THREE HEROES AT PAVIA

King Francis I imprisoned at the Battle of Pavia
Monumental painting (late 1500s) in stairwell at Skokloster Palace, Sweden

Sometimes it is fruitful to put yourself on the scene of a pathbreaking event. So I invite you to accompany me at a journey back in time, all the way back to 23 and 24 February 1525.

We are in the vicinity of a venerable old Italian city, Pavia, center of science and culture of age. The Imperial army has put up its stakes to the East of the city, facing a sizeable army of French cavalry and infantry, which is laying siege on the city. Pavia is completely surrounded by King Francis I' troupes; furthermore, his army is protected against relief forces by huge earthen walls having been heaped up on their backside, to make an attack from without difficult, if not impossible (not unlike Cesar's fortification in the Siege of Alesia). To the North, there lies a wide park, a hunting ground really (Parco della Certosa), comprising an area of several kilometers square, and circumvented by a large brick wall, equally strong in defence against outside forces.

In the Imperial camp, the troupes are ill-humoured and discouraged. They have been campaigning, without marked success, for almost a year already, and have not been paid a single Pfennig since months back. Although a fresh contingent of Landsknechte has arrived five weeks earlier, 7000 of them under the command of Mark Sittich I von Ems and 5000 under Georg von Frundsberg, these valiant German warriors have not been paid either upon arrival. Still, they have tried to convince their Spanish counterparts to keep on campaigning. Eventually, an uneasy agreement was reached: the troupes would keep on fighting for another four weeks without payment, but not longer. 20 days have passed since and many a solder is already preparing for his home trip. Rain is falling and the humid cold does not help to lift spirits.

Three operative leaders meet in the tent of Merk Sittich: the Marquis of Pescara, leader of the Spanish infantry, and the two Landsknecht Commanders, Merk Sittich I von Ems and Georg von Frundsberg, all three battle hardened veterans. After deploring the timidity and tardiness of their two campaign leaders, Charles de Lannoy (Viceroy of Naples) and Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, they agree to force through a daring and hopefully decisive attack at long last. A breach should be broken through the brick wall surrounding the Park and a surprise nightly attack should be made on Castello Mirabello, a hunting lodge in the middle of the Park and surmised to be King Francis' quarters. With the King captive, the main army should follow through the breach and break the French siege. Pescara is given the task to put this to the two leaders, with the understood threat "without an attack the army will dissolve". And he SUCCEEDED! The attack is decided for the same night and Pescara is appointed as the overall operative commander of the operation. What follows is history, as well as legend.

The Three Heroes of Pavia
     Marquis di Pescara     Merk Sittich I von Ems   Georg von Frundsberg

Unfortunately, it takes most of the night to breach the wall with picks and sledgehammers, silently, so as not to avert the French. At long last, at 5 am, 3000 Tercios together with light cavalry and some cannons enter the park. This alerts the French night guard and a squadron of its light cavalry is quickly deployed, which engages and ultimately neutralises the Spanish horse and the cannons. They fail to notice the musketeers, however, who have sneaked into a small woods just North of the hunting lodge.

In the mean-time, the Imperial troups carry out a squence of fake manoeuvres to fool the French main troupes. With a lot of hulabaloo, shooting and shouting, a small group of Landsknechte with a cannon in tow is simulating an imminent attack on the outer wall of the hastily roused troupes of General La Palice, which are besieging Pavia from the Southeast. At the same time the main Imperial army is moving North towards the breach, after having broken camp to make the French believe that it is withdrawing and moving away to Lodi.

At 6.30 the Tercios exit the woods, attack and occupy the hunting lodge. They find it manned by only a few servants, who are busy cleaning up after last evening's Royal Dinner. The King, whilst using the lodge for festivities, has his headquarter farther to the South, in the protection of his 2000 men-at-armes, France's noblest of noble among them.

News about this feat reaches the King eventually, who starts to suspect that a full-blown attack on his troupes is in motion. He arouses his 2000 "gendarmes" and a small contingent of artillery, and ventures North in the direction of the hunting lodge. Concurrently, the full Imperial army has already entered into the Park and is moving South. Morning fog disables each party from determining the position and force of the other.

By the time Francis has moved his cannons in position, the fog is lifting and he sees a large contingent of Tercios just in front of his artillery. Believing this to be the main Imperial expeditionary force he let's loose a salvo of his cannons. In fact, this is only the rearguard of the invaders. The Tercios throw themselves to the ground and the cannon balls are just singeing the hair on their heads. This is when Pescara orders contingents of cavalry North to take possession of the cannons. Now, Francis sees his chance to obliterate the enemy infantry and cavalry both at a single stroke and orders a galant full-front attack by his 2000 "gendarmes", led by himself in full gallop. He forgets, though, that he is riding precisely in front of his own cannons, rendering them useless for what ensues.

Salvoes being fired at the King's "gendarmes"
Painter: Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau Nieto

Pescara's cavalry is soon scattered by the monumental onslaught, but now the Tercios rise to the occasion and line up in an impressive countermanoeuvre. Salvo after salvo is fired at the King's horses, whilst long lances prevent them from approaching the musketeers. Chaos soon follows among the heavily armed knights. The Spanish cavalry regroups and prevents the French from retreating. Soon, Landsknechte Fähnlein rush in from the main army and get in on the action.

By now the French main army is alerted and starts to move towards battle. Foremost of them, the famous Bande Noire (9000 mostly German mercenary infantry) races forth to relieve their King. They seem sure to succeed, but are confronted by the military prowess of the two Landsknecht leaders. Merk Sittich and Georg each command a regiment of 6000 and both react, immediately and concertedly, to the onrush of the French "foreign legion". They enclose the black herd in a classic pincer movement, leaving it to a contingent of Tercios to close the third side of the triangle. Thereupon ensues a bitter clash, like between two cymbals, with no pardons given, until all the black lie slaughtered on the ground.

In the mean-time, the Swiss mercenaries, stationed Southeast to counter the (fake) Imperial attack, realise the ruse and come rushing North as well, most of their 8000 men. But they are bothered by the Landknecht garrison under de Leyva, exiting from the besieged Pavia, which is more than a match to them. Seeing those Landsknechte rushing in from the South and observing the Bande Noire being slaughtered to the last man in the North, the Swiss choose to retreat, rushing West to leave the Park and escape the battle. To their dismay, Duke d'Alençon, Commander of the French rear guard cavalry, realises that all is lost and rushes to leave the field himself with his troupes. Moving West he is trampling through the retreating Swiss footmen and, to pile insult upon injury, destroys the only bridge over the bloated River Ticino after having passed it to safety. This leaves the Swiss between being mauled by the German Landsknechte and drowned in the icy water, putting an end to most of their herd.

The battla at Pavia, a contemporary painting. Orientation North to South.
Source: Nationalmuseum Stockholm    Painter: Ruprecht Heller (ca 1529)

The end of the battle is near. Merk Sittich's and Georg's Landknechte join the pêle-mêle around King Francis and noble after noble of the King's entourage are being felled. Finally, the King's horse is killed and half buries him, depriving him the of option to die in battle. Still, he refuses to yield to none other than his equals. Whilst a musketeer is hasting to fetch the Viceroy, others relieve Francis of all his valuables, as well as pieces of his armour, and almost kill him whilst tearing at him. Fortunately, de Lannoy arrives in time to accept the King's sword in surrender. Thus, one of the most intriguing and memorable engagements in history is at its end.

-o-

About 20 000 men died within 3 hours on that morning of 24 February, less than 5000 of which were Imperial troupes. Thus, the battle was a devastating blow to the French war efforts, ultimately caused by ill-conceived royal forwardness, fine-honed mercenary craftmanship, and, of course, a great deal of luck on the side of the Imperials. Did it end the war? Or, rather, did it end the 60 years' conflict between the Houses of Valois and Habsburg? Not really, they were only halfway through!

Granted, with the King held captive in Madrid, peace was made eventually, in February 1526. But not until the King's mother, keeping a tight reign on her son's kingdom, had entered into alliance with the Ottoman Empire, asking Sultan Suleyman to send an ultimatum to Charles. This led the Emperor to urgently reach an agreement with Francis, although that did not prevent the Sultan from invading Christianity and conquering most of Hungary just 6 months later. Furthermore, as soon as the King had returned home, he declared the Treaty void – with the Pope's consent – and war broke out anew, with hostilities to persist for another thirty years.

More importantly, the battle still shines as a prime showcase of the various arts of warfare, as they have been practised within two thousand years. On the one hand, Francis' rash gallopp, leading his knights in shining armour to a frontal attack, is one of the very last examples of Medieval style attack, a forerunner to the tank attacks of modern times. In contrast, the Tercios' defence, meeting the enemy by barrage after barrage of rifle fire, is one of the very first examples of Modern Age defence by infantry with fire arms, from then on commonly used by infantry and honed to perfection in the Napoleonic wars. Finally, Merk Sittich's and Frundsberg's pincer movement reminds us of venerable infantry tactics used already in the Antique, by Macedonian as well as Roman troupes, executed by well disciplined Foot equipped with spear, sword and (earlier) shield.

Fight to the Death; no pardon given
Source: Albertina, Vienna     Contemporary woodcut by Hans Holbein

But we should not forget the "The Three Heroes of Pavia", who fought their way into history. Besides all three gaining eternal fame, only one of them was lucky enough to hold on to the fortunes won in this and earlier battles, and to live long enough to enjoy the fame gained and fortune held.

Fernando Francesco d'Ávalon, Marquis di Pescara (1489-1525) died in battle just 8 months after Pavia, whilst besieging Sforza's fortress in Milan.

Georg von Frundsberg (1473-1528), having rushed back (together with Merk Sittich) to Germany after Pavia, to help suppress the Great Peasant Upprising in Southern Germany, returned to Italy already in 1526 with a newly recruited regiment of 12 000 Landsknechte at the War of the Cognac League (1526-1530), which started immediately after Francis' release from his Madrid prison. He had to finance his men himself, since neither Charles nor his brother Ferdinand were able to come forth with the money. To that effect, he pawned all his domains, as well as his mobile inventory, a great risk to take to accommodate his Lords.

Just a few months later, in March 1527, his solders mutinied, since no further payment was forthcoming in the Italian campaign. Concurrently, he suffered from stroke and was bed ridden forthwith. His "fatherless" soldiers, now under command of the Duke of Bourbon, got out of control and marched to Rome. Several weeks of severe plundering ensued in the Eternal City (the infamous Sacco di Roma of May 1527). Of the savaged Landsknechte, only 1500 eventually returned to Germany after the end of the war. Frundsberg himself was brought home already in 1528 to his domains in Mindelheim, Suabia, were he died, penniless and heavily endebted, a few months later.

Il Sacco di Roma
Source: British Museum     Woodcut by Heemskerck (1555)

In the same year of 1528, the Emperor paid Merk Sittich I von Ems zu der Hohenems (ca 1466-1533) to set up a regiment of some 12 000 Landsknechte, to come to the aid of the by then beleaguered forces of de Leyva in Lombardy. The overall army, led by the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, crossed the Alps early on and was initially successful in reconquering several cities in Northern Italy. However, at the siege of Lodi, nearing the end of the year, the campaign came to a dreadful sizzling out. Sicknesses ravaged the besiegers, neither were the merecenaries paid their due. Merk Sittich, wise from Frundsberg's troubles, chose to dissolve the scarce and starving remnants of his troupes and return home.

At the ripe age of 66 he rounded up his 45 years of military campaigns by a last expedition, this time Eastward against Zápolya and the Osmans under Suleyman the Magnificent. With yet another regiment of 12 000 Landsknechte he formed part of the huge relief army of over 120 000 men, urgently assembled by the two Habsburg rulers in 1532 to prevent another onslaught on Vienna. Fortunately, Suleyman was held back by a few brave defenders at the fortification of Günz, just some 100 kilometers South of the city, so Merk Sittich's regiment never came into action.

He passed away only a year later, in bed at the town of Bregenz. His end was quite different from that of Frundsberg. He left this life as a highly rewarded Governor General (Hauptmann) of all the Habsburg possessions in between Tyrol and the Eidgenossen, as well as Commander in Chief (Obrister) of its troupes therein, with his residence in Bregenz.

His wealth was substantial, since he never financed his troupes with his own money, and always saw to it that due payment was delivered or substituted by successful plunder. His domains were greatly increased in size in his life-time; i.a., he acquired the Imperial Domain of Lustenau, which almost doubled the Emser possessions. Already in 1521, he had been confirmed, by Charles V, the right of jurisdiction over his domains, thereby effectively elevating him to the noble status of Imperial Baron. Thus the ground was well laid for his heirs to build their own successful military careers (Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat).