September 13–14, 1515 · Lombardy Theater
September 13–14, 1515
Twenty-one years old and newly crowned, Francis I met the Swiss — the most feared infantry in Europe, undefeated for two centuries — and fought them for two days. French artillery tore lanes through the pike squares while the gendarmes charged into the gaps, and Venetian reinforcements arrived on the second morning. The Swiss withdrew in good order having lost perhaps half their men.
Commanders