Siege of Nice (1543)
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Siege of Nice 1543.
| date | 1543 |
|---|---|
| place | Nice , House of Savoy |
| output | Withdrawal of the French army and the Turkish fleet when the imperial soldiers of Charles V arrive . |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 33,000 | 1,000-1,500 |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
unknown |
The siege of Nice (1543) from August 5 to September 7, 1543 by an allied French - Ottoman force took place during the Italian Wars , when the French royal family Valois and the Habsburgs vied for supremacy in Italy .
After the French King Francis I had concluded an agreement with the Ottomans, Sultan Suleyman I the Magnificent sent the corsair Cheir ed-Din Barbarossa with a navy to the Bay of Nice to attack the city. Shortly afterwards an army of the French king reached the city from the land side and began the one-month siege. Together they raised about 33,000 men, compared to the besieged with a little over 1,000 men. After the city was taken except for the citadel , the battle for the city ended with the arrival of the imperial soldiers of Charles V with the retreat of the French army and the Ottoman fleet.
initial situation
Location in Italy
see also Italian Wars
Both France under Francis I and Spain under Charles V showed interests in Italy. This resulted in various conflicts between the two rulers over the claim to various Italian cities. In order to be able to intervene in northern Italy if necessary, Francis I tried to form an alliance with the Duke of Savoy , who controlled strategically important Alpine passes. For the same reason Charles V showed interest in a pact with the Duchy of Savoy . The then reigning ruler, Charles III. - as Uncle Franz I and the brother-in-law of Charles I related to both rulers - tried first to stay out of the conflict. Later he bequeathed to Charles V the county of Asti in Piedmont and the rule of Cherasco and Chiari . Franz I was angry about the actions of his uncle and took a hostile attitude towards him. He then repeatedly demanded the cession of the county of Nice, which was extremely important from a strategic point of view due to its favorable geographical location. Pope Clement VII tried to reach a peace negotiation between the king and France and the Duke of Savoy. Francis I agreed, but demanded that the negotiations take place in Nice and that the city should be placed in the care of the Pope during this time. Charles III feared a trap and declined the meeting.
Alliance between Francis I and the Turks
The already difficult situation was made even more complicated by the change of mind of the Genoese Grand Admiral Andrea Doria . Previously a loyal follower of France, he had now made his services available to the imperial and Spanish rulers. As a result, the French king suddenly lost most of his fleet and thus also his supremacy in the Mediterranean, which led him to look for a new ally. He found him in the Ottoman Empire . Relations between the Turks and Francis I had existed since the Battle of Pavia (1525) , who had been defeated in that battle and was taken prisoner by the emperor. His mother, Louise of Savoy, then made contact with the Ottomans and gained their support. In 1536 Franz concluded an agreement with Sultan Suleyman, who assured him of his support in a possible war.
Since the Ottomans besieged Constantinople in 1453 and successfully conquered it, they had owned the entire Balkan Peninsula and had repeatedly attacked Habsburg settlements and even Vienna . Although they had been successfully driven back so far, the threat of another attack was omnipresent. For fear of the warriors from the East, practically all of Europe formed an alliance. The agreement between France and the Crescent was therefore shocking news for many nations, especially since Francis I had secured papal support in his project only three years earlier.
preparation
After the Duke of Milan, Francesco II Sforza , died in October 1535, Emperor Charles V took possession of the duchy. This prompted Francis I to revive the hostilities. He marched into the Duchy of Savoy, whereupon Charles III. had to withdraw after an unsuccessful defense. His entire empire fell into the possession of his nephew, with the exception of the cities of Nice and Vercelli . Karl retired with his family to the castle in Nice.
Emperor Charles V responded to this French step with an invasion of Provence in the summer of 1536. However, his undertaking was unsuccessful. The French destroyed all potential resources that could have served to supply the enemy, deliberately avoided any clash and locked themselves in the fortified camp of Avignon . Shortly afterwards, the imperial army was forced to retreat, decimated by hunger and disease. But the French also had problems for their part and were unable to continue their fight against Charles III. to continue.
Both sides wanted to conclude an armistice and Francis I and Charles V agreed to meet in Nice under the supervision of the then Pope Paul III. Given the military weakness of the Duke of Savoy, there was no doubt that he would accept the proposal. Charles V landed in Villafrance on May 9, just a few kilometers from Nice, while Paul III. left Rome. Francis I had not yet given his final approval at this point, but it was assumed that he would also arrive.
Completely surprisingly, however, Charles III refused. and the city of Nice, despite the pressure on them, consented to a meeting in the citadel. Not even the Pope, who had expressly requested it, was allowed to move into his quarters in the fortress. The reason was a rumor that the Pope and Emperor planned to take possession of the city by means of a plot. Charles V, surprised by so much persistence, stayed on board his admiralty ship. The Pope stopped by at the Holy Cross Monastery outside the city. Duke Charles III. had previously traveled to Monaco to meet him and explained the reasons for his behavior. Franz I did not come personally, but sent a deputy. Despite the unfavorable conditions, a ten-year armistice was signed on June 18, which was actually only supposed to last four years.
Regardless of this, Francis I continued his negotiations with the Ottomans to ensure their support. In 1541 the French ambassador to Constantinople, Antoine Rincon, was murdered on behalf of the emperor. Franz took this as an opportunity to urge the Sultan to make an early decision in favor of joint armed action. At first he gave an evasive answer and delayed his decision for another two years. Finally he gave in to his ally's request and ordered Cheir ed-Din Barbarossa to set sail with the Turkish fleet . He was supposed to meet with the French king and Antoine Paulin, the then leader of the royal guard , and assure them of his support.
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Barbarossa's fleet consisted of 110 galleys and 14,000 men, with whom he moved to Marseille , where he merged with the 40 galley fleet of France, which was commanded by Paulin. This news came as no surprise to the residents of Nice. The rumors about a possible advance of the French against the city had already circulated in the spring of 1541, when Charles V came to a meeting with Pope Paul III. had traveled to Busset. On June 16, 1543 the time had come when part of the French fleet appeared before Nice. The vanguard of 17 galleys was led by the governor of Provence, Count Louis de Grignan, and a defector from Nice, a certain Benedetto Grimaldi.
Four galleys tried in vain to land soldiers in Lympia. They were already expected and put to flight. The seriously wounded captain of this squadron revealed shortly before his death that Turkish ships were already on their way. Only a few days later, on July 5, 1543, the 110 galleys of Chaireddins passed Nice on their way to Marseille. Charles III, who was in the city at that time. thereupon gave orders to prepare for a possible siege.
When the Ottoman fleet reached the port of Marseille, Francis I seemed to have hesitated to carry out his planned attack. But Barbarossa gave him no time to change his mind. He made it clear to the French that he had not come here to turn back and that any further day without result would mean money and effort. Because of this, he put pressure on Paulin, who in turn tried to persuade the king to continue the attack as planned. After a long hesitation, the latter finally gave in.
The siege
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Although the city had known of a possible siege months before, it was not prepared for an attack of this magnitude. The emperor was in a different part of his empire and so Nice had to rely on six arquebus companies and its solid city walls for its defense , which were guarded by around three hundred armed men from the area. For the protection of the residential quarters, Karl III commissioned. Andrea Odinet and for the defense of the castle the arrival of a former knight of the Order of St. John , Paolo Simeoni de'Bardi from Chieri, was expected .
The defenders first had to defend themselves against Barbarossa's naval forces (14,000 men) and Paulin's fleet (7,000 men). On August 11th, another 12,000-strong land army was added, the command of which was transferred to François de Bourbon , the Count of Enghien. On the French side, a Tuscan company led by Leone Strozzi and a Freikorps subordinate to Paulin also fought . Numerous Savoyards had also joined the enemy for various reasons.
While the French army was still marching on Nice, Barbarossa began the actual siege. He arrived in the port of Villafrance on August 5th and had his guns, a total of 75 cannons, carried ashore. Shortly afterwards, two envoys from Nice tried to reach Chaireddin and negotiate with him. However, they were only received by Paulin, who gave them to understand that their only option to spare was surrender. The two ambassadors then refused to negotiate any further. The following day, August 6th, a herald of Paul brought the first call for the city to be surrendered to France. Charles III refused the request again.
On August 7th, the remaining Turkish soldiers landed and attacked. In the course of the fighting that followed, de'Bardi managed to get into the city with a force of 50 men and take up position in the fort. The fighting lasted all day and eventually ended in defeat for the Turks. The attackers rested for the next few days, and on August 10th another call came for the besieged to give up their defense. This time too, Karl gave a negative answer.
On August 11th, the Count of Enghien's units arrived outside the city. A defected Savoyard named Grimaldi was then commissioned by Paulin, together with a French herald, to deliver an ultimatum to the trapped. However, when he appeared at the gates and delivered his message, he was arrested and taken to the fort. There he was scourged for three hours and finally strangled. As a warning, the defenders hung the dead body of Grimaldi by one leg on a pinnacle of the city wall. The French herald, who was protected by the law of war, was sent back to his own with another no.
The attacks continued on August 12th, 13th and 14th. On the 14th, a shot fired from the fort hit a son of Barbarossa who, in retaliation, had a soldier who had been taken prisoner in Turkey beheaded on August 7th. At dawn on August 15, 120 enemy galleys broke out of Villafrance Bay and anchored off the town. At eight o'clock in the morning the ships fired from the seaside on the city. Some attackers managed to break a breach in the north of the city. Ladders and siege weapons attempted to penetrate from there, but the defenders were able to withstand the attack.
The fighting continued no less strongly on the opposite side. At one point it seemed as if the people of Nice could no longer withstand the pressure and, completely surprisingly, a Turkish soldier managed to climb the wall and set up the red banner with the crescent moon. A laundress by the name of Caterina Segurana , who, like the other women in Nice, had been working in the fields since dawn, armed with a shovel, tore the banner from the enemy soldier's hand and spurred the defenders on. These succeeded in driving the attackers to flight. It is not clear to what extent this story is true, but it is clear that Nice was able to withstand the attacks one more time.
The following day the French and Turkish troops pillaged and destroyed much of the rural areas in the area. In addition, the city continued to be kept under fire. On August 16 alone, 965 cannon shots were fired. The fortifications could not withstand the strong artillery and Charles III. had to realize that perseverance would have been pointless. He therefore negotiated with the Count of Enghien and on August 23 the French took the city and moved into their quarters in the residential areas. Barbarossa's army was refused entry, which is why he withdrew to Villafrance. The heavily decimated defenders holed up in the citadel.
On August 24th, the Count of Enghien offered the occupants of the citadel that anyone who so wanted could leave the fortress before the bombardment resumed. Around 500 people, most of them women, children and old men, took up this offer. Four days later the fight continued with undiminished force until another break on September 2nd. On September 5th, a herald brought Enghien's last request to leave the fort to the attackers. Those trapped again denied surrender despite their bad situation.
However, luck seemed to be on the side of the Nice people. The French unexpectedly ran out of powder and had to ask the Turks for supplies. Barbarossa, who was still disappointed because he was not allowed to enter the city, refused to help at first and even threatened to sail. Finally he gave in and made his supplies available. In the meantime the news arrived that an imperial relief army was on the march to help the besieged. In addition, heavy rains began, which prevented the attackers from further bombing. Completely upset, the besiegers gave up their positions and fled to their ships. On September 7th, the remaining artillery was withdrawn.
The Turks stayed in the area for one more day, again pillaging and looting everything they could find. The troops under the Count of Enghien managed to set the city on fire before they left. Then they withdrew behind the Var River , which formed the border with France. The Turks also left the region and sailed to Toulon . A few hours later the imperial army arrived in Nice, whereupon Charles III. returned to his damaged country.
Effects
The siege of Nice brought the French neither a clear victory nor a clear defeat. The previous conflict between France and Spain over rule in northern Italy was briefly ended after further fighting in 1544 in the Peace of Crépy . Franz I had to give up his conquests in Italy. The war in Italy was to flare up again as early as 1547.
The Habsburg-French rivalry persisted in the centuries that followed. In the 17th century in particular, the French kings tried to break away from the “clutches” of the Habsburgs. This tactic was particularly strongly pursued under Louis XIV , as was shown in the Second Turkish Siege of Vienna .
literature
- Ludwig Cardauns: From Nice to Crépy. European politics in the years 1534 to 1544 (= library of the Prussian Historical Institute in Rome. 15, ZDB -ID 843750-6 ). Regenberg, Rome 1923.
- Vezio Melegari: Assault on bastions. Great sieges. Österreichischer Bundesverlag et al., Vienna et al. 1970, pp. 71–81.
- Hugo Soly (ed.): Karl V. and his time. 1500-1558. DuMont, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-7701-5309-X .
- Ralph Schor (Ed.): Dictionnaire historique et biographique du Comté de Nice. Hommes & événements, droit & institutions, arts & culture, lieux de mémoire (= Encyclopaedia niciensis. 4). Serre, Nice 2002, ISBN 2-86410-366-4 .
Coordinates: 43 ° 42 ′ 0 ″ N , 7 ° 16 ′ 0 ″ E