Battle of Cerignola 1503
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1503 | 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 | Second War of Naples | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Catholic Monarchy, Kingdom of France | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.2667, 15.9000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cerignola was fought on 28 April 1503 between Spanish and French armies outside the town of Cerignola, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples (now in modern-day Italy), approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Bari.
The Spanish force under the command of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (El Gran Capitán) comprising around 9,000 men, including 2,000 Landsknecht pikemen, 1,000 arquebusiers and 20 cannons, defeated the French force of 9,000 men, mainly gendarme heavy cavalry and Swiss mercenary pikemen, with about 40 cannons, led by Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, who was killed during the battle.
Cerignola was probably the first European battle to be won by small firearms, as the attacks by the French cavalry and Swiss pikemen were shattered by the fire of Spanish arquebusiers. It also demonstrated the renewed value of fortifications, with Córdoba employing a defensive ditch to maximize the effect of his battleplan. Military historian and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery described it as the turning point where infantry finally displaced cavalry on the battlefield: "Gonzalo de Córdoba had raised the infantry soldier armed with a handgun to the status of the most important fighting man on the battlefield - a status he was to retain for over 400 years".
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cerignola (revision 1370436661), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Canusium 209 BC · 14 km
- Battle of Cannae 216 BC · 20 km
- Battle of Cannae (1018) 1018 · 21 km
- Battle of Herdonia (212 BC) 212 BC · 23 km
- Battle of Herdonia (210 BC) 210 BC · 23 km
- Battle of Olivento 1041 · 27 km
Other battles of the Second War of Naples
- Battle of Ruvo 1503
Browse more: battles in Italy · Europe · Early modern battles