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| combatant2 = | commander1 = | commander2 = | strength1 = 19,000–31,000+〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 176. Lautrec had nearly 12,000 men when he retreated from Milan, and was reinforced by 16,000 Swiss, 3,000 Italians (the Black Bands), and a number of French and Venetian contingents of unknown size; but how many of these remained by the time of the battle is unclear.〕 | strength2 = 18,000+〔Mallet, ''The Italian Wars'', 143. Colonna had "10,000 Landsknechts, 4,000 Spanish, 4,000 Italian infantry and a few hundred men-at arms". Referred here from Pacheco y de Leyva (ed.), 251-2: Charles V to Najera.〕 | casualties1 = 3,000+ killed | casualties2 = Light }} The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca ((イタリア語:Battaglia della Bicocca)) was fought on 27 April 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by a Spanish-Imperial and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands. Having been driven from Milan by an Imperial advance in late 1521, Lautrec had regrouped, attempting to strike at Colonna's lines of communication. When the Swiss mercenaries in French service did not receive their pay, however, they demanded an immediate battle, and Lautrec was forced to attack Colonna's fortified position in the park of the Arcimboldi Villa Bicocca, north of Milan. The Swiss pikemen advanced over open fields under heavy artillery fire to assault the Imperial positions, but were halted at a sunken road backed by earthworks. Having suffered massive casualties from the fire of Spanish arquebusiers, the Swiss retreated. Meanwhile, an attempt by French cavalry to flank Colonna's position proved equally ineffective. The Swiss, unwilling to fight further, marched off to their cantons a few days later, and Lautrec retreated into Venetian territory with the remnants of his army. The battle is noted chiefly for marking the end of the Swiss dominance among the infantry of the Italian Wars, and of the Swiss method of assaults by massed columns of pikemen without support from other troops. It was also one of the first engagements in which firearms played a decisive role on the battlefield. == Prelude == At the start of the war in 1521, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Pope Leo X moved jointly against the Duchy of Milan, the principal French possession in Lombardy. A large Papal force under Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, together with Spanish troops from Naples and some smaller Italian contingents, concentrated near Mantua.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 174.〕 The German forces which Charles sent south to aid this venture passed through Venetian territory near Vallegio unmolested; the combined Papal, Spanish, and Imperial army then proceeded into French territory under the command of Prospero Colonna.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 174–175. The apparent inability of the Venetians to prevent enemy passage through their territory prompted a number of complaints from the French.〕 For the next several months, Colonna fought an evasive war of maneuver against Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, the French commander, besieging cities but refusing to give battle.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 175. Oman writes that "() refused battle several times, raised the siege of Parma when it was almost in his hands, rather than risk anything, and wearied out Lautrec by retreats and flank movements".〕 By the autumn of 1521, Lautrec, who was holding a line along the Adda river to Cremona, began to suffer massive losses from desertion, particularly among his Swiss mercenaries.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 175. Oman cites contemporary reports of 4,000 Swiss remaining out of an initial 20,000.〕 Colonna took the opportunity this offered and, advancing close to the Alps, crossed the Adda at Vaprio; Lautrec, lacking infantry and assuming the year's campaign to be over, withdrew to Milan.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 175–176.〕 Colonna had no intention of stopping his advance, however. On the night of November 23, he launched a surprise attack on the city, overwhelming the Venetian troops defending one of the walls. Following some abortive street-fighting, Lautrec withdrew to Cremona with about 12,000 men.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 176. Lautrec's remaining forces consisted of 5,500 French and 6,400 Venetian troops.〕 By January, the French had lost Alessandria, Pavia, and Como; and Francesco II Sforza, bringing further German reinforcements, had slipped past a Venetian force at Bergamo to join Colonna in Milan.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 176. Only Como was actually besieged by Imperial troops; the other two cities rose up against the French and drove them out.〕 Lautrec had meanwhile been reinforced by the arrival of 16,000 fresh Swiss pikemen and some further Venetian forces, as well as additional companies of French troops under the command of Thomas de Foix-Lescun and Pedro Navarro; he had also secured the services of the condottiere Giovanni de' Medici, who brought his Black Bands into the French service.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 176. Giovanni had been in the Papal service, but reneged on his contract, claiming that it had been made with the recently dead Pope Leo X and not with his successor, Pope Adrian VI.〕 The French proceeded to attack Novara and Pavia, hoping to draw Colonna into a decisive battle.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 176–177.〕 Colonna, leaving Milan, fortified himself in the monastery of Certosa south of the city. Considering this position to be too strong to be easily assaulted, Lautrec attempted instead to threaten Colonna's lines of communication by sweeping around Milan to Monza, cutting the roads from the city into the Alps.〔Oman, ''Art of War'', 176–177.〕 Lautrec was suddenly confronted, however, with the intransigence of the Swiss, who formed the largest contingent of the French army. They complained that they had not received any of the pay promised them since their arrival in Lombardy. The Swiss captains, led by Albert von Stein, demanded that Lautrec attack the Imperial army immediately—else the mercenaries would abandon the French and return to their cantons. Lautrec reluctantly acquiesced and marched south towards Milan.〔Arfaioli, ''Black Bands'', 10; Oman, ''Art of War'', 177–178.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Bicocca」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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