The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the Valois kings of France, on one side, and their opponents in the Holy Roman Empire and Spain on the other. At different points, various Italian states participated in the war, some on both sides, with limited involvement from England, Switzerland, and the Ottoman Empire.
The Landsknechte, also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was formed by Doppelsöldner renowned for their use of Zweihänder and arquebus. They formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Army from the late 15th century to the early 17th century, fighting in the Habsburg-Valois wars, the Habsburg-Ottoman wars, and the European wars of religion.
The Swiss mercenaries were a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among the military forces of the kings of France, throughout the early modern period of European history, from the Late Middle Ages into the 19th century. Their service as mercenaries was at its peak during the Renaissance, when their proven battlefield capabilities made them sought-after mercenary troops. There followed a period of decline, as technological and organizational advances counteracted the Swiss' advantages. Switzerland's military isolationism largely put an end to organized mercenary activity; the principal remnant of the practice is the Pontifical Swiss Guard at the Vatican.
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fought for its entire duration, were France, the Papal States, and the Republic of Venice; they were joined at various times by nearly every significant power in Western Europe, including Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, England, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, the Duchy of Ferrara, and the Swiss.
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–30) was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V—primarily the Holy Roman Empire and Spain—and the League of Cognac, an alliance including the Kingdom of France, Pope Clement VII, the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of England, the Duchy of Milan, and the Republic of Florence.
The Great Turkish War or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years, was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Poland-Lithuania, Venice, Russia, and the Kingdom of Hungary. Intensive fighting began in 1683 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The war was a resounding defeat for the Ottoman Empire, which for the first time lost substantial territory, in Hungary and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as in part of the western Balkans. The war was significant also for being the first instance of Russia joining an alliance with Western Europe. Historians have labeled the war as the Fourteenth Crusade launched against the Turks by the papacy.
Bartolomeo d'Alviano was an Italian condottiero and captain who distinguished himself in the defence of the Venetian Republic against the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian.
Georg von Frundsberg was a German military and Landsknecht leader in the service of the Holy Roman Empire and Imperial House of Habsburg. An early modern proponent of infantry tactics, he established his reputation in active service during the Italian Wars under Emperor Maximilian I and his successor Charles V. Even in his lifetime, he was referred to as "Vater der Landsknechte" and legends about him as the patriarchal figure of the Landsknechte or his incredible physical strength surfaced. He achieved great prestige and fame for his role in the Habsburg victory at Pavia against France and during the war of the League of Cognac.
Andrea Gritti was the Doge of the Venetian Republic from 1523 to 1538, following a distinguished diplomatic and military career. He started out as a successful merchant in Constantinople and transitioned into the position of Bailo, a diplomatic role. He was arrested for espionage but was spared execution thanks to his good relationship with the Ottoman vizier. After being freed from imprisonment, he returned to Venice and began his political career. When the War of the League of Cambrai broke out, despite his lack of experience, he was given a leadership role in the Venetian military, where he excelled. After the war, he was elected doge, and he held that post until his death.
Niccolò di Pitigliano (1442–1510) was an Italian condottiero best known as the Captain-General of the Venetians during the Most Serene Republic's war against the League of Cambrai. He was a member of the powerful feudal family of the Orsini, belonging to its Pitigliano line.
The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an Imperial–Spanish and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands.
The Italian War of 1521–1526, sometimes known as the Four Years' War, was a part of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and the Papal States. It arose from animosity over the election of Charles as Emperor in 1519–1520 and from Pope Leo X's need to ally with Charles against Martin Luther.
The military history of the Republic of Venice started shortly after its founding, spanning a period from the 9th century until the Republic's fall in the 18th century.
The siege of Florence took place from 24 October 1529 to 10 August 1530, at the end of the War of the League of Cognac. At the Congress of Bologna, the Medici Pope Clement VII and Emperor Charles V agreed to restore the Medici family in Florence. A large Imperial and Spanish army under Philibert of Châlon, Prince of Orange and Pier Maria III de' Rossi surrounded the city and after a siege of nearly ten months, captured it. They overthrew the Republic of Florence and installed Alessandro de' Medici as the ruler of the city.
The Republic of Venice was a sovereign state and maritime republic in Northeast Italy, which existed for a millennium between the 8th century and 1797.
The Italian campaign of 1524–1525 was the final significant action of the Italian War of 1521–1526 launched by the French into Northern Italy. Led by Francis I of France, the French attempted to dislodge the Habsburgs from Italy in an attempt to control Italy for themselves. After the French invaded Lombardy, the campaign would then primarily consist of the French attempt to capture the city of Milan. However, after Francis's defeat at the Siege of Pavia, the French were driven out of Italy and Francis was taken prisoner.
The Morean war, also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military operations ranged from Dalmatia to the Aegean Sea, but the war's major campaign was the Venetian conquest of the Morea (Peloponnese) peninsula in southern Greece.
The Battle of the citadel of Vicenza was fought between November 26 and 29, 1509 in Vicenza, Italy as an episode of the War of the League of Cambrai.
The Scaliger War was a conflict fought in 1336–1339 between the Scaliger lords of Verona, Mastino II della Scala and Alberto II della Scala, who had built an extensive territorial state in northern Italy, and a coalition of powers threatened by Scaliger expansion. These were chiefly the Republic of Venice, antagonized by the imposition of taxes on overland trade and the Scaligers' threat to end Venetian salt monopoly, and the Republic of Florence, which resented the Scaliger annexation of Lucca, that Florence had claimed for itself. After the first victories of the anti-Scaliger coalition, it was joined by Milan, Mantua, and Ferrara, who all had reasons to fear Scaliger ambitions. The turning point of the war was the end of Scaliger dominion over Padua in 1337, which became a separate, Venetian-influenced lordship under Marsilio da Carrara. The peace treaty, concluded at Venice on 24 January 1339, deprived Mastino II of most of his recent gains, reducing Scaliger domains to Verona and Vicenza. The annexation of Mestre and Treviso to Venice, however, marked the beginnings of the Venetian mainland state.
