July 6th, 1495 - The Battle of Fornovo

Conflict: First Italian War

Combatants: French vs. Italians

Location: Italy

Outcome: French victory

In the course of withdrawing from Italy, the French army of Charles VIII was met by 30,000 Venetians and Mantuans near Fornovo. Anticipating only tepid resistance, the Italian army of Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga was shocked by a vicious charge of the French heavy cavalry. The Italians fled the field leaving 3,500 casualties behind. The greatly outnumbered French had lost only about 100 men.

Battle of Fornoue by Eloi-Firmin Féron

Points of Interest:

• An Italian attempt to outflank the smaller French army at Fornovo was foiled by a swollen river and ground muddied by rainstorms on the previous day.

• Despite retreating during the 1495 campaign, France continued to threaten and invade Italy for another fifty years.

Charles the VIII of France by Jean Perréal

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.