Swiss Rout French at Novara: Milan Changes Hands
Swiss mercenaries under Cardinal Matthaeus Schiner routed the French army at the Battle of Novara on June 6, 1513, forcing Louis XII to abandon his claim to the Duchy of Milan. The Swiss deployed their famous pike squares in a dawn assault that caught the French camp unprepared. French cavalry and artillery could not stop the disciplined Swiss advance. The victory temporarily restored Massimiliano Sforza as Duke of Milan under Swiss protection. The battle demonstrated the continuing effectiveness of Swiss pike tactics against combined arms forces, but this dominance was approaching its end. At the Battle of Marignano in September 1515, Francis I's French artillery and cavalry finally defeated the Swiss, leading to the "Perpetual Peace" between France and the Swiss Confederation that endures to this day.
June 6, 1513
513 years ago
Key Figures & Places
France
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Milan
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Switzerland
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Italian Wars
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Battle of Novara (1513)
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Louis de la Tremoille
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Massimiliano Sforza
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War of the League of Cambrai
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Battle of Novara (1513)
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Louis II de la Trémoille
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Milan
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Maximilian Sforza
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Eustorge II de Milan
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518
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Lombard
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Old Swiss Confederacy
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Duchy of Milan
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Italian Wars
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