The Italian War of 1521–1526 was a part of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and the Papal States. The conflict arose from animosity over the election of Charles as Emperor in 1519–20 and from Pope Leo X's need to ally with Charles against Martin Luther. The war broke out across western Europe late in 1521 when the French invaded Navarre and the Low Countries. Imperial forces overcame the invasion and attacked northern France, where they were stopped in turn. The Pope, the Emperor, and Henry VIII then signed a formal alliance against France, and hostilities began on the Italian peninsula. At the Battle of Bicocca, Imperial and Papal forces defeated the French, driving them from Lombardy. Following the battle, fighting again spilled onto French soil, while Venice made a separate peace. The English invaded France in 1523. A French attempt to regain Lombardy in 1524 failed and provided Bourbon with an opportunity to invade Provence at the head of a Spanish army. Francis himself led a second attack on Milan in 1525. While he was initially successful in driving back the Spanish and Imperial forces, his disastrous defeat at the Battle of Pavia, where he was captured and many of his chief nobles were killed, led to the end of the war. Although the Italian Wars would continue for another three decades, they would end with France having failed to regain any substantial territories in Italy.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1775:

American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Quebec, British forces repulsed an attack by the Continental Army to capture Quebec City and enlist French Canadian support. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_%281775%29

1857:

Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the capital of the British colony of Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa

1972:

American baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente

1999:

Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically elected President of Russia, resigned and named Vladimir Putin as Acting President. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin

2004:

Taipei 101 in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan, one of the world's tallest skyscrapers, opened to the public. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taipei_101

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ancillary (adj): Subordinate; secondary; auxiliary; accessory http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ancillary

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy... Let's go exploring! --w:Calvin and Hobbes http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/w%3ACalvin_and_Hobbes