Battle of Bicocca 1522
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1522 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Italian War of 1521–1526 | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Duchy of Milan, Empire of Charles V, Kingdom of France, Papal States, Republic of Venice, Swiss mercenary | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 45.5180, 9.2100 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca (Italian: Battaglia della Bicocca) was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an Imperial–Spanish and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands.
Having been driven from Milan by an Imperial advance in late 1521, Lautrec had regrouped, attempting to strike at Colonna's lines of communication. When the Swiss mercenaries in French service did not receive their pay, however, they demanded an immediate battle, and Lautrec was forced to attack Colonna's fortified position in the park of the Arcimboldi Villa Bicocca, north of Milan. The Swiss pikemen advanced over open fields under heavy artillery fire to assault the enemy positions, but were halted at a sunken road backed by earthworks. Having suffered massive casualties from the fire of Imperial-Spanish arquebusiers, the Swiss retreated. Meanwhile, an attempt by French cavalry to flank Colonna's position proved equally ineffective.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Bicocca (revision 1370107825), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Insubria 203 BC · 7 km
- Battle of Desio 1277 · 11 km
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Other battles of the Italian War of 1521–1526
- Battle of Noáin 1521
- Battle of Pampeluna 1521
- Siege of Mézières 1521
- Siege of Genoa (1522) 1522
- Siege of Fuenterrabía (1523–1524) 1523
- Siege of Marseille (1524) 1524
All 7 battles of the Italian War of 1521–1526 →
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