THE FIRST AND SECOND ITALIAN WARS, 1494-1504: Fearless Knights, Ruthless Princes and the Coming of Gunpowder Armies

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Describes the course of military operations and political machinations in Italy from 1494 to 1504. The narrative begins with the French conquest of much of Italy, but then details how the French allied with the Pope's son Cesare Borgia, whose efforts ended in disaster. The French agreement with the Spanish allowed them to retake Naples only to be defeated at the Garigliano by the famous general, Gonzalo de Cordoba. Looks at how the French utilized a new method of artillery transport, the Spanish commander formulated a new system of military unit organization, and Cesare Borgia sought different systems of raising troops and forming states -- all of which led to the emergence of the so-called Military Revolution.