Italian War of 1542–1546

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Italian War of 1542–46 was a late conflict in the Italian Wars which pitted Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England. Caused by the failure of the Italian War of 1535–38 to resolve the fundamental disputes between Francis and Charles, the war featured invasions of Italy, France, and England; but, though ruinously expensive, it was, in the end, inconclusive.

[edit] Prelude

The settlement that had ended the Italian War of 1535–38 had satisfied none of the parties to the conflict. Negotiations between Charles and Francis continued, but to little effect. In 1539, Charles was faced with a rebellion in the Low Countries; Francis invited the Emperor to pass through France on his way from Spain to the Netherlands.^[1] Charles accepted, and was richly received; but while he was willing to discuss religious matters with Francis, he delayed on the question of political differences, and nothing had been decided by the time he left French territory.^[2]

In March 1540, Charles proposed settling the matter by having Maria of Spain marry the duc d'Orleans, Francis's younger son; the two would then inherit the Netherlands, Burgundy, and Charolais after the Emperor's death.^[3] Francis, meanwhile, would renounce his claims to the duchies of Milan and Savoy, ratify the treaties of Madrid and Cambrai, and join an alliance with the Emperor.^[4] Francis, considering Milan too large a price for future possession of the Netherlands, and unwilling to ratify the treaties, made his own counteroffers; on April 24, he agreed to surrender the Milanese claim in exchange for immediate receipt of the Netherlands.^[5] The negotiations dragged on for weeks, but they made no progress and were abandoned in June.^[6]

In the meantime, Francis was busily gathering other allies to his cause. Duke Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, who was engaged in a dispute with Charles over the succession in Guelders, sealed his alliance with Francis by marrying Jeanne d'Albret.^[7] Francis sought an alliance with the Schmalkaldic League as well, but the League demurred; by 1542, all of the potential French allies in northern Germany had reached understandings with the Emperor.^[8] French ventures farther east were more fruitful; Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire, seeking to distract Charles from Ottoman advances in Hungary, encouraged the Franco-Imperial rift.^[9] On July 4 1541, however, the French ambassador to the Ottoman court, Rincon, was killed by Imperial troops as he was travelling near Pavia.^[10] Charles denied responsibility for the incident, and promised an enquiry with the assistance of the Pope; he had by now formed plans for a campaign in Africa, and wished to avoid further entanglements in Europe.^[11]

By the end of September 1541, Charles was in Majorca, preparing an attack on Algiers; Francis had in the meantime promised not to declare war for as long as the Emperor was campaigning.^[12] The Imperial expedition, however, was singularly unsuccessful; storms scattered the invasion fleet soon after the initial landing, and Charles returned to Spain with the remainder of his troops in November.^[13] On March 8 1542, the new French ambassador returned from Constantinople with promises of Ottoman aid in a war against Charles.^[14] Francis responded quickly; on July 12, he declared war, listing Rincon's murder and various other injuries as the causes.^[15]

[edit] Initial moves

Francis immediately launched a two-front offensive against Charles. In the north, the duc d'Orleans invaded Luxembourg, briefly capturing the city; in the south, a larger army under the Dauphin and Claude d'Annebault unsuccessfully besieged Perpignan.^[16] Francis himself was dealing with a revolt in La Rochelle.^[17]

In the meantime, relations between Francis and Henry VIII had rapidly collapsed. Henry, already angered by French refusal to pay him the various pensions owed to him under the terms of past treaties, was now faced with the potential of French interference in Scotland, where he was entangled in the midst of his "Rough Wooing."^[18] He had intended to attack Francis in the summer of 1543, but negotiating a treaty to that effect with the Emperor had proved difficult; as Henry was, in Charles's eyes, a schismatic, the Emperor could not promise to defend him against attack, nor sign any treaty which referred to him as the head of the Church, both points that Henry insisted on.^[19] Negotiations dragged on for weeks; finally, on February 11 1543, Henry and Charles signed a treaty of offensive alliance, pledging to invade France within two years.^[20] In May, Henry sent Francis an ultimatum threatening war within twenty days; and, on June 22, at last declared war.^[21]

Hostilities now flared up across northern France. On Henry's orders, Sir John Wallop crossed the Channel to Calais with an army of 5,000, which was to be used in the defense of the Low Countries.^[22] Wilhelm of Cleves openly joined the war and invaded Brabant as fighting began in Artois and Hainaut.^[23] In April, the duc de Vendome had captured Lillers; by June, Annebault had taken Landrecies as well.^[24] Francis inexplicably halted his advance near Rheims; Charles, in the meantime, attacked the Duchy of Julich and captured Duren.^[25] Concerned by the fate of his ally, Francis ordered the duc d'Orleans and Annebault to attack Luxembourg, which they took on September 10; but it was too late for Wilhelm, who had already surrendered on September 7.^[26] Charles now proceeded to besiege Landrecies, seeking battle with Francis; but, after a brief standoff, Francis withdrew to Saint-Quentin on November 4, leaving the Emperor free to move north and seize Cambrai.^[27]

[edit] Nice and Ceresole

For more details on this topic, see Siege of Nice (1543) and Battle of Ceresole.

On the Mediterranean, meanwhile, other events had begun to unfold. In April 1543, the Sultan had placed Barbarossa's fleet at the disposal of the French; Barbarossa left the Dardanelles with more than a hundred galleys, raided his way up the Italian coast, and arrived in Marseilles in July, where he was welcomed by François de Vendôme, Count of Enghien, who commanded the French fleet.^[28] On August 6, the joint Franco-Ottoman fleet arrived at Nice and landed troops at Villefranche; a two-week bombardment of the city ensued, punctuated by no less than three assaults.^[29] The city surrendered on August 22, although the castle continued to hold out until the siege was lifted on September 8.^[30]

Barbarossa was by this point becoming a liability; on September 6, he had threatened to leave if he was not provided with a means to resupply his fleet.^[31] In response, Francis ordered the population of Toulon—except for "heads of households"—expelled; the city was then given to Barbarossa, who would use it as a base for his army of 30,000 for the next eight months.^[32] Finally, on May 23 1544, Barbarossa set sail, pillaging the Neapolitan coast as he returned home.^[33]

In Piedmont, meanwhile, a stalemate had developed between the French, under the Sieur de Boutières, and the Imperial army, under Alfonso d'Avalos. In the winter of 1543–44, Francis replaced Boutières with the Count of Enghien and significantly reinforced his army. On April 11 1544, Enghien and d'Avalos fought one of the few pitched battles of the period at Ceresole. Although the French were victorious, the impending invasion of France itself by Charles and Henry forced Francis to recall much of his army from Piedmont, leaving Enghien without the troops he needed to take Milan. D'Avalos's victory over an Italian mercenary army in French service at the Battle of Serravalle in early June brought an end to further campaigning in Italy.

[edit] France invaded

On December 31 1543, Henry and Charles had signed a treaty pledging to invade France in person by June 20 1544; each was to provide an army of no less than 35,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry for the venture.^[34] Against this Francis could muster about 70,000 men in his various armies.^[35] The campaign could not begin, however, until each had resolved the conflicts hanging over them: for Henry, with Scotland; for Charles, with the German princes.^[36] On May 15, Henry was informed by the Earl of Hertford that Scotland was no longer in a position to threaten him; he then began to make preparations to campaign in France—against the advice of his council and the Emperor, who believed he would be a hindrance to the army's operations.^[37] Charles, meanwhile, reached an understanding with the princes at the Diet of Speyer; the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg would join him on his invasion of France.^[38]

By May 1544, two Imperial armies were massed to invade France; one under Ferrante Gonzaga north of Luxemburg, the other under Charles himself in the Palatinate.^[39] On May 25, Gonzaga captured Luxembourg and rapidly moved against Commercy and Ligny, issuing a proclamation that the Emperor had come to overthrow "a tyrant allied to the Turks".^[40] By July 8, Gonzaga had besieged Saint-Dizier; he was soon joined by Charles with the second Imperial army.^[41]

Henry, meanwhile, had sent an army of some 40,000 men to Calais under the joint command of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.^[42] While Henry continued to squabble with the Emperor over the goals of the campaign and his own presence in France, this massive army moved slowly and aimlessly into French territory.^[43] Finally, Henry decided that the army was to be split. Norfolk, ordered to besiege Ardres or Montreuil, advanced towards the latter, but, complaining of inadequate supplies and poor organization, proved unable to mount an effective siege.^[44] On July 14, Henry crossed to Calais and proceeded—carried in a litter—toward Boulogne, where Suffolk was already advancing.^[45] The Siege of Boulogne began on July 19, over the protests of the Emperor, who insisted that Henry should advance towards Paris.^[46]

Charles himself, on the other hand, was still delayed at Saint-Dizier; the city, fortified by Girolamo Marini and defended by the Comte de Sancerre, continued to hold out against the massive Imperial army.^[47] On July 24, Charles captured Vitry, from which French forces had harassed his supply lines; finally, on August 8, the defenders of Saint-Dizier—running low on supplies—sought terms.^[48] On August 17, they capitulated, and were permitted by the Emperor to leave the city with banners flying; their resistance for 41 days had broken the Imperial offensive.^[49] Although some of Charles's advisors suggested withdrawing, Charles, unwilling to lose face, continued to advance towards Chalons; he could not, however, cross the Marne due to a French army waiting at Jalons.^[50] The Imperial troops moved rapidly through Champagne, capturing Epernay, Chatillon-sur-Marne, Chateau-Thierry, and Soissons.^[51]

The French response was nearly non-existent; troops under Jacques de Montgomery, Sieur de Lorges sacked Lagny-sur-Marne, whose citizens had allegedly rebelled, but no attempt was made to engage the advancing Imperial army.^[52] Paris was gripped by panic, although Francis insisted that the population had nothing to fear.^[53] Finally, Charles turned back on September 11.^[54]

Henry, meanwhile, was personally directing the siege of Boulogne; the town fell in early September, and a breach was made into the castle on September 11.^[55] The city finally surrendered a few days later.^[56]

[edit] Treaty of Crépy

Charles, by now quite short on money and needing to deal with increasingly urgent religious unrest in Germany, asked Henry to finally continue his invasion, or to allow him to make a separate peace.^[57] By the time Henry had received the letter, however, Charles had already concluded a treaty with Francis, the Peace of Crépy, which was signed by representatives of the inveterate enemies on September 18 1544, at Crépy-en-Laonnais in Picardie.^[58] The treaty was promoted at the French court by the Emperor's friends there—notably, his sister the Queen, and the duchesse d'Étampes.^[59] By the terms of the treaty, Francis and Charles would each abandon their various conflicting claims and restore the status quo from the truce of Nice in 1538: the Emperor relinquished his claim to the Duchy of Burgundy and the King of France renounced all claim to the Kingdom of Naples as well as his claims as suzerain of Flanders and Artois.^[60] The duc d'Orleans would marry either Charles's daughter Mary or his niece Anna; the choice would be made by Charles. In the first case, the bride would receive the Netherlands and Franche-Comte as a dowry; in the second, Milan. Francis, meanwhile, was to grant the duchies of Bourbon, Chatellerault, and Angouleme to his son; he would also abandon his claims to Savoy and Piedmont. Finally, Francis would assist Charles against the Ottomans, but was to labour under no stipulations with respect to the heretics in his own domains.^[61] A second, secret accord was also signed; by its terms, Francis would assist Charles with reforming the church, calling a General Council, and with suppressing Protestantism—by force if necessary.^[62]

The treaty was poorly received by the Dauphin Henri, who felt that his brother was being favored over him; by Henry, who believed that Charles had betrayed him; and by the Sultan.^[63] Francis would fulfill some of the terms, but the death of d'Orleans in 1545 rendered the treaty moot.^[64]

[edit] Boulogne and England

For more details on this topic, see Second Siege of Boulogne and French invasion of the Isle of Wight (1545).

The conflict between Francis and Henry, meanwhile, continued unabated. The Dauphin's army descended on Montreuil, forcing Norfolk to raise the siege; Henry himself left for England at the end of September 1544, ordering Norfolk and Suffolk to defend Boulogne.^[65] The two dukes quickly proceeded to disobey this order; leaving some 4,000 men to defend the captured city, they withdrew the rest of the English army to Calais.^[66] The English army, outnumbered, was now trapped in Calais; the Dauphin, left unopposed, concentrated his efforts on investing Boulogne.^[67] On October 9, a French assault nearly captured the city, but was beaten back when the troops prematurely turned to looting.^[68] Peace talks were attempted at Calais, but led nowhere; Henry refused to consider returning Boulogne, and insisted that Francis abandon his support of the Scots.^[69] Charles, who had been appointed as a mediator between Francis and Henry, was drawn into his own disputes with the English king.^[70]

Francis now embarked on a more dramatic attempt to force Henry's hand, assembling an army of more than 30,000 troops in Normandy and a fleet of some 400 vessels at Le Havre, all under the command of Claude d'Annebault.^[71] On May 31 1545, a French expeditionary force landed in Scotland.^[72] In early July, Lord Lisle mounted an attack on the French fleet, but had little success due to poor weather; nevertheless, the French suffered from a string of accidents: d'Annebault's first flagship burned and his second ran aground.^[73] Leaving Le Havre on July 16, the massive French fleet entered the Solent on July 19 and briefly engaged the English fleet, to no apparent effect; the major casualty of the skirmish, the Mary Rose, sank accidentally when turning.^[74] The French landed on the Isle of Wight on July 21, and again at Seaford on July 25, but these operations were abortive, and the French fleet soon returned to Boulogne.^[75] D'Annebault made a final sortie near Beachy Head on August 15, but retired after a brief skirmish.^[76]

[edit] Treaty of Ardres

By September 1545, the war was a virtual stalemate; both sides running low on funds and troops, unsuccessfully sought help from the German Protestants.^[77] Henry, Francis, and Charles attempted extensive diplomatic maneuvering to break the deadlock; but none of the three trusted the others, and this had little practical effect.^[78] In January 1546, Henry sent the Earl of Hereford to Calais, apparently preparing for an offensive; but one failed to materialize.^[79]

Francis could not afford to resume a large-scale war, and Henry was concerned only for the disposition of Boulogne; negotiations between the two resumed on May 6, and continued for weeks.^[80] In the end, the Treaty of Ardres—also known as the Treaty of Camp—was signed on June 7 1546. By its terms, Henry would retain Boulogne until 1554, then return it in exchange for two million ecus; in the meantime, neither side would construct fortifications in the region, and Francis would resume payment of Henry's pensions. Henry, for his part, pledged not to attack the Scots without cause.^[81] Upon hearing the price agreed on for the city, the Imperial ambassador told Henry that he would retain Boulogne permanently.^[82]

[edit] Aftermath

The war was exorbitantly expensive; for both Francis and Henry it was the costliest conflict of their reigns.^[83] In England, the need for funds led to what Elton terms "an unprecedented burden of taxation", as well as the systematic debasement of coinage.^[84] Francis, meanwhile, imposed a series of new taxes and several financial reforms.^[85] Francis was not, therefore, in a position to assist the German Protestants, who were now engaged in the Schmalkaldic War against the Emperor; by the time any aid was to be forthcoming, Charles had already won his victory at the Battle of Muhlberg.^[86]

Henry VIII died on January 28 1547; on March 31, Francis was dead as well.^[87] Henry's successors continued his entanglements in Scotland; and when, in 1548, friction with the Scots led to the resumption of hostilities around Boulogne, decided to avoid a two-front war by returning the city four years early, in 1550.^[88] The causes of the war themselves—chiefly, the contested claims to Milan—would remain unresolved until the Italian War of 1551–59, which would finally bring six decades of warfare to a close.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Armstrong, Edward. The Emperor Charles V. Volume 2. London: Macmillan and Co., 1902.
• Arnold, Thomas F. The Renaissance at War. Smithsonian History of Warfare, edited by John Keegan. New York: Smithsonian Books / Collins, 2006. ISBN 0-06-089195-5.
• Black, Jeremy. "Dynasty Forged by Fire". MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 18, no. 3 (Spring 2006): 34–43. ISSN 1040-5992.
• ———. European Warfare, 1494–1660. Warfare and History, edited by Jeremy Black. London: Routledge, 2002. ISBN 0-415-27532-6.
• Blockmans, Wim. Emperor Charles V, 1500–1558. Translated by Isola van den Hoven-Vardon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-340-73110-9.
• Elton, G. R. England Under the Tudors. A History of England, edited by Felipe Fernández-Armesto. London: The Folio Society, 1997.
• Hall, Bert S. Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe: Gunpowder, Technology, and Tactics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8018-5531-4.
• Knecht, Robert J. Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-57885-X.
• Oman, Charles. A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century. London: Methuen & Co., 1937.
• Phillips, Charles and Alan Axelrod. Encyclopedia of Wars. 3 vols. New York: Facts on File, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-2851-6.
• Phillips, Gervase. "Testing the 'Mystery of the English'". MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History 19, no. 3 (Spring 2007): 44–54. ISSN 1040-5992.
• Rogers, Clifford J., ed. The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8133-2054-2.
• Scarisbrick, J. J. Henry VIII. London: The Folio Society, 2004.