Battle of Ravenna (1512)

Battle of Ravenna
Part of the War of the League of Cambrai

Mort de Gaston de Foix à Ravenne, 11 avril 1512, oil on canvas by Ary Scheffer, 1824, Palace of Versailles
Date11 April 1512
Location
Near Ravenna, present-day Italy
Result Franco-Ferrarese victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France
Duchy of Ferrara
Spain
Papal States
Commanders and leaders
Gaston de Foix 
Jacques de La Palice
Alfonso I d'Este
Fabrizio Colonna
Ramón de Cardona
Pedro Navarro
Strength
  • 2,000 men left to hold Ravenna
  • 21,000 men engaged against the relief army
  • 54 artillery pieces
  • Garrison at Ravenna: 5,000 men
  • Relief army: 16,000 men
  • 30 artillery pieces
  • Casualties and losses
  • 3,000–4,500 dead
  • 4,500 wounded
  • 9,000 dead
  • Unknown wounded
  • 17,000 civilians massacred
  • The Battle of Ravenna, fought on 11 April 1512, was a major battle of the War of the League of Cambrai. It pitted forces of the Holy League against France and their Ferrarese allies. Although the French and Ferrarese eliminated the Papal–Spanish forces as a serious threat, their triumph was overshadowed by the loss of their young general Gaston of Foix. The victory therefore did not help them secure northern Italy. The French withdrew entirely from Italy in the summer of 1512, as Swiss mercenaries hired by Pope Julius II and Imperial troops under Emperor Maximilian I arrived in Lombardy. The Sforza were restored to power in Milan.