French forces captured Ludovico Sforza at Novara, ending Milanese resistance and consolidating Louis XII's control over the Duchy of Milan.
Key Facts
- Date of battle
- 8 April 1500
- Swiss corps under La Trémoille
- 10,000 troops raised by Baillie of Dijon
- Capitulation executed
- 10 April 1500
- Sforza's prison
- Château de Loches, France
- Sforza's cage dimensions
- 1.8 m wide × 2.4 m long
- Sforza's death in captivity
- 1508
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Louis XII of France sought to assert his claim over the Duchy of Milan, marching his army to confront Ludovico Sforza's forces near Novara in early April 1500. Both armies contained large contingents of Swiss mercenaries whose contracts stipulated they would not be compelled to fight one another.
On 8 April 1500, the Swiss mercenaries in Sforza's service refused to engage their counterparts in the French army, leaving the Milanese forces unable to resist. A French cannonade drove Sforza's troops into the fortress of Novara. By 10 April, the Swiss and Landsknechts in Sforza's employ mutinied and capitulated, surrendering their arms in exchange for safe passage home.
Sforza was discovered hidden among the departing Swiss soldiers, captured, and transported to France, where he was imprisoned in a cage at the Château de Loches. Granted limited freedoms in 1504, he died in captivity in 1508, effectively ending the Sforza dynasty's hold on Milan and cementing French dominance over the duchy.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Louis II de la Trémoille.
Side B
1 belligerent
Ludovico Sforza.