Blackwell Reference Online

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(14 April 1544) In 1544 Charles V and Henry VIII planned a major three-pronged invasion of France. The French commander in Piedmont, François de Bourbon-Vendôme, Comte d'Enghien (1519–46), persuaded Francis I to allow him to challenge the Italian wing of the invasion to an early battle by besieging Carignano. The Imperialist army, 12–13,000 foot and some 800 horse, under Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto (1502–46), marched to relieve the siege and was confronted by a slightly smaller French force of 11,000 foot and 1,100 horse. Both armies included considerable numbers of arquebusiers, who turned the main engagement into a bloody mêlée. The battle was won, however, by an encircling French cavalry charge (prefiguring the manoeuvre employed at Rocroi) that routed the Imperialist infantry. The Imperialists lost 6,000 on the field and 3,200 prisoners, the French some 2,000 dead. Ceresole had little immediate strategic importance, for the greater part of Enghien's army was then transferred north to meet the main Imperialist invasion. Its tactical significance was greater, however, for while it confirmed the lessons of the 1520s about the effectiveness of firepower, it also showed that cavalry charges at the decisive point could still bring victory. See also boulogne ; cavalry ; monluc ; rocroi . , Batailles françaises ( 6 vols , Paris , 1894–1908 ). Numbers engaged from ... log in or subscribe to read full text