El Gran Capitan

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Don Gonzalo Fernandez El Cordoba

Gonzalo De Cordoba know to history as El Gran Capitan was the father of the Spanish armies transformation from a medieval army into a modern renaissance force that would leave Spain the foremost European power for the next 150 years.


Early Years

The Cordoba’s were the counts of Aquilar. Gonzalo was born in Montilla near Cordoba in 1453 AD. The early death of his father left him in the care of his oldest brother Alonso who chose a military career for him. His rank got him accepted into the Knights of Santiago (more properly The Military Order Of St. James Of The Sword ) and was attached to Don Alfonso, brother to the king of Castile staff. Upon his death him swore allegiance to Queen Isabella of Castile ( a choice that would serve him well in the future ) In 1475 the war of Castilian successions broke out. Isabella’s claim to the throne was challenged. Isabella was ½ sister to the late king Henry IV of Castile. Henry’s illegitimate daughter Juana claimed the throne, she had the support of Portugal ( King Afonso was her husband ), France ( enemy of Castile and most of the greater lords of Castile who feared Isabella as a strong ruler. Isabella had the support of Aragon ( her husband Ferdinand was heir to Aragon ), Burgundy and the lesser nobility of the kingdom. A preemptive Portuguese invasion in 1476 was repulsed at Toro and the issue settled at Alburea in 1478 with Isabella’s foes crushed. At Alburea Cordoba was singled out by the Knights grandmaster for his performance in the battle.

Stability at home meant attention could be turned to the last of the Moorish kingdoms--Granada. The marriage of Isabella to Ferdinand had united most of Spain under one rule. Opportunity came when the King of Granada raided along the borders of Castile. War was declared, and the final phase of the reconquesta was begun in 1482. The terrain of Granada was dominated by mountains and fortress towns. It was slow uneventful work. Cordoba was in charge of Isabella’s escort as she traveled the various border towns and sieges. Once he was forced to repel as Moorish attempt to ambush and kidnap Isabella earning her eternal gratitude. His only other action was being in the town of Illora during a raid and helping organizing the defenses. In 1492 Cordoba was one of the officers selected to receive the Moorish surrender.

 

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First Italian War 1494-1498

In 1494 Charles VIII of France‘s invasion of Italy would give Cordoba a chance to shine as a military commander. Ferdinand of Naples was 1st cousin once removed to Ferdinand of Aragon and a branch of the house of Aragon. Ferdinand of Naples’s reign had been a troubled one, constant revolts and problems with the papacy. At one time he was excommunicated and his territory given to Charles of France. Pope Innocent rescinded his order just before he died. Ferdinand soon followed him and was succeeded by Aflonso II his son. Naples rival Milan under ludovico Sforza saw an opportunity here. Aflonso II had a legit claim to Milan’s throne too, Sforza invited France to intervene and press Charles claim to Naples by force. Charles readily accepted the offer and a veteran French army rolled into Italy and quickly captured Naples in early 1495.

Sforza fearful of the power he had unleashed on Italy soon abandoned Charles ( Charles had a legit claim to Milan also ) and with pope Alexander VI formed the Holy league--Milan, Papacy, Naples, Venice and The Holy Roman Empire. Charles moved northward with half his army to protect his lines of communications. After a defeat at Fornovo in mid 1495. Charles retreated into France.

In Aragon, Alfonso II had addicted to his son Ferdinand II, who convinced Ferdinand of Aragon to help retake Naples. While Cordoba had performed well in both the Castilian successions and the reconquesta, he had never had an independent command, thus was far down the list of commanders for the Italian expedition. But he did have Queen Isabella and after working on her husband, Cordoba was named commander of the army. An advance force of 5000 men under Cordoba sailed for Sicily and crossed into Italy to meet Ferdinand’s forces. The combined allied army was @ 11,000 men strong but dwindled losing men to garrison every town/fortress they freed on the way. The French commander D’Aubigny of the Kings Scottish Archers recalled his scattered forces and mustered near Seminara. When the allied army arrived Ferdinand and the Spanish nobles were for immediate attack, only Cordoba called for caution. He wanted to scout the French to find out their size and position. He also wanted to find a battlefield that more suited the allied army. Cordoba knew the Spanish portion of the army consisted of light cavalry and light infantry--2/3 of which were converted seamen from the fleet. The Naples forces was almost totally levies and militia. No match for the veteran French Gendarmes and Swiss pike men.

Both armies formed up with their cavalry on the right, infantry to the left. The French gendarmes crashed through the Spanish Jinetes and routed the allied cavalry. The allied infantry fled the field before the Swiss pike men who struck terror into most European infantry. The Spanish under Cordoba formed a rear guard covering the allied escape.

The victory however didn’t solidify the French position in southern Italy. They were still isolated from their homeland by Holy league troops in northern Italy and the Venetian fleet prevented help by sea. In Naples itself Cordoba not Ferdinand was in charge. Cordoba avoided battle, his men harassed and attacked every French patrol, outpost and supply column till the French were bottled up in a few towns isolated from each other. Finally the Swiss pike men mutinied over lack of pay, Cordoba gave them free passage north and out of the fight. Soon only the town of Atella held out and it fell in 1498 to Cordoba. The first Italian war was over and Cordoba returned home in victory. Seminara was Cordoba’s first defeat, it would also be his last.

Italy at the time of the Italian wars.

 

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Reorganization Of The Army

Cordoba’s peaceful return was short lived, the Morisco’s ( Moors converted to Christianity ) had risen against the crown. After the fall of Granada the Moorish population was given 2 choices--leave or convert. For a while it worked but Ferdinand and Isabella always feared the Moors returning from north Africa in force to continue the wars of the reconquesta. They began to fear and suspect the Morisco’s. the holy inquisition which had been operating in Castile/Aragon moved into Granada too. Their actions led to the uprising which was easily put down--no help was north Africa was ever coming. Cordoba was now free to begin his work, the total reorganization of the Spanish army. He knew the war in Italy was far from over and if Spain hoped to challenge France the army needed to be rebuilt top to bottom. The army had been shaped by centuries of warfare with the Moors--fast paced harassment, ambush and hit and run combat. The short comings of which had been exposed in close quarters combat with heavy cavalry and infantry in Italy.

Pre First Italian war army:

Gaudies De Castilla--compared to their French/Italian/German counterparts the Spanish knights were lightly armored.

Light Cavalry--Jinete cavalry mounted with javelins were good skirmishers and had served well in Granada but lacked the firepower to stop the French Gendarmes or range to fight their mounted harquebusiers or crossbowmen.

Artillery--Spanish artillery had been leaps and bounds ahead of the Moors but paled to the French ( who led Europe in this field ) in quality and organization.

Heramadad-- ( brotherhood ) city militia made up the majority of the Spanish infantry. Most were armed as sword and buckler men, with a handful of crossbowmen thrown in.

In was a force lacking both melee effectiveness and long range firepower.

Cordoba almost totally eliminated the sword and buckler men replacing them with pike men based on the Swiss model. He flanked the pike with harquebusiers and crossbows to provide protection for the pikes. They were grouped together in colunella of @1000 men. The make up was ½ pike, 1/3 sword and buckler ( soon phased out to zero and replaced with halbardiermen ) and 1/6 harquebusier.

His cavalry replaced the jinetes with Herrervetes--armed with pistols and Herguletiers armed with harquebusiers. Both able to inflict damage to the heavier northern cavalry.

After Cordoba’s death the colunella’s were be stardized at 3 per army--the Spanish Terico. This is considered the beginning of the shot and pike era that dominated European warfare for the next 2 centuries. The reforms couldn’t of come too soon. Events were happening in Italy again. In the first Italian war a late middle ages French army incorporating the lessons of the 100 years war defeated a middle ages army of Spain. The army that returned would be a modern renaissance force.

Reorganized Spanish Infantry.

 

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2nd Italian War 1499--1504

In 1499 Louis XII ( Charles VIII successor ) allied himself with Venice and overran Milan. He followed this up with a treaty with Austria ( securing his rear ) and began massing his troops on the boarder of Naples. Ferdinand of Aragon tied down by the Morisco revolt is unable to aid Naples. He agrees to split Naples in two. A small force is sent to Italy under Cordoba who first ejects a Turkish foothold at Cephalonia, Italy. By 1501 all of Naples is in French/Spanish hands. Within a year the two allies are at odds, Ferdinand wants the title of King of Naples as well as Sicily Louis doesn’t agree and Cordoba is trapped in southern Italy by a much larger French force. Cordoba fortifies a position at the Ofanto river on the Adriatic coast and is supported by the Venetian fleet ( fearing The French and have flipped sides ). The French are unable to take the town by siege or starvation while the Venetians supply them. Cordoba divides his troops into flying columns much like in the first war and pours into the countryside, no supply train, outpost or ungarrisoned town is safe.

An example of this is the siege of Ruvo on February 23, 1503. The outpost is isolate from the other French garrisons and Cordoba gathers a small force plus cannon and quickly swoop’s down on the garrison of 600 men under Jacque De la Palice. A seven hour bombardment breached the walls and the town fell. By the time The Duke of Nemours arrived the town had been sacked of anything useful and the Spanish returned to Barletta on the Ofanto.

This is the Dukes position by mid 1503, the French army is scattered throughout southern Italy escorting supplies and garrisoning towns. At the same time Cordoba receives reinforcements from home. He recalls his harassment troops and marches on Cerignolia, the main French supply depot. He takes it and begins to fortify the position on a small hill nearby. The fortifications include trenches, breastworks, stakes, firing platforms, bunkers--almost a WW I scene.

The French commander the Duke of Nemours marches for Cerignolia gathering troops from garrisons on the way. When he reaches Cerignolia he has 32,000 men and 40 cannon to Cordoba’s 8000 men and 20 cannon. Cordoba puts over 1000 harquebusiers and his artillery in the front line trenches. The French cavalry (gendarmes, mounted harquebusiers, mounted crossbowmen and stradiots ) attempts to storm the position in the center, then on the right, failing to reach the heights either time under the withering fire of the Spanish. Finally the Swiss pike grow impatient and throw themselves at the position. Cordoba reinforces the harquebusiers with his crossbowmen. The Swiss who have enjoyed almost 150 years of unbroken success in battle are shattered on the slopes of Cerignolia, never reaching the Spanish position and flee into the countryside routed. Cordoba unleashes his cavalry after the French. Unlike most cavalry of the time which would of broke up and started looting, Cordoba has control of his men who hunt down and kill/capture any French/Swiss they can catch. Cordoba wants a decisive victory. 4000 Frenchmen are dead to 100 Spanish. Till the Spanish cavalry began pursuing the defeated French at no time had there been actual hand to hand combat between the armies. Cerignolia is considered the first battle won totally by firearms.

Turn of century Harquebusier
Turn of century artillery piece
Ferdinand of Aragon

 

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End Of The Second Italian War

After Cerignola the French began a slow retreat southward towards Naples. Behind them Cordoba mopped up the surrounded French towns under garrison one by one. 60 miles north of Naples the French under the Marquis of Saluzzo (Nemours was killed at Cerignola) crossed the Garigliano river. It was the only crossing in the area and the bridge easy to hold, here the French dug in. Cordoba arrived in mid December and tested the bridge fortifications several times with little success. His only options being a costly frontal assault or a costly in time detour around the Garigliano river Cordoba chose to be bold.

On the night of December 29, 1503 in the face of a driving sleet storm, Spanish engineers built a pontoon bridge across the rain swollen river. Cordoba was able to get a huge portion of his army across before the French ( mostly in doors) realized they were under attack. The French had the advantage of numbers, 23,000 to 15,000 men but were committed piece meal and in no real formation. Decisively defeated they retreated to Gaeta, where after a short siege they surrendered. The French presence in Italy was no more. The French quickly came to terms and by January of 1504 the treaty of Lyons was signed. Spain received Naples and Sicily and France kept Milan.

Cordoba was named governor of Naples for Aragon. He held this post till 1507 when he was recalled to Castile. Ferdinand of Argon/Castile was jealous of his captain and he would never hold a command again even through Spain was at war throughout this entire period. The death of Isabella in 1504 had robbed him of his influence at court. He remained in retirement till his death in 1515 except for a brief command in Italy following a major Spanish defeat at Ravenna in 1512.

Cordoba was rare in his time for not being interested in a castle or a city but in the utter defeat of the opposing army. He realized that if the opposing army was completely destroyed, the nearby castle or city would have no choice but to surrender. Hence his ruthless pursuits after Cerginola and Garigliano. His reorganization of the Spanish army led to the rise of the fame terico that dominated European warfare for the next 140 years. The men who commanded these terico’s learned their craft at Cordoba’s hands during the Italian campaigns. He went into history as “The Gran Captain” and “ The Father of Trench Warfare”

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Interesting article about an IMO not enough known general, who pretty much changed the paradigm in military tactics.