Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In the autumn of 1524 King Francis I of France personally led an imposing army of over 30,000 men across the Alps into Lombardy to break growing Habsburg encirclement and contest control over northern Italy. The numerically inferior Imperial forces retreated, allowing Francis to easily capture the plague-ridden city of Milan; however, rather than pursuing the fleeing enemy, the French king opted to besiege the strategic, Imperial-held fortress city of Pavia starting in late October 1524. Pavia’s garrison, fiercely commanded by Antonio de Leyva, successfully withstood initial French artillery bombardments and assaults, forcing Francis to settle into a grueling, months-long winter siege aimed at starving out the defenders. By January 1525, an Imperial relief army assembled at Lodi under Charles de Lannoy arrived and entrenched themselves just east of the French lines, effectively besieging the besiegers while both sides suffered heavy attrition from disease and desertion. Facing a desperate lack of funds to pay their German Landsknecht and Spanish mercenaries, the Imperial commanders knew their army would soon mutiny or disintegrate, compelling them to launch a high-stakes, surprise night assault on February 24 to break the deadlock.
In the autumn of 1524 King Francis I of France personally led an imposing army of over 30,000 men across the Alps into Lombardy to break growing Habsburg encirclement and contest control over northern Italy. The numerically inferior Imperial forces retreated, allowing Francis to easily capture the plague-ridden city of Milan; however, rather than pursuing the fleeing enemy, the French king opted to besiege the strategic, Imperial-held fortress city of Pavia starting in late October 1524. Pavia’s garrison, fiercely commanded by Antonio de Leyva, successfully withstood initial French artillery bombardments and assaults, forcing Francis to settle into a grueling, months-long winter siege aimed at starving out the defenders. By January 1525, an Imperial relief army assembled at Lodi under Charles de Lannoy arrived and entrenched themselves just east of the French lines, effectively besieging the besiegers while both sides suffered heavy attrition from disease and desertion. Facing a desperate lack of funds to pay their German Landsknecht and Spanish mercenaries, the Imperial commanders knew their army would soon mutiny or disintegrate, compelling them to launch a high-stakes, surprise night assault on February 24 to break the deadlock.
