The Battle of Serravalle took place on 2–4 June 1544 in

Serravalle Scrivia Serravalle Scrivia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Serravalle Scrivia borders the following municipalities: Ar ...

, in the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, between the Imperial-Spanish army commanded by Don Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto, and a force of freshly raised Italian mercenaries in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

service, led by Pietro Strozzi, member of the rich and famous Florentine family of the

Strozzi Strozzi is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Numerous members of the Strozzi family, an ancient later ennobled family from Florence ** Alessandra Macinghi Strozzi (c. 1408–1471), an Italian businesswoman and aristoc ...

, and Giovan Francesco Orsini, Count of Pitigliano, during the

Italian War of 1542–1546 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Background

Despite the collapse of the

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imper ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

army under Alfonso d'Avalos at the

Battle of Ceresole The Battle of Ceresole (; also Cérisoles) took place on 14 April 1544, during the Italian War of 1542–1546, outside the village of Ceresole d'Alba in the Piedmont region of Italy. A French army, commanded by François de Bourbon, Count of ...

(''

: Cerisoles''), the battle proved to be of little strategic significance.Black. ''"Dynasty Forged by Fire"'' p.43 At the insistence of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

, the French army resumed the Siege of Carignano, where Pirro Colonna held out for several weeks. Soon after the city's surrender, the impending invasion of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

itself by the forces of the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, forced

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

to recall much of his army from

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, leaving the Count of Enghien without the troops he needed to take

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. The Spaniards, holding all the strong places of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, were enabled to prevent d'Enghien from any further success.Leathes p.77

Battle

Pietro Strozzi, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

military leader in French service, who had collected an army of over 10,000 soldiers at

Mirandola Mirandola (Emilian language#Dialects, Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the Modena, provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance Defensiv ...

, advanced boldly to Milan, in the hopes of joining d'Enghien there, but on 2–4 June, the Imperial-Spanish army commanded by Don Alfonso d'Avalos intercepted and defeated the Franco-Italian army of Pietro Strozzi and the Count of Pitigliano. The Strozzi's army was destroyed and the Spaniards obtained the total control of the

, ending the French offensive of the

François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; ...

, to try to capture the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

. The brilliant French victory at Ceresole occurred two months earlier, finally resulted useless.

Consequences

The

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

would remain in the hands of the

Emperor Charles Emperor Charles or Emperor Karl may refer to: * Charlemagne (742–814), first Holy Roman Emperor * Charles the Bald (823–877), counted as Emperor Charles II * Charles the Fat (839–888), counted as Emperor Charles III * Charles IV, Holy Roman E ...

, and in the end of the war saw a return to the status-quo in northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In May, the Emperor invaded France with two armies. One of them, led by the Imperial commander Ferrante Gonzaga, Viceroy of Sicily, captured

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and moved towards

Commercy Commercy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that time its lords were dependent on th ...

and

Ligny Ligny (; ) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' of So ...

.Knecht p.491 On 8 July, Ferrante Gonzaga besieged

Saint-Dizier Saint-Dizier () is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Hau ...

, and the second army led by the Emperor Charles stationed in the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

, soon joined him.Blockmans. ''Emperor Charles V (1500–1558)'' Meanwhile,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, had sent an army of some 40,000 men to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

under the command of

Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were behea ...

, and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk.Knecht p.491

Notes

References

* Scotto, Andrea. ''Serravalle, 4 giugno 1544. La Battaglia dimenticata e la conclusione delle Guerre d'Italia''. Genoa: Erga Edizioni, 2009 *Blockmans, Wim. ''Emperor Charles V (1500–1558)''. Translated by Isola van den Hoven-Vardon. New York: Oxford University Press (2002) . *Oman, Charles. ''A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century''. London: Methuen & Co. (1937) *Guiu y Martí, Estanislao. ''El año militar español: coleccion de episodios, hechos y glorias de la historia militar de España. Tomo II''. (1890). * Modesto Lafuente. ''Historia General de España'' (Volume 12

*Denieul-Cormier, Anne. ''The Renaissance in France.'' Trans. Anne and Christopher Fremantle. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd 1969. *Black, Jeremy. ''"Dynasty Forged by Fire" MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History'' 18, no. 3 (Spring 2006): 34–43. ISSN 1040-5992. *Stanley Leathes. ''The Cambridge Modern History. The Reformation: The end of the Middle Ages'' Chapter 2–3 (I) (II) ''Habsburg and Valois'' (1903) *Knecht, Robert J. ''Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1994) . {{DEFAULTSORT:Serravalle, Battle Of (1544) 1544 in France 1544 in Italy 1544 in Spain Conflicts in 1544 Battles of the Italian Wars Battles involving France Battles involving the Holy Roman Empire Battles involving Spain Italian War of 1542–1546

Background

Battle

Consequences

See also

Notes

References