The siege of Perpignan took place in 1542, at

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

, between a larger French army commanded by Henry, Dauphin of France and the Spanish garrison at Perpignan. The Spaniards resisted until the arrival of the Spanish army under Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, causing the withdrawal of the French army. The siege was one of the costliest defeats 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 ...

in the French offensive of 1542.

French offensive of 1542

In June, 1541,

, allied with the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, made a show of the power at his disposal, by arriving with five armies.Lafuente p.208Lafuente p.209 Francis declared war on 12 July 1542, and the French immediately launched an offensive against

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

with these armies.Knecht p.480 One of them, commanded by his son

Charles, Duke of Orléans Charles of Orléans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465) was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. He was also Duke of Valois, Count of Beaumont-sur-Oise and of Blois, Lord of Coucy, ...

went to

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 ...

. Another, led by Francis's eldest son, Henry, Dauphin of France, marched to

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

towards the frontiers of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The third, commanded by Marshal Maarten van Rossum marched over Brabant, the fourth under the

Duke of Vendôme Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and the fifth went to the

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 ...

commanded by the Marshal of France

Claude d'Annebault Claude d'Annebault (1495 – 2 November 1552) was a French military officer; Marshal of France (1538–52); Admiral of France (1543–1552); and Governor of Piedmont in 1541. He led the French invasion of the Isle of Wight in 1545. Annebault was ...

. The result of this new offensive was another failure for Francis I. In

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, the army of Maarten van Rossum, supported by a German army under the Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, came up against a strong Imperial-Spanish defense of

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 ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. The Duke of Orleans attacked Luxembourg, and in the meantime, in Piedmont, the French army only managed to capture some towns due to the cunning of Claude d'Annebault. In southern France, in

, the army commanded by Henry, Dauphin of France, consisting of 40,000 men, supported by the army of Marshal

, laid siege to

, after losing valuable time which was used by the Emperor Charles to strengthen the towns of Salses, Fuenterrabía, and Perpignan.

Siege of Perpignan

had been reinforced by 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 ...

, which was held by several nobles of Castile and their troops, and also several hundred veteran Spanish soldiers.

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, who thought it would be an easy conquest, encountered fierce resistance. In a clever move of the Spanish, the defenders led by the Captains Cervellón and Machichaco, attacked the French besiegers by surprise and destroyed most of the heavy artillery with which it had already begun to damage the walls, causing a severe blow to the French army. After many hardships for the French, and without any hope that the

would help them, the town was eventually relieved by the army of the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...

, forcing the French commander, the

Dauphin of France Dauphin of France (, also ; ), originally Dauphin of Viennois (''Dauphin de Viennois''), was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word ''dauphin'' is French for dolphin and ...

, to lift the siege, prompting the withdrawal of the French. The siege incurred a very heavy loss in dead, sick, and wounded among the French ranks, becoming a resounding French failure. It is during the siege of Perpignan that the French

barber surgeon The barber surgeon was one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians. Instead, barbers, who ...

Ambroise Paré, accompanying the French army, had the idea for a new technique. During the battle, Maréchal de Brissac was wounded, having been shot in the shoulder. As the bullet was impossible to find for extraction, Paré had the idea to ask the victim to put himself in the exact position he was in when shot. The bullet was then found and removed by Henry's personal surgeon Nicole Lavernault.

Consequences

When the

's power seemed broken after the African disaster, Francis I was far from reaping the benefits of an effort that ended up being rather costly, and he couldn't reply with the reputation he had acquired throughout

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The two monarchs

Charles I of Spain Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

and

, used up the remainder of the year to prepare new campaigns. On the French part, Frances I did everything possible to obtain military support from the

, persuading

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

to return to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and attack Charles's possessions, while the Ottoman Admiral,

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...

, attacked the Spanish and Italian coasts.Lafuente p.211 In

, the French, under Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, captured Lillers in April and Marshal Claude d'Annebault had taken Landrecies.Knecht p.486 Wilhelm of Cleves invaded Brabant, and the fight began in

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

and Hainaut.Knecht p.487 King Francis inexplicably halted with his army near

Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

; in the meantime,

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 ''* ...

attacked Wilhelm, invading the Duchy of Julich and capturing

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

. The Duke of Orléans captured

on 10 September, but the French conquest was useless, and Luxembourg was recaptured by the Imperial troops under the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

. The Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg surrendered on 7 September, signing the Treaty of Venlo with the Emperor.

Notes

References

*Jeremy Black. ''European Warfare (1494–1660)''. Warfare and History. London: Routledge (2002) . * Modesto Lafuente. ''Historia General de España'' (Volume 12

* Lucas Alamán. ''Diccionario universal de historia y de geografía'' (1855

*Hughes, Michael. ''Early Modern Germany (1477–1806).'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press (1992) . *Denieul-Cormier, Anne. ''The Renaissance in France.'' Trans. Anne and Christopher Fremantle. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd 1969. *Knecht, Robert J. ''Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1994) . *Hall, Bert S. ''Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics.'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Perpignan, Siege of (1542) Conflicts in 1542 Sieges of the Italian Wars Sieges involving France Sieges involving the Holy Roman Empire Sieges involving Spain 1542 in Europe

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

1542 in France Italian War of 1542–1546 Henry II of France

French offensive of 1542

Siege of Perpignan

Consequences

See also

Notes

References