Battle of Cerignola

The Battle of Cerignola was fought on 28 April 1503 between Spanish and French armies outside the town of Cerignola, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples (now in modern-day Italy), approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Bari. The Spanish force under the command of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (El Gran Capitán) comprising 6,300 men, including 2,000 Landsknecht pikemen, 1,000 arquebusiers and 20 cannons, defeated the French force of 9,000 men, mainly gendarme heavy cavalry and Swiss mercenary pikemen, with about 40 cannons, led by Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours, who was killed during the battle. It was one of the first European battles won by gunpowder weapons, as the attacks by the French cavalry and Swiss pikemen were shattered by the fire of Spanish arquebusiers behind a defensive ditch.

Battle of Cerignola
Part of the Third Italian War

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba finds the corpse of Louis d'Armagnac. Federico de Madrazo, 1835. Museo del Prado.
Date28 April 1503
Location
Cerignola, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples (present-day Italy)
Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Prospero Colonna
Pedro Navarro
Fabrizio Colonna		 Duke of Nemours †
Chandieu †
Yves d'Alègre
Pierre du Terrail
Strength

~6,300

20 guns

~9,000

  • 650 French gendarmes
  • 1,100 light horse
  • 3,500 Swiss infantry
  • 2,500–3,500 French infantry
40 guns (arrived too late)
Casualties and losses
500 total casualties 4,000 killed
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