The Battle of Bicocca was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an Imperial–Spanish and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. The battle marked the end of the Swiss dominance among the infantry of the Italian Wars. It was also one of the first engagements in which firearms played a decisive role on the battlefield.
About Battle of Bicocca in brief
The Battle of Bicocca was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an Imperial–Spanish and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. The battle is noted chiefly for marking the end of the Swiss dominance among the infantry of the Italian Wars. It was also one of the first engagements in which firearms played a decisive role on the battlefield. The Swiss, unwilling to fight further, marched off to their cantons a few days later, and Laut rec retreated into Venetians territory with the remnants of his army. The French had lost Alessandria, Pavia, and Como; and Francesco II Sforza, bringing further German reinforcements, had slipped past a Venetia force at Bergamo to join Colonna in Milan. Laut Rec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands. The German forces which Charles V and Pope Leo X had sent south to aid this venture passed through VenetIAN territory near Valeggio unmolested; the combined Papal, Spanish, and Imperial army then proceeded into French territory under the command ofProsperoColonna. Lautsrec was forced to attack Colonna’s fortified position in the park of the Arcimboldi Villa BicOCca, north of Milan.
The fight marked the beginning of Swiss dominance of the infantry in the Italian wars. Lots of Swiss mercenaries in French service did not receive their pay, however, and they demanded an immediate battle, and the French were forced to back down. The result was the first use of massed columns of pikemen without support from other troops in a major battle in the history of warfare. The Battle was also the first time that firearms were used in combat on a major scale in the world of warfare, and was the only battle in which they were used by both sides in a decisive way. The outcome of the battle was decisive for the future of warfare in the region. The next year, the French lost the war to the Papal Empire and were forced into a series of concessions to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, including the signing of the Treaty of Mantua in 1521. The Papal and Imperial armies were eventually driven out of Lombardy in 1522. The war was won by the French, but the French remained in control of the region until 1523, when they were forced out by the Ottomans and the Treaty was signed with the Pope to end the war. The Treaty was also signed by the Pope and Charles V.
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