Battle of Agnadello

Significance

The Battle of Agnadello was fought between the French army of King Louis XII and Venetian forces commanded by Bartolomeo d'Alviano. After a three-hour struggle, d'Alviano's force — described as rear-guard elements — was defeated with losses in excess of 4,000 men, a severe blow given that the Venetian force engaged numbered around 8,000 against a French army of roughly 30,000. A contributing factor in the defeat was the abandonment of part of d'Alviano's force mid-battle. The immediate strategic consequence was decisive: Louis XII proceeded to occupy the rest of Lombardy. Within the War of the League of Cambrai, which had arrayed France and other powers against Venice, Agnadello thus represented a pivotal French success that stripped Venice of its mainland territorial position in Lombardy and demonstrated the vulnerability of Venetian land power when confronted by a substantially larger French force.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)