Siege of Novara (1495)

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Siege of Novara
Part of the First Italian War
Date 11 June – 24 September 1495 Location Novara, Duchy of Milan Result League of Venice victory
Belligerents
France	League of Venice: Republic of Venice Duchy of Milan Margraviate of Mantua
Commanders and leaders
Louis, Duke of Orléans	Galeazzo Sanseverino, Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este Bernardo Contarini, Luca Pisani and Melchiorre Trevisan Francesco II Gonzaga of Mantua
Casualties and losses
2000[1]

The siege of Novara took place in the summer and autumn of 1495 during the Italian War of 1494–1495. While king Charles VIII of France was retreating to the north after facing rebellions in the recently conquered Kingdom of Naples, and managed to escape the destruction of his army at the Battle of Fornovo (6 July 1495), his cousin and future king Louis d'Orleans opened a second front by attacking the Duchy of Milan (which had defected to France's enemies) and occupying the city of Novara. In an effort to retrieve it, the Milanese army and their League of Venice allies besieged Novara for three months and fourteen days.^[1] Suffering from severe starvation and disease, the French lost about 2000 soldiers before Louis had to surrender and withdraw.^[1]