
strength2=Unknown
casualties1=13,000 menR. Ritchie, "Historical Atlas of the Renaissance", 64]
casualties2=UnknownThe First Italian War (
1494 –95), sometimes referred to as the Italian War of 1494 or Charles VIII's Italian War, was the opening phase of theItalian Wars . The war pittedCharles VIII of France , who had initialMilan ese aid, against theHoly Roman Empire ,Spain , and an alliance of Italian powers led byPope Alexander VI .Prelude
Pope Innocent VIII , in conflict with KingFerdinand I of Naples over Ferdinand's refusal to pay feudal dues to the papacy, excommunicated and deposed Ferdinand by a bull of 11 September1489 . Innocent then offered theKingdom of Naples to KingCharles VIII of France , who had a remote claim to Naples through theAngevin line. Innocent later settled his quarrel with Ferdinand and revoked the bans before dying in1492 , but the offer remained anapple of discord in Italian politics. Ferdinand died in January1494 , and was succeeded by his son Alfonso II.French invasion
In October
1494 ,Ludovico Sforza , who had long controlled theDuchy of Milan , finally inherited the ducal title. He was immediately challenged by Alfonso II, who also had a claim on Milan. Ludovico decided to remove this threat by inciting Charles to take up Innocent's offer. Charles was also being encouraged by his favorite,Étienne de Vesc . Charles gathered a large army of 25,000 men (including 8,000Swiss mercenaries ), including the firstsiege train to includeartillery , and invaded Italy.R. Ritchie, "Historical Atlas of the Renaissance", 64] Easily subduingFlorence , the French reachedNaples in February1495 and captured it without a siege or pitched battle.League of Venice
The speed of the French advance, together with the brutality of their attacks on cities, left the other states of Italy in shock. Ludovico, realizing that Charles had a claim to Milan as well, and would likely not be sated with the annexation of Naples alone, turned to the Papacy.
Pope Alexander VI was embroiled in a power game with France and various Italian states over his attempts to secure secular fiefdoms for his children. The Pope formed an alliance of several opponents of French hegemony in Italy: himself; Ferdinand of Aragon, who was also King ofSicily ; EmperorMaximilian I ; Ludovico inMilan ; and theRepublic of Venice . (Venice's ostensible purpose in joining the League was to oppose theOttoman Empire , while its actual objective was to expel the French from Italy.) This alliance was known as the Holy League of 1495 or theLeague of Venice , and was proclaimed on31 March 1495 . England joined in 1496. The League was the first of its kind: there was no medieval precedent of such divergent European states uniting against a common enemy, although many would be forged in the future. [Anderson, M. S.. "The Rise of Modern Diplomacy 1450-1919", Longman, London 1993, p 3.] The League gathered an army under thecondottiero Francesco II of Gonzaga . Charles, not wanting to be trapped in Naples, marched north toLombardy . There he was defeated by the League in theBattle of Fornovo ,6 July 1495 . Charles escaped with most of his army, but had to abandon nearly all of the booty from his campaign and return to France. He died before he could regroup his forces and return to Italy.References
* Phillips, Charles and Alan Axelrod. "Encyclopedia of Wars". New York: Facts on File, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-2851-6.
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