The Battle of Bicocca was fought on April 27, 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by a Spanish-Imperial and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from Lombardy, leaving the Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands. Having been driven from Milan by an Imperial advance in late 1521, Lautrec had regrouped, attempting to strike at Colonna's lines of communication. When the Swiss mercenaries in French service did not receive their pay, however, they demanded an immediate battle, and Lautrec was forced to attack Colonna's fortified position in the park of the Arcimboldi Villa Bicocca, north of Milan. The Swiss pikemen advanced over open fields under heavy artillery fire to assault the Imperial positions, but were halted at a sunken road backed by earthworks. Having suffered massive casualties from the fire of Spanish arquebusiers, the Swiss retreated. Unwilling to fight further, they marched off to their cantons a few days later, and Lautrec retreated into Venetian territory with the remnants of his army.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bicocca
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1263:
Scottish–Norwegian War: The armies of Norway and Scotland fought at the Battle of Largs, an inconclusive engagement near the present-day town of Largs in North Ayrshire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Largs
1928:
Spanish priest Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei (logo pictured), a worldwide organization of the Catholic Church which teaches that everyone can be a saint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei
1937:
Under the orders of President Rafael Trujillo, Dominican troops began mass killings of approximately 20,000 Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsley_Massacre
1992:
In response to a prison riot, military police stormed the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, killing at least 100 prisoners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carandiru_massacre
2009:
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was approved at the second attempt, permitting the state to ratify the European Union's Treaty of Lisbon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-eighth_Amendment_of_the_Constitution_of_Ireland
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
splurge: 1. To gush, to flow or move in a rush. 2. To spend (usually money) lavishly or extravagantly. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/splurge
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everything is complicated; if that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore. --Wallace Stevens https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wallace_Stevens