The Forgotten Battles n°18 - Cerisoles 1544 (in French)

April 1544. Almost twenty years after the humiliation of Pavia where King Francis I was taken prisoner by the soldiers of his enemy Charles V, France resumes the offensive in Italy. The war takes place in Piedmont, occupied by the French since 1536. Starting from Asti, an imperial army, commanded by a seasoned soldier, Alfonso d'Avalos marquis del Vasto, moves towards the fortress of Carignan, besieged by the French . The latter, under the orders of the young François Bourbon, Count d'Enghien, marched to meet them. The first skirmish between the two armies takes place on Easter Day in Cérisoles, without a winner. The next day, April 14, the real battle saw the clear victory of the French army. The famous lansquenets, spearheads of the Del Vasto army, are defeated by French infantry.