The Battle of Garigliano was the decisive battle of the Italian War of 1499-1504. The Spanish army, commanded by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba and Bartolomeo d'Alviano, decisively defeated the French army of Ludovico II of Saluzzo near Gaeta, confirming Spanish rule over the Kingdom of Naples for over 200 years.
Battle[]
The Battle of Garigliano occurred in the context of the Italian War of 1499-1504, during which the armies of Spain and France fought for dominance in the Kingdom of Naples (southern Italy). With the French entrenched at a supply base near Gaeta, the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba awaited reinforcements from Italian nobles Bartolomeo d'Alviano and Fabio Orsini. After receiving reinforcements, he had an army of 12,000 troops, facing 16,000 French soldiers under Ludovico II of Saluzzo. Gonzalo de Cordoba showed his offensive flair by defeating the larger French force through a bold maneuver that involved moving troops across a river unobserved on an improvised pontoon bridge. The surprised French could not send reinforcements because their nearby troops had illnesses, and they did not want disease to spread among their ranks. The French retreated, destroying the bridges and leaving behind all of their cannon and sickly soldiers. 8,000 French and 900 Spanish were lost in the decisive battle. The Spanish losses included Fabio Orsini, who had suffered a fatal arrrow wound to the head. The offensive capacity of the French army was destroyed, and the city of Gaeta surrendered after some days of siege; Spain gained total supremacy over Naples, and it was to hold onto this until the War of the Spanish Succession.