Battle of Ravenna

Overview

The Battle of Ravenna, fought on 11 April 1512, was a major battle of the War of the League of Cambrai. It saw a Spanish-Papal army under Viceroy of Naples Ramón de Cardona defeated by France and their Ferrarese allies under Gaston of Foix, who was killed during the battle.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Ravenna, fought on April 21, 1512 during the War of the League of Cambrai, produced casualties on a scale that reflected the intensity of the engagement despite the absence of a recorded outcome. French forces under Gaston de Foix and Jacques de La Palice, supported by Alfonso I d'Este, suffered between 3,000 and 4,500 killed, while the opposing Spanish force under Ramón de Cardona, Fabrizio Colonna, and Pedro Navarro sustained approximately 7,000 casualties — a figure exceeding the entire recorded French force strength of 2,000 and pointing to the severity of the fighting. The disparity between the Spanish force of 5,000 and their casualties of 7,000 suggests either significant allied or auxiliary losses beyond the core Spanish contingent, or reflects the broader bloodshed of the encounter. The battle drew senior commanders from both the French and Spanish sides, underscoring its operational weight within the Italian theater of the war.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (6)