HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Andrea Cantelmo (2 August 1598 – 5 November 1645) was a Neapolitan commander of Habsburg armies during the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, the
War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession, from 1628 to 1631, was caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, last male heir from the House of Gonzaga, long-time rulers of Mantua and Montferrat. Their strategic importance led to a proxy war b ...
, the second phase of the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
, the
Franco-Spanish War (1635–59) Franco-Spanish War may refer to any war between France and Spain, including: References {{disambig France–Spain military relations ...
, and the Reapers War.


Life

Cantelmo, son of the duke of Popoli and of Laura d'Evoli, was born in Pettorano sul Gizio on 2 August 1598. In 1620 he was given command of a company of arquebusiers by the viceroy of Naples Gaspare Borgia. With his new company he set out for the war of Valtellina. Where he participated in the battles of Tirano and Morbegno, the siege of Chiavenna and the relief of Coira. After serving in the Valtelline he transferred to the army of
Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...
as a cavalry commander, serving in Bohemia, distinguishing himself in the battles against Gábor Bethlen. He then returned to Italy to take part in the
Relief of Genoa The Relief of Genoa took place between 28 March 1625 and 24 April 1625, during the Thirty Years' War. It was a major naval expedition launched by Spain against the French-occupied Republic of Genoa, whose capital, Genoa, was being besieged by a ...
. He remained in Italy to serve in the initial stages of the War of the Mantuan Succession, taking part in the Siege of Casale, and the battles of Verrua, Nice, Rosignano and Pontestura.Agostino Lauro, "Cantelmo, Andrea", ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', vol. 18 (1975)
Online edition
accessed 14 Feb. 2015.
In 1631 he transferred again, to the
Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...
, serving in the Rhineland and later in Picardy. During the outbreak of the Franco-Spanish War in 1635 he played a role in the defense of the Lowlands in response to the and in the subsequent Spanish offensive in French Picardy, besieging Lachapelle , Le Châtelet, and Corbie. At these sieges he began using a bomb of his own invention, made of bronze spheres filled with explosives. As general of artillery he played an important role in the Habsburg victory in the
Battle of Kallo The Battle of Kallo was a major field battle fought from 20 to 21 June 1638 in and around the forts of Kallo and Verrebroek, located on the left bank of the Scheldt river, near Antwerp, during the second phase of the Eighty Years' War. Following ...
(1638) in which following an intense war council, Cantelmo's proposal of a frontal assault prevailed. He launched his attack on Veerbruk under the cover of night, and after seven hours of fierce fighting, forced the Dutch to abandon their forward positions and retreat into the fort. Despite determined resistance, the defenders eventually broke, fleeing toward boats in an attempt to escape – a move quickly mimicked by their comrades stationed at the fort of Kallo. However, the low tide prevented the boats from reaching shore, a vulnerability Cantelmo exploited decisively. He inflicted severe casualties on the fleeing troops, leaving the waters littered with bodies, and captured roughly 2,200 prisoners, 85 ships laden with ammunition and provisions, 19 cannons, 56 flags, and 4 standards. In 1641 Cantelmo was appointed to a council of six to govern the Spanish Netherlands. In response to renewed French aggression on Flanders, Cantelmo successfully managed internal unrest among unpaid troops, raising funds to settle their wages. In 1642, he invaded the Boulonnais, capturing eleven fortresses and disrupting French war plans. Afterward, he advanced into Brabant, securing key positions near
Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...
. Over time, however, strategic conflicts emerged between Cantelmo and the new governor,
Francisco de Melo Dom Francisco de Melo (1597 – 18 December 1651) was a Portuguese nobleman who served as a Spanish general during the Thirty Years' War. Biography Francisco was born in Estremoz, Portugal. From 1632 to 1636 he was the Spanish ambassador to th ...
, notably in 1643, when insufficient resources forced Cantelmo to abandon his offensive in the Calais-Gravelines-Ardres region. Melo, ignoring Cantelmo's counsel, advanced into France, resulting in the devastating Spanish defeat in the
Battle of Rocroi The Battle of Rocroi, fought on 19 May 1643, was a major engagement of the Thirty Years' War between a French army, led by the 21-year-old Duke of Enghien (later known as the Great Condé) and Spanish forces under General Francisco de Melo ...
on May 19, 1643. In 1644, after the downfall of Olivares, Cantelmo was recalled to Spain and appointed to the War Council, where he played a key role in shaping the campaign in Catalonia in the Reapers War. Leading military operations himself, he successfully captured Lerida in July. Later, he was named Captain General of the Army of Catalonia, replacing the Portuguese commander Felipe de Silva. With an army of 5,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry, he launched an assault on Tarragona, driving out the French forces. By September, he had also retaken Balaguer and several other strategic locations in the plain of Urgell. However, his campaign faced setbacks. After the French, led by Harcourt, captured Rosas, Cantelmo initially achieved some victories against French troops advancing into Aragon from Roussillon. Despite these successes, he suffered a major defeat at Balaguer, which ultimately forced him to relinquish command back to de Silva. Following this, he was reassigned to lead the Army of Navarre. Before he could take up this final command, Cantelmo died at Alcubierre on November 5, 1645. His military treatises and war memoirs have been lost, though some of his views on politics and warfare were later published by Di Capua. He is also credited with inventing flying mines and a repeating pistol capable of firing twenty-five shots. He was interested in history and politics, and wrote on the art of war, but his writings have not been preserved. He maintained a correspondence on history and mathematics with the humanist Erycius Puteanus, whom he met following the Battle of Kallo when in
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
for medical treatment.


References


Bibliography

* Lionardo Di Capua, ''Vita di Andrea Cantelmo'' (Naples, Giacomo Raillard, 1693)
Copy from
National Central Library (Rome) The (Central National Library of Rome), in Rome, is one of two central national libraries of Italy, along with in Florence. In total, 9 national libraries exist, out of 46 state libraries. The library's mission is to collect and preserve all t ...
available on
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
. Accessed 14 Feb. 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantelmo, Andrea 1598 births 1645 deaths People from the Kingdom of Naples Military personnel of the Eighty Years' War Italian military writers Imperial Army personnel of the Thirty Years' War