Battle of Fornovo 1495 - Italian Wars DOCUMENTARY

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This new Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series will focus on the Italian Wars. In the first episode, we will give a background of the events - why the Italian peninsula was so disunited and why France was so interested in the politics of the region. The attack of the French king Charles VIII against Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), the kingdom of Naples, and the Venetian League during the First Italian War led to the battle of Fornovo in 1495.
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The video was made by MalayArcher ( / mathemedicupdates ) while the script was researched and written by Johan Melhus. This video was narrated by Officially Devin ( / @offydgg & kzbin.info/door/79s.... The art was created by Nargiz Isaeva. Machinimas made using Total War: Rome 2 and Attila.
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#Documentary #ItalianWars #Fornovo

[@KingsandGenerals]

Get 20% OFF + Free Shipping @Manscaped with code GENERALS20 at → manscaped.com/kings

[@bigbiig2884]

Freedom balochistan freedom baloch consider for China Pakistan go now see now pic go bag go jahannam inasha Allah

[@gursimarsingh5505]

Please a Video On Sikh Empire. Like, afghan sikh wars in which sikhs won literally every battle against Afghanistan

[@gursimarsingh5505]

Please a Video On Sikh Empire. Like, afghan sikh wars in which sikhs won literally every battle against Afghanistan

[@rajeshboora7306]

Please recreate your Napoleonic war series like this one and also complete it. Its a request from a loyal subscriber

[@SimpleNobody2420]

Big question; Are you gonna cover one of the best knights in history who as well fought during the Italian Wars, Pierre Terrail Seigneur de Bayard.

[@ziokantante]

"condottiero" doesn't mean "him who leads" (that would be "conduttore"), it actually means "Head of a 'condotta'", a "condotta" being the contract by which you hire of a number of mercenary militias

[@paolob.5667]

Yeah, though I see why he made that mistake, I can't blame him too much for that

[@JohnnyElRed]

This should be a lesson to king Charles VIII and all of us. When something seems too good to be true, it probably is. So if you get practically the whole of Italy delivered to you in a silver platter, most probably you aren't going to keep it for long.

[@Cancoillotteman]

Well if François Ier had been less of an idiot maybe France would have kept Naples :p But hey, you can't change François, I would say he's the original "dude" X)

[@tanall5959]

17. The longer everything goes according to plan, the bigger the impending disaster. -The 70 Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

[@luxhistoriae1172]

Napoleon III giving Italia in a silver plate to the Italian people was the exception so ?

[@dylanmorgan2752]

I mean c’mon man. He’s been dead a minute, bit late for lessons in strategy…

[@bordigotto6603]

@@luxhistoriae1172 Yea right! Let's forget how the french only "helped" with the conquest of Lombardy and stopped the war when they saw that Sardinia cloud end up getting Veneto, let's also forget how Napoleon III wanted Tuscany, Emilia and Romagna for himself, or how he sent an army to reconquer Rome after Garibaldi and Mazzini liberated it, also how Italy was only able to reconquer Rome after the french were getting their ass destroyed by Prussia at Metz and Sedan. The italian unification happend over several decades with the first war seeking to achieve it ending in complete faliure (First war of independence) and many sacrifices having to be made (like Nizza and Savoia). Not exactly silver platter.

[@hentaioverwhelming]

I see that Charles is a subscriber to Genghis Khan's style of diplomacy.

[@boshinimperialofficer3250]

Lmao

[@devchaitanyatiwari5997]

I subscribe to lord flashheart's theory of if you want want something take it

[@thienngo7252]

@sebâstian turnayev as you would know Turkey which formerly Ottoman is not “native” to the Asia Minor region. They migrate there after defeat the Byzantine in the great battle of Manzikert. Originally they live as a tribal nomadic people in the Central. They belong to the group know as the Turkic people from which they reduce to Turk. But not all Turkic move to Asia Minor. Some remain and flourish into multiple other kingdoms in Central Asia. Roughly speaking Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and other nations in Central Asia belong to the Turkic culture group.

[@boshinimperialofficer3250]

@@thienngo7252 He spams on every kings and generals video he's a troll

[@nuzulqreshna3575]

@@thienngo7252 he's Troll dont answer it, let him.

[@biggusdickus819]

Great to see the Italian wars finally be covered.

[@acdragonrider]

Some of my favorite! Gonzalo Fernández de Cordoba! 😇

[@ahk9838]

Now he needs to do Battle of Legnano and Montaperti

[@jamesthomas8026]

Agreed! I got super excited when I saw the title.

[@johanm571]

Ciao! Johan here who wrote and researched the script of the video! It was great fun and it is such an interesting period of time to read about. Many small details did not make the final cut so I encourage you to ask me questions if you are curious about something, and also if, you want, to read about the subject yourself. Sources for the video and map: Le guerre d’Italia, Marco Pellegrini The Italian Wars, 1494-1559, Michael Mallett and Christine Shaw Storia d’Italia, Guicciardini Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Treccani A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century, Charles Oman Anatomy of Defeat in Renaissance Italy: The Battle of Fornovo in 1495, Antonio Santosuosso L'expédition de Charles VIII en Italie: histoire diplomatique et militaire. by comte Henri François Delaborde

[@SouthernPotato97]

Thank you for your work and dedication

[@anglowarrior7970]

Why Francisco Sforza and Ludovico played a important role in the Italian wars ?

[@grahamthesexykid]

you really let him pronounce medici like that

[@donvitocorleone7863]

@sebâstian turnayev No I think the Turks in Turkey look different, act different, eat different, and have a different enough history to not be grouped with Central Asian Turkic groups

[@nolletthibault2031]

Thank god, your channel now cite sources. It's a serious leap forward in quality you know ! I also like the new visual style. I also hope you're going to cover the composition of the armies of the time. I'm particularly impatient to see you show the development of the Tercios.

[@scottleary8468]

I love Renaissance warfare. It was a hybrid of early modern and medieval tactics and weaponry. This period of warfare included men at arms, cannon, pikemen, arquebusiers, crossbowmen, halberdiers, spearmen, etc. What an awesome spectacle to study and imagine!

[@memento-mori-amor]

tru

[@nitzky8936]

interesting. that season of Borgias was surprisingly accurate.

[@atsekaleb7]

ikr, very surprising

[@kamilpotato3764]

Most interesting was Gina McKee flashing her fanny on city walls 🤣

[@someguysomeone3543]

Which one and which episode?

[@yektaadguzel9294]

Meanwhile in history channel: “How secret relationship between Tupac Shakur and Saddam Hussein cause the American civil war ? “

[@barbiquearea]

Don't forget the Ancient Aliens crap.

[@alvarolopez656]

I mean, I would give that 10 minutes at least.

[@ennui9745]

@sebâstian turnayev You were the same guy asking this under the Orleans video under a different name, weren't you? Knock it off.

[@apani7348]

Gondor Tree... Fornovo... FORNOST!

[@maskr5520]

@sebâstian turnayev i think Turks are appart of an ancient ethny which lived in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan etc

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

"A mighty flame follows a tiny spark" - Dante Alighieri

[@wiictvchannel1112]

And sometimes it's just a tiny spark XD

[@AzureDragon100]

"This party's getting crazy, let's rock!" - Dante son of Sparda

[@ali95ah]

The Italic League: Italy stronk 💪 France: *Invades* Italy: *Gallic Invasion Flashbacks*

[@Cancoillotteman]

Or just Frankish invasions, Charlemagne has passed through there as well ^^

[@starkiler13]

Well they lost at the end sooo

[@starkiler13]

@@NapoleonAquila and then you lost again xd

[@starkiler13]

@@NapoleonAquila when exactly? Back then or currently?

[@nolletthibault2031]

@@starkiler13 Are you spanish ? If that's the case, I beg you to pardon the other idiot, he's clearly young and immature. Spain totally won the Italian wars, Pavie is one of the very few battles in which a French monarch was captured. The Tercios were the most formidable units of the XVIth and early XVIIth centuries. We can still say we took our revenge in the XVIIth century, and after that we're mostly friends. Anyway, I think we can agree on the most important thing of all : Fuck the anglophones.

[@gobanito]

Italy: the chessboard of Europe.

[@rickytang1355]

Germany：First Time？

[@blede8649]

@@rickytang1355 Italy: not really, but usually there are not that many foreign pieces here. And it's only going to get worse and worse.

[@larrymays4244]

If somebody is of the “central Italic” race, who would they root for in this war??

[@blede8649]

As someone from those places, I would say anyone opposed to the Pope, since they are usually (not this time, but most times) the ones that call for foreign powers to rampage on their behalf. Other than that, I would say the strongest Italian power (Venice) or the weakest foreign one. What you don't want is a powerful foreign power beating the others and reducing all Italian states into its puppets. Which is exactly what happened (the Habsburgs, they got kicked out for good only in the 19th century).

[@gauntlettcf5669]

@@blede8649 I'm not from central Italy (in fact, I'm from the north), but I'd say I rooted for the Papacy and Venice. The Papacy had to ensure for its own safety no sole victor emerged from the northern and southern wars and assure the protection of central Italy, which they did successfully. If they failed, I would have wanted Venice to take power over the rest of the Peninsula, as I'm from Brescia and we were the most trusted allies of the Most Serene Venetian Republic (Brixia Fidelis!)

[@DidacusAugustus]

Me, an EU4 player *Sees Red Castille and Yellow Aragon* Me: what have you brought into this cursed land!?!?

[@manuelapollo7988]

I am italian and honestly speaking...in which other place in the world you can find a war with such a political mess, so many countries in such a few space? Not even in the Greek city state. It's so complicated to follow even for me, I can imagine how complicated it can be for people from other countries

[@HAYAOLEONE]

+

[@mlccrl]

Pensa che una volta questo era programma di studio a scuola e gli studenti dovevano imparare i nomi e le lotte dinastiche dei vari Stati italiani.

[@tonyhawk94]

This historical moment is perfectly described by Machiavel in "The Prince", i recommend everyone to read it, as it is more of a political analysis of the event rather than a military one. :)

[@agiosromylos1315]

@@ktheterkuceder6825 Napoleon literally destroyed Prussia.

[@TemplarX2]

@@ktheterkuceder6825 Napoleon tea-bagged Prussia.

[@tonyhawk94]

@@ktheterkuceder6825 Prussia didn't do shit at this period they were probably the worst army among the allies.

[@clementl.9566]

​@@ktheterkuceder6825 France didn't need Napoleon to drive the first coalition out of France and take over the Netherlands and Belgium during the first coalition war (1792-1797) in the first place.

[@obiwankenobi2083]

@@NapoleonAquila yeah...only some years of dominance...pretty pathetic...to see many deads for nothing.. XD By the way frogmen...Napoleon BONAPARTE was Italian, not french.. XD

[@jackson857]

Man the Borgias is such a great TV series. Wish we had got more seasons.

[@taggebagge]

100%! Loved the show through and through and it made me such a great fan of the one and only Jeremy Irons. Truely great. It is a show surely blessed with sprezzatura.

[@taggebagge]

@@abdulrahmanderbala3349 Each to their own bro, all the best.

[@kevinelruler]

The Canal+ version is even better

[@kevinelruler]

@@abdulrahmanderbala3349 I agree with you, which is why the Canal+ version is so much better (Borgia). Cesare steals the show halfway, as it was in real life.

[@R3GARnator]

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood is all about the Borgia family, you might like it.

[@pseudomonas03]

The "Στρατιωτες" or Stradioti in latin, the last byzantine light cavalry. This Eastern Roman military unit was mentioned for the first time in the Strategikon, the strategy manual introduced by Emperor Maurice in 6th Century A.D.

[@Wkumar07]

I recognized that as well.

[@oguzhangorgun6918]

As far as ı know they were albanian mercenary light cavalry. Origin of the name as you mentioned.

[@pseudomonas03]

@@oguzhangorgun6918 Albanians were also among them. But they included also Greeks, Serbs etc. For example one of the leaders of the Stradioti, was Georgios Palaiologos member of the famous byzantine family. Another example is Krokodeilos Kladas (his father Theodoros, was an officer of Constantine IX Palaiologos, when he was Despot of Mistra), one of the most well known Stradioti, who became the leader of the 1st Greek rebellion in Mani at Peloponnese, against the Ottomans in 1481 A.D. Though as a cavalry unit of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Stradioti existed from much earlier.

[@lionelhutz5137]

Yes stratigos

[@pseudomonas03]

@jothegreek Explain yourself...

[@DarDarBinks1986]

Glad to see Italian history between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the unification under the House of Savoy. That region doesn't seem to get enough love.

[@kristijangrgic9841]

Well Italians wars are quite well known actualy

[@fkjl4717]

What if Italy did unite/centralize after Italian league? Or What if Italian league become something like HRE? With one powerful state as protector.

[@apostalote]

Is this satire?

[@NoName-hg6cc]

@@fkjl4717 No one would have conquered it then

[@tristanv.7656]

I never knew that Alfonso II of Naples was actually Charles the bold with a fake beard.

[@podemosurss8316]

Just wait until you see that all the Spanish Habsburg kings (except for Charles II) had basically the same face.

[@user-pj1fd4es9y]

Lmao

[@angusyang5917]

That's not the only wrong depiction here, The portrait of Isabella of Naples is actually that of Isabella of Aragon, Princess of Asturias, and Queen of Portugal, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon and Castile.

[@coconutmuncher]

Attacking through a swelling river and muddy terrain after a stormy night is a pretty good move to make you lose a battle

[@jamesalexandergallagher7822]

It just occurred to me that as humans we keep fighting and dying over the same plots of land and watching your videos of wars through time really put that all into perspective for me.

[@backtonovember5306]

As long as civilization remains there will be people with inferiority complexes willing to send millions of people to death for more land and money

[@m.a.4500]

That’s how they stay in power. By starting wars..

[@AlexC-ou4ju]

I mean that battle clearly seems like a french victory Given 1. they had half the numbers of the italians 2. took between 1/4 and 1/3 of their casualties 3. Killed multiple of their commanders and 4. managed to continue their evacuation and thus complete their strategic objective.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

The difference in casualties was pretty normal, since the French fought a purely defensive battle. In the end both armies lost about 10% of their effectives. Several French commanders had been killed or captured as well. Following the usual methods to assess the result of a battle (who achieved his goal, who asked for truce, who remained in possession of the battlefield), that had been an Italian Victory. 1) The requests of the Italians to the King to let him pass were to give back the treasury conquered and to release the fortresses in French hands. With his baggage, Charles lost more than what had been requested (all the treasury conquered, all the money he needed to pay his mercenaries, his helmets, his sword, the royal standards, even his collection of erotic drawings). All of the fortresses in Italy had been lost in few weeks after Fornovo. So the Italians achieved all of their goals, and more. On the other hand, Charles' goal was not to return in France at any cost, otherwise he could have done it without even fighting, since he was already west of the Italians. 2) After the battle, the French withdrew on a hill to make camp (a poor camp, since they lost all they were not wearing). The battlefield remained in Italian hands, and the corpses of the French had been spoiled by the local peasants. Not the sign of a winning army. 3) Charles didn't "having opened up a route back to France, decided to not chase the enemy". He ASKED for a truce to bury the corpses, then fled the battlefield with his army in the night, leaving behind the wounded ones (that had then been thrown in the Taro river). Again, not what you expect from a winning army. 4) After having marched 200 km in 7 days, straight to Asti, without even foraging (at the arrival at Asti the French were starved), and without finding none willing to fend off 200 light cavalrymen of the Count of Caiazzo that were pressing the reargard (you can read the direct account of Philippe de Commynes, the French diplomat that negotiated the truce, about the truce, the night flight and the conditions of the retreat), Charles didn't answer to the calls for help of the Duke of Orlean, besieged at Novara, at only 68km distance, and remained in the city until Novara fell. 5) Yet he seemed to not be in such an hurry to return in France, since he did only on Oct. 22, after the Dukes of Milan and Savoy secured a passage for him. Fact is that, thus both armies had lost about 10% of their strengh, only one of them was still able to fight. With the loss of the baggage, Charles could no more pay his mercenaries, so he had no more an army.

[@Itachi951000]

@@neutronalchemist3241 That makes no sense. Charles wanted to return to France after he got word of the massive League of Venice being formed against him. The Italian goal was to prevent him doing so. They were defeated on the field and retreated while the French pursued their way back to France. It cannot be considered a French victory because ultimately they were forced to abandon all the lands they had conquered and the loot and therefore lost the war..... But Fornovo was nonetheless a French victory from a tactical point of view. They defeated their enemies and forced them to flee the battlefield, not the other around. And the numbers in the video seem really off. France sustained 300 to 400 casualties in the battle according to various Anglophone (to be neutral) sources. So where does the 1000 French casualties number even come from?

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@Itachi951000 1) As said, his goal was NOT to return in France at any cost. Had it been, he could have done it without fighting at all, since he was already west of the Italians. Once challenged, his goal was to give them a lesson. He didn't reach his goal, and lost everything. The requests of the Italians to the King to let him pass were to give back the treasury conquered and to release the fortresses in French hands. They more than reached their goal. With his baggage, Charles lost more than what had been requested (all the treasury conquered, all the money he needed to pay his mercenaries, his helmets, his sword, the royal standards, etc.). All of the fortresses in Italy had been lost in few weeks after Fornovo. 2) Not even the French considered the Italians "defeated on the field". You can read the direct account of Philippe de Commynes about that "The night fell and the enemy ranks front of us withdrew to their camp and we, on the other side of the river, spent the night a quarter of a league from where the battle had been fought (de Commynes, a lord, spent the night in a vineyard, without even the mantle), everyone felt he had narrowly escaped it and we were no longer so full of pride while seeing our enemies so close ... that night the Swiss mounted the guard and the king promised them three hundred shields. They kept good guard and played loud their drums." The next morning Charles VIII sent the same de Commynes to negotiate a truce with Francesco Gonzaga. He obtained it for one day, on the understanding that they would have met again the next day, to negotiate further, or on the field. At midnight de Commynes, to his own surprise, found the king preparing to flee the camp (a thing that de Commyens considered shameful), and ordering him to deceive Gonzaga the next morning, to cover the flight the longer possible (a thing that de Commynes refused to do, since he would have been killed). The part of Charles's army that could march fled the camp before morning, leaving behind the wounded and the vagons for which there were no longer enough horses. Is that the behaviour of a winning army to you? Think about that. The king had just lost anything that could have justified the expedition, and more. He was broke. And all of that, and more, was in front of him, in the camp and in the pockets of the Italians, that had no intention to flee. You said "he wanted to return to France after he got word of the massive League of Venice being formed against him", but that army was in front of him, and, to you, he had just defeated it. What prevented him to retake anything he had lost, and more, from the hands of the men he had defeated? The fact that he didn't win at all, evidently. Winners don't ask for truces, and don't flee in the night, leaving the wounded behind. The Italians discovered the flight around noon, but only around 4:00 PM, a contingent of 200 light cavalrymen led by the Count of Caiazzo managed to pass the river, that had swelled further. For the next 7 days those cavalrymen harassed the French rearguard, without the king being able to find enough knights willing to fend them off. The army reached Asti practically without eating and drinking "the putrid water of the ditches". Charles managed to avoid the destruction of his army, but no more than that.

[@Itachi951000]

@@neutronalchemist3241 Bro I don't know where you are from but your sources sure are weird lmao. What are the titles of the books you've taken all of that from and the pages? I am not even reading French accounts of the battle whether contemporary or modern. There aren't that many sources about the Italian Wars (military speaking of course as the Renaissance is still quite popular in academia) you can find which are not outdated. And you can't just take people who lived back then's words at face value because when it comes to warfare, numbers on the battlefield and what not, they are generally not deemed reliable. It has been proven countless times. Cathal Nolan's The War of the Age of Religions, Spencer Tucker's A Global Chronology of conflict and especially Mallet & Shaw's The Italian Wars 1494-1559 all described this battle and it is nothing like you make it out to be. Charles specifically asked for right of passage which was denied by the Italians. None of them state the French initiated the engagement or wanted to teach any sort of lesson to anyone because they were left in a precarious position with the imminent prospect of war with nearly all powers in western-central Europe having joined the league against them. All 3 sources state that both sides claimed victory and that there was some great deal of propaganda made by the Italian states involved and some chroniclers about their "victory" but that the French had effectively won the battle and proceeded with their march. There was nothing troublesome or anything about the battle itself at all. The battle overall is viewed as insignificant on the outcome of the conflict because at the end of the day, Charles had pretty much decided to withdraw hence losing the war. That was before the prospect of an engagement even arose. The loot coming into Italian possession is also mentioned, but there is not much controversy about the battle on the field itself. Neither of the 4 scholars dispute the outcome of the battle of Fornovo as being a French victory tactically. The song to simplify it is "both sides claimed to have won the battle but the French won it really. Strategically it was useless and France effectively lost the war having achieved nothing as they withdrew from Italy and their conquests were abandoned/restored marking the end of the first Italian War." Online versions of Nolan and Tucker's books can be downloaded on Google books because I bought them there. Not so sure about M&S because I have it in physical form and didn't buy it online. I'll give you the pages if you want. Can I have your sources as well? I need to check them out.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

@@Itachi951000 The "weird sources" is the most comprehensive French account of the battle and the aftermath, that contained in "Memoires" of Philippe de Commynes, direct witness and main French diplomat of the time, Book VIII, Chapters VI and VII. He gives also complete insights on the French decision making, since he had been on the side of the king almost the entire time. Who was in favour of the battle, who was not, etc. On the Italian side, the most complete account of the battle is "diaria de bello Carolino", of Alessandro Benedetti, chief surgeon of the Italian army at Fornovo, published in the immediate aftermath of the battle (1496), other than various letters of the people involved. Sorry, but historians can base their statements on the battle only on direct sources. It's not like there are archaeological evidences of the battle, or that they recently discovered something that the contemporaries didn't write, so that the direct sources became "outdated". There's only what the contemporaries wrote about it. Nothing else. As said, following the usual methods to assess the result of a battle (who achieved his goal, who asked for truce, who remained in possession of the battlefield), that had been an Italian (mainly Mantuan-Venetian, since there were Italians on both sides and even the "French" main commanders were Italian) victory, and I explained you why. If your sources decided to use other methods specifically for this battle, is none of my business. After an inconclusive battle (both sides lost about 10% of their force, so the relative strengh remained unchanged) Charles behaved like he had lost it, and so he lost it. Again. The king had just lost anything that could have justified the expedition, and more. He was broke. And all of that, and more, was in front of him, in the camp and in the pockets of the Italians, that had no intention to flee. You said "he wanted to return to France after he got word of the massive League of Venice being formed against him", but that army was in front of him, and, to you, he had just defeated it. What prevented him to retake anything he had lost, and more, from the hands of the men he had defeated?

[@simaozinho37]

So that´s how you remove cavalary from the battle you put a big wagon of treasure in their sight.

[@obiwankenobi2083]

the mngols did the same by throwing gold on the ground, so the knights and men at arms stopped to get it...greedy people are always there...

[@Wkumar07]

Thank you, Kings and Generals, for beginning this fascinating series on the Italian Wars. The early modern period of Europe is one of the most fascinating times due to the confluence of technology, politics, religion, and art, which especially took place during the Italian Renaissance. I look forward to where this series will take us next.

[@CharlieThunder24]

Italians be like "we attack their flank! Oh wait, shiny gold!

[@neutronalchemist3241]

Stradiots were mercenaries from the Balkans. However their flexible tactics proved successful many times, and had been copied by the all the European light cavalry units. Hit when and where there's the least resistance.

[@lionelhutz5137]

*clasps hands and smiles* "oy vey!"

[@atanasiovinceformosa38]

@@neutronalchemist3241 Unë Jam Arbëreshë 🇦🇱☦️🇮🇹 I am Arbëreshë.....Gli Stradiotti. Cìao, Cìao, Mìrumpfashim, Thanasì

[@mynamejeb8743]

*Offended in Pizza

[@Therandeon]

@@atanasiovinceformosa38 Ciao vella!

[@latter-daysaintbatman2679]

One thing i love about the Italian Wars is that eventually, Charles V invaded Rome, after approving of the Reformation which was begun by Martin Luther. The Ottoman Turks were planning an invasion and this particular event inspired me to write my fantasy books based on the Italian Wars and also on the invasion of Rome, put forth by Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. In my books, the Sacred Valoryan Empire has three Italic inspired Imperial city-states such as Caladania aka the Florentines of the Empire who have made an agreement to side against the corrupt pontiff. They are also overseen and governed by the illustrious Caladici Family, based off of the Medici led by Elector Duke Lorenzo von Caladici and ofc the Supreme Arch-Gryph Wizard, Godric von Greifonhof. Caladania is ruled by two separate chambers that form one united assembly while being in two separate groups representing two different sides of the city; the High Arcane Council which represents the magic and arcane arts and the Grand Electoral Council, the political and military affairs of state. There is also the Lochland imperial city-state which is inspired from Naples and Milan sort of. While there is also one imperial city-state called Geonova, based off the Genova. Anyways, the story goes that the corrupt pontiff at one point declares himself "Supreme Master of the World" and the Empire has to assemble all of it's imperial state troops led by each of their ruling Elector Dukes along with their allies from Britonnia, Nordica, the High Elves of Celestor and the dwarves of Thulamdor to put a stop to the pontiff's evil schemes. Eventually, the pontiff is deposed and put on trial, then exiled. The Pontiff State of Telmervania is then taken over by imperial statists who declare a new Elector Duke and also raise a new banner that displays a half crowned black eagle and a striped black and yellow on the right side along with a yellow charge on the left side.

[@lyonvensa]

Alfonso II when the French were coming: "Quick! We must prepare ourselves!" Also Alfonso II when the French were coming: "Ciao! I'll see you in Sicily!"

[@albertgreene313]

I am super excited to see y’all cover these wars. Trying to find a good documentary or get my head around the various events has been difficult

[@lucasthibault4364]

Love this period, thanks and just great job (the quality of your content is astonishing)

[@maxmcmullen6184]

Like always, splendid work. Are you planning to cover the wars of Louis XIV of France such as the war of Devolution, the nine years war and the war of the Spanish succession as well as the seven years war ?

[@Cancoillotteman]

Most of those ended in French victories, so it's unlikely they'll cover those

[@nolletthibault2031]

@@Cancoillotteman Sans déconner cette vidéo était très bonne. Ils citent même leurs sources. Il est évident que cette chaine fait bosser plusieurs créateurs différents, voire plusieurs équipes, et que certaines sont meilleures que d'autres, et surtout moins promptes à céder à une version chauvine de l'Histoire. Cet épisode augure d'une série de qualité (contrairement à celle sur la guerre de cent ans), et puis on va forcément parler d'Agnadel, de Ravenne, de Marignan et de Cérisoles, voire de la reconquête de Calais, alors pour moi ça reste une bonne nouvelle. Il me semble donc que les guerres de Louis XIV pourraient très bien être détaillées. Et puis elles sont loin de toutes avoir été des victoires françaises. La guerre de Hollande était une victoire légèrement insatisfaisante, la guerre de la ligue d'Augsbourg une égalité et celle de succession d'Espagne une semi-défaite.

[@earthenjadis8199]

They said it was on their schedule.

[@2x2leax]

@@Cancoillotteman The Spanish said the same about wars they won...

[@Cancoillotteman]

@@nolletthibault2031 Espérons. Le biais de cette chaîne est plus de viser les batailles célèbres que le chauvinisme anglo-saxon; donc si ils couvrent Louis XIV je leur fais confiance. Là est la problème : SI

[@Gimmegames4free6942]

The Italian was were one of my favourite wars, so glad you guys are covering it!

[@FrAnC3sCoN123]

speaking of France are yall ever going to finish the Napoleonic Wars series? The series stops in 1809 but the wars contiuned untill 1815.

[@johgekpunkt9516]

Also it stops after the battle of aspern but that particular war is not over

[@chase0300]

I think they left it to Epic History TV to do. They have the best series on Napoleon and its probably one of the best history series on KZbin

[@Heisenberg882]

@@chase0300 yeah but there are still many smaller battles in the wars that they haven't covered, they only cover the big battles in detail

[@bertchintus4103]

ITALIAN WARS BABY LETS GOOOOOOO! I'm so happy you're doing this

[@Habiyeru]

New Total War tactic: instead of using pikemen, deploy a tactical baggage train to deal with enemy cavalry.

[@LeSethX]

Rewatching this, to better understand the next video, I didn't realize the Hundred Years' War ended right before the Italian Wars, and thus inherited some of those issues. They were somehow entirely separate events to me.

[@KingsandGenerals]

Yeah, there is a direct line between the attempts of the French kings to centralize their domain and the Italian Wars.

[@umikousaka8158]

It's here!!! ❤️ Glad that you can take on the Italian Wars once more, I've been longing for a series on it since your video on the Battle of Pavia. Looking forward to your upcoming videos! :)

[@anthonysimmons1372]

I love the new set up in this episode. Keep using it plz

[@cruzaider5339]

"Eyy I'm walkin er!" *Begins war*

[@Dumpstermuffin1]

The Italian wars is something that really should be taught more. It was one of those moments in history where you can see the birth of nationalism as the Italians fought against a French invader. Machiavelli also wrote "The Prince" during the wars

[@ChristopherBrogdon]

Thank You for Putting this up

[@phenom568]

Just started watching The Borgias last week and was reading about the history of this war. So perfect timing for me.

[@MastaToSch]

Seems like an important person is missing in that story. I didn't hear any mention of the most influential person of them all: Ezio Auditore da Firenze!

[@mah2418]

Ubisoft writers: Let add an assassin in historical events who come and kill every important king, dutch, pope and ... to gain a stupid egg!

[@bastardofthecentury]

@@mah2418 You mean a golden apple that doesn't look like an apple at all?

[@mah2418]

@@bastardofthecentury Exactly

[@musavvirmahmud8432]

I was looking for this comment! At least someone did.

[@hamadalromaithi4723]

Finally some Italians hitory!😁🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

[@barbiquearea]

I mean they did cover Italy quite extensively in a few of their WWII videos.

[@derkreuzritter6789]

@sebâstian turnayev Wouldn't they both be descendants of the Turkic nomads? I'm not too sure about the history of Uzbekistan

[@nuzulqreshna3575]

@@derkreuzritter6789 don't answer him, he's a troll that keeps spamming this same shit question on every video over and over again.

[@youngarchivest9092]

@@barbiquearea They covered one of the lamest parts of Italian history. The Italian Wars are among the best.

[@terry7907]

Very much looking forward to this. A great time period.

[@illogicaldale2219]

You just keep doing more and more of what we want; brilliant

[@lucasasmelash6012]

Fun fact. After the surrender of Piero de Medici, Ludovico il Moro was so furious that he headed back to Milan in complete anger. Since the beginning his plan was to legitimise his rule over the Duchy of Milan and after the death of his nephew the french expeditions had no purpose at all. He believed that after a prolonged and stagnant siege in that area, Charles would have given up the expedition and headed back home. Piero inadvertently messed up everything and possibly doomed the peninsula to decades of horrible warfare. His nickname is “il Fatuo”, meaning somebody who is always undecided and cannot stand for his ideals and decisions.

[@darthsidious6753]

Basically the plan was to block the French advance with a holding force and launch the main attack across the Taro on the flanks of the centre and rear columns.

[@nassauguy48]

Boy, dd that fail miserably. The French marched right through.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

@@nassauguy48 Not really. French ran away during the night

[@smal750]

​@@NoName-hg6cc the french ravaged the land rped the women and looted italy. nothing new.

[@ageingviking5587]

Good stuff Ks and Gs. Thank you!

[@darrenbutler9819]

Omg Yes!!! Love that you're covering the Italian Wars

[@1020Lester]

Cant wait to see the entrance of Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba.

[@elliem1706]

Thanks for the great content! I really enjoyed the video. One minor comment: I believe the term condottiero actually comes from the medieval italian term "condotta", which was the contract establishing the terms (the payment most importantly) of the mercenary's service for a lord/city.

[@ferdinandfernando1739]

It has been such a long time since I watched Ks&Gs video with a great passion. This is a good one, indeed.

A person had recommended me this series about the Italian Wars (one of the most transcendental conflicts in European history, but one that is largely ignored by the history media) almost a year ago, but I hadn't had time to watch it until now and also taking advantage of the fact that I have recently read several military articles about this war. I must say that this first part seemed quite good to me, you did a good job and I hope that the following ones are just as satisfactory, I really regret not having discovered it when it came out 2 years ago, since it is one of my favorite wars, however, it's never too late.

[@1stdukeofMarlborough-tr1kj]

hard to believe since I have seen you on all the English channels showing your extraordinary love for the Spanish tercios despite they call you "tiraflechas"

[@anaraschulz9814]

Renaissance history fans : *oh yeah, it’s all coming together*

[@krishnasbharadwaj]

Italian wars really deserved a video

[@TheExclusivemindset]

Amazing video man 👍👍👍

[@akaEsit]

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL VIDEO.

[@skiteufr]

History of Europe accross the centuries : France : invade Europe : coalise

[@johntitor1256]

France seems to get added penalties to Aggressive Expansion. Or maybe they just chose to rival too many neighbouring countries at the same time.

[@skiteufr]

@@johntitor1256 i think they were too powerfull and populated at that time to be taken on by one single country

[@johntitor1256]

​@@skiteufr They should have sprung for some Espionage Ideas before invading, then.

[@sp1d3rm0nk3y33]

@@skiteufr Correct. Most populated country and able to muster century by century an absurde amount of heavy cavalry, no matter how hard the plague, Hundred Years Wars or famine struck. Really, they were just the continental version of the Ottoman Empire, just enormous numbers difficult to counter. And this continued even in 1940, with a proper defence they still were the only (well, Soviets apart) country that could compete with the germans.

[@adolphbismark4331]

Not really. France was obliterated by England for a long time and up to the end of the 15th century it wasnt a big power. It achieved some success with Napoleon and that is all.

[@antivalidisme5669]

Dear Pisans, I must admit we may have different interpretations of the words "freedom" and "peace"

[@g1a18]

THANK YOU MAN FINALLY THE Italian Wars

[@lucasgoncalves568]

Finally a series of videos about the Italian Wars. Not much people talk about this conflict, unfortunately.

[@mdmiloy5897]

When, I visit your chinal, I saw Battle of pavia and You also sayed that you guys will cover italian war in future. But thr time is finally came.

[@freddekl1102]

I have to say, hundred years' war series was quite underwhelming for me, but this Italian war series looks extremely promising and in-depth. But what about partition of Burgundy? I hope you're planning for one-off about this since it kickstarted Habsburg-French rivalry

[@mobiggcro]

Burgundian storyline needs to be covered indeed

[@TheRelentlessss]

Cool! Can't wait to see more videos on the italian wars!!

[@johnnotrealname8168]

WoW you finally did it. Thank You.

[@Turgon_]

*Goes to war against the Papacy for the sake of a 'crusade' against the Ottomans* France: "It just works" Venetian League: "No I dont think it will"

[@massimopisati7922]

yees finally, thank you for this series

[@CrusaderMapper]

I had been waiting this for a long time

[@aleksapetrovic6519]

There was a certain knight called Bayard who captured standard of Venice. Remember that name.

[@ali95ah]

Have a feeling that his career has just started.

[@aleksapetrovic6519]

@@ali95ah Oh you bet it did. If you ever wanted a fearytale knight in real life with all (real) chivalric qualities, then you will love him. Next episode should probably feather him.

[@ali95ah]

@@aleksapetrovic6519 Not a big fan of Knightley stories, only know that he participated in many battles in Italy. But I will read more about him.

[@Cancoillotteman]

@@ali95ah the guy litterally entered the common French language to this very day ^^ When someone acts like a Paladin or something, we tend to say "he thinks he's the fearless and untarnished Knight Bayard !"

[@aleksapetrovic6519]

@@Cancoillotteman vremant? J'ai jamais etendu ca.

[@flozacoustic9941]

Here i am, watching a history video of places about 30 minutes away from me. I should go visit.

[@baronzeppeli4225]

Thanks for this video

[@IluvballsFc]

Hi Thank you for the great video

[@ahk9838]

Since youre doing videos on Italy now, can you do a video on the rivalry between the Ghibelines (Empire) and Guelphs (Papacy)? It predates the renaissance but influenced it

[@Buurba_Jolof]

I love this because I love The Borgias serie

[@Panicscroll69]

Love the videos, keep it up!

[@francoserrano8909]

Great video! Thanks for the subtitulates

[@braydenlovetere4545]

Imagine being one of those people who dislike KZbin videos like this.

[@fedecano7362]

its 4,2 likes vs 32 dislikes at this very moment. Chances are from those 32 at least half clicked on the dislike button by mistake. The other can be havin a rough day or maybe just have a personal grudge with the channel..in any case its not significant

[@firstconsul7286]

Its probably dislike bots or something that dislike popular videos to stop them from getting views

[@battlez9577]

Quality isnt always that good or they skip over having just said something rather than explain the importancd

[@braydenlovetere4545]

@@SonKunSama you sound like the type of person who would dislike a video like this.

[@thibaultletricheur1884]

Behold the Furia Francese ! Machiavelli expressed his admiration of french military action and mocked Charles VIII's diplomatic skills.

[@thibaultletricheur1884]

@@NapoleonAquila Louis XII a eu plus de finesse diplomatiquement en Italie du Nord, du moins au début ...

[@jumperwilli7770]

Il a surtout aimé le fait que Charle VII utilisait des troupes françaises et non des mercenaires. Charles VII au contraire utilisait des mercenaires.

[@NoName-hg6cc]

No one ever utter that world that day. Not Italians at least

[@sevoo1579]

Great thank you guys !

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , K&G .

[@ennui9745]

Sheesh, keeping track of all the people involved in the Italian Wars and their shifting allegiances was difficult.

[@TheFiresloth]

Great subject to talk about, even if it still means we're going to see quite a lot of French defeats... The gigantic cultural difference in warfare between the French and the Italians, where mercenaries were not at all treated the same, basically guaranteed the collapse of the condottieri system.

[@nolletthibault2031]

We're still going to see Agnedelo, Ravenne, Marignano and Ceresole. Maybe even the reconquest of Calais. And if it's done properly with sources and actual tactical and strategical explanations on armies, battles and geopolitics, I think we'll have to see less racist morons than under their (poorly made) hundred years war videos.

[@joshscanes2589]

More french defeats are a good thing though

[@neutronalchemist3241]

"gigantic cultural difference"? The Italian wars had been almost exclusively fought by mercenary troops (also Charles' army was composed mainly by mercenary troops), and the condottieri fought them until the very end. Still the Battle of Marciano in 1554, the last pitched battle fought in italy of the last of the Italian wars was easily won by the condottiero Gian Giacomo Medici over the combined French and Senese troops.

[@Itachi951000]

@@joshscanes2589 Lmao no they are not. The 16th century and the period from 1862 to 1962 are the worst centuries in French military history. There were victories sure, but the blunders were much much more high-profile. A channel more interested in shining some light on us kicking some ass would be welcome. But hey I do love the Italian Wars so I don't really mind this series. I'll just brace myself for the "surrender" or France "military noob" jokes.

[@TheAtmosfear7]

Still the most victorious country on Earth bitches

[@blede8649]

I live in a town right next door to Mordano. I was there a few days ago, really nice place nowadays. So cool to finally see places where I live in these videos, keep them coming !

[@blede8649]

@@NapoleonAquila Far be it from me to demean your achievements, Sire, but you had the bureaucracy, resources and manpower of a modern state behind you, as well as your own military genius, whereas Charles VIII had a feudal monarchy barely out of the Middle Ages. We're comparing apples and oranges here.

[@arasheslamkhah969]

i love everything this chanel makes !

[@Gabsboy123]

I wonder if the regional divisions of medieval and Renaissance Italy bore resemblance to the early grouping of Italic tribes prior to the expansion of the Roman Republic

[@jorehir]

Vaguely, but essenially not. The political division you see here is a consequence of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Popes and the Germanic warlords trying to conquer Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The ancient Italic tribes were assimilated fully by the Romans. In the Renaissance, all those city-states were speaking Italian dialects and were tighly interconnected by cultural ties. Urban identity was clearly the prevailing one, but there was an undelying nationalist sentiment already.

[@gio7647]

As Jorehir noted, the pre-Roman identities were long gone by the time the regional Italian states came to be. Rome had effectively culturally homogenized the peninsular portion of Italy by the beginning of the empire. The Po valley retained some pockets of celtic identity, but it was largely romanized by the following century. When the barbarians invaded Italy in the V centuries, they called every non-barbarian Latin, with little distinctions. The destinies of the various parts of the Peninsula started to diverge in the centuries immediately after the fall of the Western Roman empire, when parts of the previously united territory of roman Italia became split between the warring Longobards and Byzantines, and later also with the Franks. Byzantine diminishing influence brought about the full independence of Venice and papal Rome by the end of the X century, while the longobards domains would become split in duchies.

[@orishpata1962]

16:57 these mercenaries were commanded by an albanian mercenary commander known as Merkur bua, he is a really sick historical figure and i suggest you to make an episode on him

[@radec5437]

The stradiots are a fascinating subject to learn!

[@joshuapilling3641]

Oh boy this is gonna be a good one

[@manuelapollo7988]

Nice that some exstetic improvements comes with the video on the italian wars🙂

[@gabriel_tormentaroja5118]

Tercios fans: _Santiago war cries intensifies_

[@anthonymartino403]

I'm a simple man. I see a new Kings & Generals video, I click like

[@tg1982]

Ohh I'm all for this series!

[@alimirzaee4689]

That music was so epic I felt I'm in the battle myself

[@ogedeh]

I never fought in the Italian wars, I believe I was in the service of James IV of Scotland at the time. Something related to scotch whiskey iirc.

[@lazy_nyt]

When it comes to these locations in that era, it always kinda surprising to see the prowess of those Italian city states as individual entities just by facts that whenever French kings and HRE emperors are concerned there's whole might of French kingdom and huge collective power of German states (to varying degrees) were behind those few individuals but Italian city states with forever rivalries among them were more or less having enough confidence to individually resist top names of their known world. Ultimately indicting the importance of soon-to-be-decisive factor in waging war: the power of commerce. Swiss mercenaries undoubtedly the best which sliver can summon forth but at the same time, heavily geared Italian mercenaries being able to stand proud showed that Italian silvers could substitute the land mass they lacked in comparison with their northern super powers or those across the sea in the south. Only if they were united, there were always huge potential to reforge old roman empire. Edit: may be it's even better being Italian mercenaries in comparison with swiss or german counterparts since they weren't needed to traverse vast distances to fight battles. Just here and there short distance within the peninsula and if one lord trying to persecute you for a crime or something, you could easily fled to next city as that would definitely willing to undermine your former lord lol Except in the case of trying to flee from repaying loans from your city banks. You would be common enemy of every Italian city states lol

[@sp1d3rm0nk3y33]

What you say it's just a bunch of fantasies, really baseless random nonsense. In reality italian infantry was poor led, poor equipped, poor disciplined and poorly payed. The simple fact that even Stradioti, wich were mercenaries and "professional" for standard, and still had no discipline and no trust to be well-rewarded by superiors to stick to the orders with an on-going battle that was far to be won, is a proof itself of a poor general state of any italian army. Swiss or generally german mercenaries were far more reliable, and even far more effective on the ground. Not sure what you mean with "heavily geared Italian mercenaries being able to stand proud showed that Italian silvers could substitute the land mass they lacked in comparison with their northern super powers or those across the sea in the south." There's no proudness to be defeated like at Fordinovo. Poor execution, poor plan, poor discipline, poor mobility, poor anything. Just utter incompetence. That's why for centuries german mercenaries (swiss or german) were the most seeken force to recruit and not a single italian elite mercenary unit. The only one of valuable use were the Genoese crossbowmen but were always poorly used like at Crecy that never were a game-changer on the field.

[@user-dr6bc4jc8y]

@@sp1d3rm0nk3y33 Stradioti were Balkan mercenaries often hired by everyone that needed them, they weren't Italians. I agree that this battle was not exactly the best example of Italian military prowess (but you also need to take into account that they were a multinational force attacking across a flooded river), but to be fair Italian equipment was usually of good quality (Milanese weapons and armour were top quality in Europe) and Italian mercenaries were good even if they often lacked loyalty if not payed enough. Italian medieval history is highly interesting to study, with regional and local powers often rival of each other fighting through diplomacy and money to enlist the best mercenaries around, and even if divided and considerably smaller then their neighbours they managed to win their independence against the rule of France and the HRE multiple times. After the renaissance with the formation of the first centralised monarchies in Europe (France and Spain) and the switch from a Mediterranean centred economy to an Atlantic one, Italian states lost their economic power and begun to decline. But to say they were incompetent, weak and useless is ignorant.

[@sp1d3rm0nk3y33]

​@@user-dr6bc4jc8y Ignorant is the delusional idea that the italian states "won their independence against the rule of France and the HRE multiple times". Just one single battle (Legnano) won against Barbarossa in the farest 1176. After that many endless internal conflicts, treacheries, back-stabbing, unstable and opportunistic alliances, shortsighted political dividends. The real indipendence came incredibly late in the 1861, firstly thank to the (non)-intervention of the british fleet, and secondly thanks to the series of battles won by France on land, despite the repetead defeat of the Sabaudian kingdom. Regarding the italian armors, it's not a relevant fact on the entire italian campaign until the battle of Fordinovo. What the italian leadership failed to understand is how warfare was changing, the importance of depriving the enemy of artillery and delaying him especially where he is weak, carriages and not-mobile units like cannons (what happened at Sarzana it's another proof of how the only concern of the ruling class was just preserving the land and the infrastructures from further destruction...A MEDIEVAL concept of warfare, instead of defeating the enemy they just wanted to preserve the land so the next year the taxes could finance another war, assuming that the on-going one was already lost. Utter stupidity, no comprehension of how war works, no idea of the devastating effects that repetead invasions have on the growth and the land itself and how was futile leaving the king of France a "free pass" to Rome, he would have come to Italy anytime he wanted if he had not been stopped and his army wiped out, every time with increasingly severe effects on the population, the cultivated lands, the infrastructures etc..). Stradiots: true that were an international force from various countries and regions. I was just pointing out how that one was particularry inept, I know the battle wasn't lost just for that small fact. Mediterranean sea: true indeed, the decline of Italy came righ from the American continent discover.

[@eugeniocallegaro6618]

I remember condottieri preferred German troops as well, who were considered far more disciplined and braver too, whereas Italian troops (especially infantry) were of very poor quality with few exceptions like the company from Brisighella. On the other hand peasants militia from the Republic of Venice often fought bravely and exceeded the expectations of their commanders. The Republic timidly tried to build an army from them but never really fully committed itself to it...they were more reliant on mercenaries...unluckily -_-

[@albeXX100]

@@eugeniocallegaro6618 Not true. Italians wre still considered good mercenaries. They were the most effective nationality in the tercios after the spanish, considered better then germans or waloons for example. Condottieri armies under Cesare Borgia or Giovanni dalle Bande Nere were still very good units. They proved to be a big match for Fench and Germans...

[@donymiartha7172]

Great work!

[@volcanares9620]

Formigny a few days ago and now the italian wars, is it Christmas already ? Thanks a lot Kings and Generals for you great videos !

[@adolphbismark4331]

Stratioti were not some " balkan mercenaries " but were Albanian mercenaries that introduced light mobile cavalry in Europe and changed the warfare and won more than 140 battles. Their most famous leaders were the Albanians Merkurio Bua and Gorgio Basta. So please Kings and Generals , be specific about this and don't copy everything from Wikipedia. For more information you have a detailed article called " Stratioti, the Legendary Albanian cavalry that changed warfare in Europe ".

[@harrysmith1711]

Fantastic introduction to the Italian Wars. The age of the Condottieri, the golden age of the mercenary captains. While you're on this subject, I hope you take the opportunity to look up and make a video on Sir John Hawkwood, an English Condottieri who led an exceptional career

[@noahkidd3359]

YES! The Italian Wars are fascinating.

[@Ichigokurosaki24140]

Never had came across this sort of knowledge before but yh it worth learning