The Battle of Garigliano was the conclusive battle of the Third Italian War of 1501-03. The Spanish led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba triumphed over a larger French army again, winning the war and establishing their control over Kingdom of Naples which would last for centuries!
I wanted to continue where I left yesterday when I presented the 1503 battle of Cerignola where the Spanish have achieved a crucial victory in April. After this victory the Spanish army marched towards Naples and triumphantly entered the city in May after the French retreated.
The Third Italian War was fought exclusively in the Kingdom of Naples in south of Italy between France and Spain for control of that land. The French relied on Swiss mercenaries but weren't able to recruit them for an offensive war for which the Swiss weren't interested.
The French eventually managed to gather enough infantry from Italian allies and in Autumn they arrived to southern Italy to reclaim it. The conditions were very harsh for both sides with rainy weather and short supplies. For months, there would be no decisive engagement.
The commander of the Spanish army Gonzalo de Cordoba had wisely avoided battle with the larger French army and waited them behind the Garigliano river. Neither side wanted to cross and engage and the stalemate continued as winter began. It looked like it would continue to spring.
However the Spanish soon developed a plan thanks to one of their Italian commanders Bartolomeo d'Alviano who suggested to built a pontoon bridge few miles upstream from the bridge that was guarded by the French, to surprise the enemy! Gonzalo de Cordoba accepted the plan.
D'Alviano crossed the river on 28 December 1503 with an advance guard of 3500 men followed by Gonzalo de Cordoba's forces of 2000 Landsknecht and 200 light cavalry. The rearguard of 300 heavy cavalry and 5000 infantry under Diego de Mendoza were left to guard the French bridge.
The Spanish forces completely surprised the French as they started advancing on the French side of the river, overwhelming poorly guarded French outposts. The French started to flee in panic as the Spanish rearguard crossed the bridge and they were attacked from two sides!
It was a brilliant move by the Spanish on the 15000 strong demoralized French army. The French lost around 4000 men in the panicked retreat and casualties would have been even higher if not for a brave last stand of French knights allowing infantry escape to the city of Gaeta.
Once again Gonzalo de Cordoba achieved a crushing victory over the French! This war enhanced the reputation of "El Gran Capitán" as a military genious and one of the greatest commanders of his age. The battles of Cerignola and Garigliano were definitely decided by leadership!
The French surrendered and Spain would control entire south of Italy from then on. They allowed the French to retreat and while the noble knights went to France by sea, the poor infantrymen had to return to France by foot broke and disarmed. Many of them died on the way home!
Even the French nobles who arrived by sea were not much better, "looking like death". The furious king Louis XII blamed the captains for the fiasco. He held them responsible for the indiscipline of the troops and for failing to provide unified leadership due to quarrels.
While the criticism of Louis XII was correct, he too could have done better as the king of France. The Third Italian War was just another example how much great men like Gonzalo de Cordoba changed history with their military innovation and leadership, beating superior armies!
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It's wild how Denmark had colonies in India for more than 200 years from 1620 to 1869.
Fort Dansborg, built in 1620, still stands today in the Bay of Bengal.
They had forts, factories, trading posts. But they eventually sold their possessions to British Empire.
The Danish presence in India was of little significance to the major European powers as they presented neither a military nor a mercantile threat so they let them carve out their own niche.
A map of Danish trade routes in the region.
The operation was initially conducted by Danish East India Company.
But the early years of the Danish adventure in India in 1620s were horrible. Almost two-thirds of all the trading vessels dispatched from Denmark were lost.
English explorer John Smith, famous for his involvement in establishing the Jamestown colony in America in 1607.
His coat of arms featured the heads of three Ottoman soldiers whom he beheaded in duels while serving as a mercenary in Transylvania during the Long Turkish War.
John Smith is known today for his role in managing the colony of Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America, and his connection with a Powhatan woman called Pocahontas.
But John Smith was also a powerful warrior and mercenary prior to that.
Born in England, he set off to sea in 1596 at age 16 after his father died to become a mercenary, fighting for the French against the Spanish.
He was looking for what he called "brave adventures".
After a truce was made in 1598, he joined a French pirate crew in Mediterranean.
Many Irishmen served the Habsburgs over centuries and distinguished themselves.
Over 100 Irishmen were field marshals, generals, or admirals in the Austrian Army!
Some of the illustrious Irish warriors serving the Habsburg emperors. 🧵
In 1853 there was an assassination attempt on emperor Franz Joseph in Vienna by a Hungarian nationalist.
But the emperor's life was saved by Count Maximilian Karl Lamoral O'Donnell who cut the assassin down with a sabre.
O'Donnell was a descendant of Irish nobility!
Maximilian ancestors -the powerful O'Donnell clan- left Ireland during the Flight of the Earls in 1607, when Irish earls and their followers left Ireland in the aftermath of their defeat against the English Crown in the Nine Years' War in 1603.
Many inns appeared in medieval Europe, offering foods, drinks and a place to socialize, as well as lodging for travelers, helping transportation logistics.
In this thread I will present some of the old medieval inns that survived to this day, from various European countries!🧵
The George Inn. Norton St Philip in Somerset, England 🏴.
Built in 14th century and completed in 15th century, this is a proper medieval inn.
Being an innkeeper was a respected social position. In medieval England, innkeepers were generally wealthy and held influence in towns!
Stiftskeller St. Peter. St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg, Austria 🇦🇹.
Often mentioned as the oldest inn in Central Europe, for it was first mentioned in 803 in a letter to Charlemagne.
It operated as part of the monastery to give food to pilgrims. Now a prestigious restaurant.
This is the Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen made in 1937.
I was always fascinated with this car.
It's crazy how in 1938 this car recorded a speed of 432.7 km/h (268.9 mph). This remained the fastest ever officially timed speed on a public road until broken in 2017.
The record was set by German driver Rudolf Caracciola who drove this car on the Reichs-Autobahn A5 between Frankfurt and Darmstadt on 28 January 1938.
This reflected the obsession with breaking records and showcasing industrial prowess of nations at the time.
The onlookers who observed the spectacle of a car racing at astonishing 432.7 km/h past them also noted the brutal boom of the side spewing exhaust stacks as the silver car hurtled past.
It must have been an incredible spectacle to witness!