Battle of Ceresole

E107675

The Battle of Ceresole was a major 1544 engagement of the Italian Wars in which French forces won a bloody victory over Imperial-Spanish troops in northern Italy.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Battle of Ceresole canonical 4
Battle of Ceresole Alba 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf battle
military engagement
alsoKnownAs Battle of Ceresole
surface form: Battle of Ceresole Alba

Battle of Cérisoles
belligerent Duchy of Savoy
Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of France
Spanish Empire
campaign French campaign in Piedmont
casualtiesDescription very heavy on both sides
characterizedAs bloody victory for France
combatantType French Army
surface form: French army

Imperial army
Spanish troops
commander Alfonso d’Avalos, Marquis del Vasto
François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien
Marquis del Vasto
commanderForFrance François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien
commanderForImperialSpanish Alfonso d’Avalos, Marquis del Vasto
conflict Italian War of 1542–1546
countryAtTime Duchy of Savoy
date 11 April 1544
era 16th century
followedBy renewed Imperial operations in northern Italy
location Ceresole Alba
Piedmont
Northern Italy
surface form: northern Italy
notableUnit French infantry
Italian infantry
Landsknechte
surface form: Landsknechts

heavy cavalry
opponent Spanish Army
surface form: Imperial-Spanish army
opposingSovereign Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
partOf Italian Wars
precededBy earlier operations in Piedmont during the Italian War of 1542–1546
relatedConflict Italian War of 1521–1526
Italian War of 1536–1538
result French victory
significance demonstrated effectiveness of combined arms infantry tactics
one of the bloodiest battles of the Italian Wars
sovereignOfVictoriousSide Francis I of France
strategicContext Franco-Habsburg rivalry
tacticalFeature cavalry charges on the flanks
intense infantry fighting
use of arquebusiers and pikemen
tacticalOutcome French forces routed large parts of the Imperial-Landsknecht infantry
theatre Italian theatre of the Italian Wars
year 1544

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Italian Wars significantEvent Battle of Ceresole
Italian War of 1542–1546 hasBattle Battle of Ceresole
Battle of Ceresole alsoKnownAs Battle of Ceresole
this entity surface form: Battle of Ceresole Alba
Claude d'Annebault participantIn Battle of Ceresole