Battle of Marignano

Battle of Marignano
	Part of the War of the League of Cambrai
	; Francis I Orders His Troops to Stop Pursuing the Swiss, a Romantic 19th century work by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard (Galerie des Batailles, Palace of Versailles)
Date	13–14 September 1515
Location	Near Melegnano, southeast of Milan, present-day Italy
Result	Franco-Venetian victory Swiss cantons signed the Treaty of Fribourg establishing the "Perpetual Peace";
Territorial; changes	France occupies Milan
Belligerents
Kingdom of France; Venice	Old Swiss Confederacy; Milan
Commanders and leaders
Francis I; Gian Giacomo Trivulzio; Bartolomeo d'Alviano; Louis de la Trémoille; Charles III, Duke of Bourbon	Marx Röist; Maximilian Sforza; Cardinal Mattheus Schiner
Strength
French: 30,000 men and 72 guns ; Venetian reinforcements: 10,000 men (very few engaged);	22,200 men 22,000 infantry; 200 cavalry;
Casualties and losses
5,000 dead ; Unknown wounded	10,000 dead ; Unknown wounded

The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the best heavy cavalry and artillery in the world, led by Francis I, newly crowned King of France, against the Old Swiss Confederacy, whose mercenaries until that point were regarded as the best medieval infantry force in Europe. With the French were German landsknechts, bitter rivals of the Swiss for fame and renown in war, and their late arriving Venetian allies.

^ Sforza was present at the battle, and, being the nominal employer of the Swiss, may be considered their leader. It is extremely doubtful, however, that he exercised any actual command.
^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Vol. II. Santa Bárbara: ABC-CLIO. p.484
^ Nolan, Cathal J. (2006). The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. p.575; Nolan, Cathal J. (2017). The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars Have Been Won and Lost. Oxford University Press. p.68
^ Nolan (2006), p.575; Tucker (2009), p.484
^ Nolan (2006): p.575

[1] Sforza was present at the battle, and, being the nominal employer of the Swiss, may be considered their leader. It is extremely doubtful, however, that he exercised any actual command.

[Tucker-2] Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Vol. II. Santa Bárbara: ABC-CLIO. p.484

[Nolan_1-3] Nolan, Cathal J. (2006). The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization. p.575; Nolan, Cathal J. (2017). The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars Have Been Won and Lost. Oxford University Press. p.68

[4] Nolan (2006), p.575; Tucker (2009), p.484

[Nolan_2-5] Nolan (2006): p.575

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