The Italian Wars Vol 2 Agnadello 1509, Ravenna 1512, Marignano 1515

The League of Cambrai was an alliance formed in December 1508 by the main European powers with the purpose of halting the expansion of the Republic of Venice. The war that followed was one of the ongoing conflicts in what came to be known as the Italian Wars and was fought between 1508 and 1516. The principal states involved were the Kingdom of France, the Papal State, and the Republic of Venice. They were joined at one time or another by Spain, England, Scotland, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary, along with several minor States, such as the Dukedom of Milan, the Republic of Florence, the Dukedom of Ferrara, the City of Mantua, and the Swiss cantons.

The authors describe the three phases of the war, along with the alternating alliances among the states themselves - the League against Venice in the Battle of Agnadello; the following League against France, declared by Pope Julius II, which fought at the Battle of Ravenna; and finally, the alliance between Venice and France at the Battle of Marignano, also known as the Battle of the Giants.

In this, the second volume of this new work on the Italian Wars, the structure of the armies, the weapons, the battles and their casualties are described. Chronicles, reports, and studies on the subject were compared and contrasted with one another to render a picture as true as possible to the reality of facts, highlighting the often differing versions of the chroniclers. Finally, military heraldry, armies' identification marks, and captains' emblems displayed on garments, harnesses, and insignias are analysed. For these, documentary sources were studied and compared with iconographical sources.



"Another excellent publication in the Helion "From Retinue to Regiment" series. Carrying on from the previous volume the standard is very high, packed with information regarding the various armies involved in the war, the armed conflict and the history behind the scenes. The book has colour illustrations of the armour, uniforms and flags of those involved and there are black and white maps plus a few contemporary plates from the period to enhance this tremendous publication. Highly recommended for anyone who already has an interest in the period or wants to start reading about it.