Battle of Cerisolles
The Battle of Cerisolles took place on April 13, 1544, as part of the ongoing conflicts between the French and the imperial forces led by Marqués del Vasto. The battle was initiated when the imperial army, previously besieged by the French near Carignano, chose to engage in open combat after Francis I moved his troops out of siege lines. Vasto, drawing from his experience in prior battles, believed that his infantry's combination of arquebuses and pikes rendered heavy cavalry obsolete. The engagement began with a significant exchange of artillery and gunfire before the imperial forces made an unexpected charge. The tide turned in favor of the French when Francis I successfully flanked the imperial infantry with his heavy cavalry, leading to the collapse of the imperial left wing. The battle resulted in substantial losses for the imperial side, with around 5,000 killed and 3,000 taken prisoner, while the French casualties numbered approximately 2,000. The victory showcased the effectiveness of heavy cavalry when strategically deployed, although it had limited immediate impact on the broader military campaigns of Charles V and Henry VIII later that year.
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Battle of Cerisolles
Type of action: Ground battle in the Valois-Habsburg Wars
Date: April 14, 1544
Location: South of Turin, Italy
Combatants: 15,000 French (Valois) vs. 19,000 Imperialists (Habsburgs)
Principal commanders:French, Francis I (1494–1547); Imperialist/Spanish, Marqués del Vasto (1502–1546)
Result: French victory
On April 13, 1544, the imperial army under Marqués del Vasto arrived in the vicinity of Carignano, besieged by the French. Francis I moved his men out of their siege lines to give battle to Vasto. Vasto, a veteran of the Battle of Pavia (1525), was convinced that the arquebus/pike combination in his infantry had made the heavy lancer obsolete and accepted battle on an open field where the French cavalry was at its best. A prolonged exchange of artillery and arquebus fire opened the battle, until the imperial forces, contrary to their usual practice, charged. The hard-fought battle turned in favor of the French when Francis I charged his heavy cavalry into the flank of the imperial infantry while it was sharply engaged with the French infantry. The collapse of the imperial left spread disorder to the center and right, which had been gaining the upper hand in the fighting. The resulting rout of the imperial forces cost them some 5,000 killed and 3,000 prisoners, while the French lost 2,000 dead.
Significance
The battle demonstrated that heavy lancers, when used correctly and at the right time, still could determine the outline of a battle. The French victory had little direct consequence, since Charles V and Henry VIII proceeded with their invasions of France later in 1544.
Bibliography
Delbrück, Hans. History of the Art of War. Vol. 4. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985.
Hall, Bert. Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe. Baltimore, Md.: The John Hopkins University Press, 1997.